Coccolith clumped isotopes reveal modest rather than extreme northern high latitude amplification during the Miocene.

ABSTRACT: Accurate predictions of the future climate response to CO₂ depend on the ability of climate models to simulate past analog warmer climates, like the Miocene. However, one key unresolved issue in paleoclimate modeling is reproducing the pronounced high-latitude warmth and relatively flat latitudinal temperature gradients inferred from proxy records. Here, we use clumped isotope thermometry-a method that sidesteps limitations of conventional proxies-on pure coccolith calcite from a high-latitude North Atlantic site, extending from the Mid Miocene to the Quaternary. Coccolith-derived clumped isotope temperatures are on average ~9°C lower than alkenone estimates, representing the first proxy dataset to align with Miocene model outputs and calling into question the prevailing paradig

SUBMITTER: Mejia LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12689775 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature