Astronomical calibration of the geological timescale: closing the middle Eocene gap

To explore cause and consequences of past climate change, very accurate age models such as those provided by the astronomical timescale (ATS) are needed. Beyond 40 million years the accuracy of the ATS critically depends on the correctness of orbital models and radioisotopic dating techniques. Discrepancies in the age dating of sedimentary successions and the lack of suitable records spanning the middle Eocene have prevented development of a continuous astronomically calibrated geological timescale for the entire Cenozoic Era. We now solve this problem by constructing an independent astrochronological stratigraphy based on Earth's stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle between 41 and 48 million years ago (Ma) with new data from deep-sea sedimentary sequences in the South Atlantic Ocean. This new link completes the Paleogene astronomical timescale and confirms the intercalibration of radioisotopic and astronomical dating methods back through the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.930 Ma) and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (66.022 Ma). Coupling of the Paleogene 405 kyr cyclostratigraphic frameworks across the middle Eocene further paves the way for extending the ATS into the Mesozoic

Evidence for vivianite formation and its contribution to long-term phosphorus retention in a recent lake sediment: a novel analytical approach

Vivianite, Fe3(PO4)2 · 8 H2O, is a ferrous iron phosphate mineral which forms in waterlogged soils and sediments. The phosphorus (P) bound in its crystal lattice is considered to be immobilised because vivianite is stable under anoxic, reducing, sedimentary conditions. Thus, vivianite formation can make a major contribution to P retention during early diagenesis. Much remains unknown about vivianite in sediments, because technical challenges have rendered direct identification and quantification difficult. To identify vivianite and assess its significance for P burial during early diagenesis we studied the consequences of a 1992/1993 in-lake application of FeCl3 and Fe(OH)3 aimed at restoring Lake Groß-Glienicke (Berlin, Germany). In a novel approach, we firstly applied a heavy-liquid separation to the iron-rich surface sediments which allowed direct identification of vivianite by X-ray diffraction in the high-density (ρ > 2.3 g cm−3) sediment fraction. Secondly, we assessed the contribution of vivianite to P retention, combining results from chemical digestion with magnetic susceptibility data derived from magnetic hysteresis measurements. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the dark blue spherical vivianite nodules were 40–180 μm in diameter, and formed of platy- and needle-shaped crystal aggregates. Although equilibrium calculations indicated supersaturation of vivianite throughout the upper 30 cm of the sediment, the vivianite deposits were homogeneously distributed within, and restricted to, the upper 23 cm only. Thus, supersaturated pore water alone cannot serve as a reliable predictor for the in situ formation of vivianite. In Lake Groß -Glienicke, vivianite formation continues to be triggered by the artificial iron amendment more than 20 yr ago, significantly contributing to P retention in surface sediments

Rapid non-contacting resistivity logging of core

We demonstrate a non-contact approach to whole-core and split-core resistivity measurements, imaging a 15 mm-thick, dipping, conductive layer, producing a continuous log of the whole core and enabling the development of a framework to allow representative plugs to be taken, for example. Applications include mapping subtle changes in grain fabric (e.g. grain shape) caused by variable sedimentation rates, for example, as well as the well-known dependencies on porosity and water saturation. The method operates at relatively low frequencies (i.e. low induction numbers), needing highly sensitive coil pairs to provide resistivity measurements at the desired resolution. A four-coil arrangement of two pairs of transmitter and receiver coils is used to stabilize the measurement. One ‘coil pair’ acts as a control, enabling the effects of local environmental variations, which can be considerable, to be removed from the measurement at source. Comparing our non-contact approach and independent traditional ‘galvanic’ resistivity measurements indicates that the non-contact measurements are directly proportional to the reciprocal of the sample resistivity (i.e. conductivity). The depth of investigation is discussed in terms of both theory and practical measurements, and the response of the technique to a variety of synthetic ‘structures’ is presented. We demonstrate the potential of the technique for rapid electrical imaging of core and present a whole-core image of a dipping layer with azimuthal discrimination at a resolution of the order of 10 mm. Consequently, the technique could be used to investigate different depths within the core, in agreement with theoretical predictions

Ice sheet–free West Antarctica during peak early Oligocene glaciation

One of Earth’s most fundamental climate shifts – the greenhouse-icehouse transition 34 Ma ago – initiated Antarctic ice-sheet build-up, influencing global climate until today. However, the extent of the ice sheet during the Early Oligocene Glacial Maximum (~33.7–33.2 Ma) that immediately followed this transition, a critical knowledge gap for assessing feedbacks between permanently glaciated areas and early Cenozoic global climate reorganization, is uncertain. Here, we present shallow-marine drilling data constraining earliest Oligocene environmental conditions on West Antarctica’s Pacific margin – a key region for understanding Antarctic ice sheet-evolution. These data indicate a cool-temperate environment, with mild ocean and air temperatures preventing West Antarctic Ice Sheet formation. Climate-ice sheet modeling corroborates a highly asymmetric Antarctic ice sheet, thereby revealing its differential regional response to past and future climatic change

MeBo70 Seabed Drilling on a Polar Continental Shelf: Operational Report and Lessons From Drilling in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica

A multibarrel seabed drill rig was used for the first time to drill unconsolidated sediments and consolidated sedimentary rocks from an Antarctic shelf with core recoveries between 7% and 76%. We deployed the MARUM-MeBo70 drill device at nine drill sites in the Amundsen Sea Embayment. Three sites were located on the inner shelf of Pine Island Bay from which soft sediments, presumably deposited at high sedimentation rates in isolated small basins, were recovered from drill depths of up to 36 m below seafloor. Six sites were located on the middle shelf of the eastern and western embayment. Drilling at five of these sites recovered consolidated sediments and sedimentary rocks from dipping strata spanning ages from Cretaceous to Miocene. This report describes the initial coring results, the challenges posed by drifting icebergs and sea ice, and technical issues related to deployment of the MeBo70. We also present recommendations for similar future drilling campaigns on polar continental shelves

Ice sheet–free West Antarctica during peak early Oligocene glaciation

One of Earth’s most fundamental climate shifts – the greenhouse-icehouse transition 34 Ma ago – initiated Antarctic ice-sheet build-up, influencing global climate until today. However, the extent of the ice sheet during the Early Oligocene Glacial Maximum (~33.7–33.2 Ma) that immediately followed this transition, a critical knowledge gap for assessing feedbacks between permanently glaciated areas and early Cenozoic global climate reorganization, is uncertain. Here, we present shallow-marine drilling data constraining earliest Oligocene environmental conditions on West Antarctica’s Pacific margin – a key region for understanding Antarctic ice sheet-evolution. These data indicate a cool-temperate environment, with mild ocean and air temperatures preventing West Antarctic Ice Sheet formation. Climate-ice sheet modeling corroborates a highly asymmetric Antarctic ice sheet, thereby revealing its differential regional response to past and future climatic change

Deep water inflow slowed offshore expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet at the Eocene-Oligocene transition

The stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is threatened by the incursion of warm Circumpolar Deepwater which flows southwards via cross-shelf troughs towards the coast there melting ice shelves. However, the onset of this oceanic forcing on the development and evolution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet remains poorly understood. Here, we use single- and multichannel seismic reflection profiles to investigate the architecture of a sediment body on the shelf of the Amundsen Sea Embayment. We estimate the formation age of this sediment body to be around the Eocene-Oligocene Transition and find that it possesses the geometry and depositional pattern of a plastered sediment drift. We suggest this indicates a southward inflow of deep water which probably supplied heat and, thus, prevented West Antarctic Ice Sheet advance beyond the coast at this time. We conclude that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has likely experienced a strong oceanic influence on its dynamics since its initial formation