Articles | Volume 22, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1241-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-1241-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
02 Jul 2026
Research article |
| 02 Jul 2026
| 02 Jul 2026
South Atlantic lipid biomarkers support synchronous Plio-Pleistocene global cooling: revising the ODP Site 1090 sea surface temperature record
Brianna Hoegler
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Timothy D. Herbert
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Jamie Pahigian
Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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Transient climate models simulate warming over the past 5,000 years due to a 20 ppm CO2 rise, yet paleo-proxies indicate cooling. In this study, we examine the mid-latitude North Atlantic, where model-data mismatch is largest. Our analysis links Late Holocene cooling to increased zonal SST asymmetry, likely from basin-scale reorganization of inter-gyre circulation. Transient models, however, do not to capture this spatial pattern and associated circulation changes.
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Accurate information about the surface ocean temperatures are important for understanding Earth's climate history. Here, we correct a sea surface temperature record from the critical subarctic North Pacific region for systematic biases introduced into the algal-biomarker-based geologic temperature estimates by the analytical method used by the original study.
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Short summary
Studying the Pliocene (5.33–2.58 Ma) is key to understanding Earth’s climate under current atmospheric CO2 levels and the development of permanent Northern Hemisphere ice. We used ocean sediments and improved laboratory methods to reconstruct sea surface temperatures from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1090 (south Atlantic) from ~4.3–2.6 Ma. Our data suggests cooling patterns similar to those found worldwide, suggesting a global forcing, like decreased CO2, triggered the shift to the ice ages.
Studying the Pliocene (5.33–2.58 Ma) is key to understanding Earth’s climate under current...
