GC10-Pliocene-9
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-gc10-pliocene-9
The warm Pliocene: Bridging the geological data and modelling communities
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Molecular perspectiveson Pliocene subtropical hydroclimate

Tripti Bhattacharya1 and Ran Feng2
Tripti Bhattacharya and Ran Feng
  • 1Syracuse University, Earth and Environmental Sciences, United States of America (trbhatta@syr.edu)
  • 2University of Connecticut, Department of Geosciences, United States of America (ran.feng@uconn.edu)

Geologic evidence suggests drastic reorganizations of subtropical terrestrial hydroclimate during past warm intervals, including the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (MP, 3.3 to 3.0 Ma). These changes, which involved mesic conditions on subtropical continents, are at first glance at odds with theory that predicts subtropical drying in a warmer world. The mechanisms and precise patterns of regional hydroclimate during the MP remain unclear. In this talk, I show that compound specific isotopic analyses of lipid biomarkers can be used to constrain the drivers of Pliocene subtropical hydroclimate, with special focus
on ongoing in western North America and other Mediterranean regions. Our results show that regional SST patterns play a key role in determining Pliocene subtropical hydroclimate. Moreover, we are able to identify similarities between Pliocene hydroclimate and current patterns of hydroclimate variability and change in subtropical regions, suggesting that the Pliocene can serve as an analog for understanding hydroclimate responses to anthropogenic warming.

How to cite: Bhattacharya, T. and Feng, R.: Molecular perspectiveson Pliocene subtropical hydroclimate, The warm Pliocene: Bridging the geological data and modelling communities, Leeds, United Kingdom, 23–26 Aug 2022, GC10-Pliocene-9, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-gc10-pliocene-9, 2022.