TY - JOUR
T1 - The key role of global solid-Earth processes in preconditioning Greenland's glaciation since the Pliocene
AU - Steinberger, Bernhard
AU - Spakman, Wim
AU - Japsen, Peter
AU - Torsvik, Trond H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2015/2/1
Y1 - 2015/2/1
N2 - After >500 Ma of absence, major Northern Hemisphere glaciations appeared during the Plio-Pleistocene, with Greenland leading other northern areas. Here, we propose that three major solid-Earth processes underpinned build-up of the Greenland ice-sheet. First, a mantle-plume pulse, responsible for the North Atlantic Igneous Province at ~60 Ma, regionally thinned the lithosphere. Younger plume pulses led to uplift, which accelerated at ~5 Ma, lifting the parts of the East Greenland margin closest to Iceland to elevations of more than 3 km above sea level. Second, plate-tectonic reconstruction shows a ~6° northward component of Greenland motion relative to the mantle since ~60 Ma. Third, a concurrent northward rotation of the entire mantle and crust towards the pole, dubbed True Polar Wander (TPW), contributed an additional ~12° change in latitude. These global geodynamic processes preconditioned Greenland to sustain long-term glaciation, emphasizing the role of solid-Earth processes in driving long-term global climatic transitions.
AB - After >500 Ma of absence, major Northern Hemisphere glaciations appeared during the Plio-Pleistocene, with Greenland leading other northern areas. Here, we propose that three major solid-Earth processes underpinned build-up of the Greenland ice-sheet. First, a mantle-plume pulse, responsible for the North Atlantic Igneous Province at ~60 Ma, regionally thinned the lithosphere. Younger plume pulses led to uplift, which accelerated at ~5 Ma, lifting the parts of the East Greenland margin closest to Iceland to elevations of more than 3 km above sea level. Second, plate-tectonic reconstruction shows a ~6° northward component of Greenland motion relative to the mantle since ~60 Ma. Third, a concurrent northward rotation of the entire mantle and crust towards the pole, dubbed True Polar Wander (TPW), contributed an additional ~12° change in latitude. These global geodynamic processes preconditioned Greenland to sustain long-term glaciation, emphasizing the role of solid-Earth processes in driving long-term global climatic transitions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921435556&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ter.12133
DO - 10.1111/ter.12133
M3 - Article
SN - 0954-4879
VL - 27
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - Terra Nova
JF - Terra Nova
IS - 1
ER -