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Evaluate equilibrium ocean sea-surface temperature responses during the late Pliocene KM5c interglacial to better understand climate sensitivity under atmospheric carbon dioxide levels comparable to modern conditions.

January 9, 2020Open Access

Lessons from a high CO 2 world: an ocean view from ~ 3 million years ago

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Evaluate equilibrium ocean sea-surface temperature responses during the late Pliocene KM5c interglacial to better understand climate sensitivity under atmospheric carbon dioxide levels comparable to modern conditions.
Synthesized sea-surface temperature proxy records (alkenones and foraminifera Mg/Ca ratios) across 32 global marine sites dating to the KM5c interglacial (ca. 3.205 ± 0.01 Ma).
Compared proxy-based temperature anomalies against multi-model ensemble simulations from the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project Phase 2 (PlioMIP2).
Reconstructed global mean sea-surface temperatures were ~2.3 ºC warmer than pre-industrial levels using combined proxy records and ~3.2 ºC warmer using alkenones alone.
Proxy reconstructions exceeded the global mean sea-surface temperature anomalies of all but three PlioMIP2 models, exhibiting reduced meridional gradients and pronounced North Atlantic warming that aligned only with the warmest simulations.

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Implication

Paleoclimate reconstruction reveals sea-surface temperatures 2.3°C to 3.2°C above pre-industrial levels during the late Pliocene, indicating future ocean warming may exceed climate model projections.

Cite This Study

McClymont et al. (2020) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa660636b1ae6e96478ff73 https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2019-161

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Lessons from a high CO 2 world: an ocean view from ~ 3 million years ago

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Lessons from a high CO 2 world: an ocean view from ~ 3 million years ago

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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