Goals

The overall objective of this project is to reconstruct at millennial-scale oceanographic variations and climatic instability recorded during past warm periods over the last 1.5 ka, and understand the link between high and mid latitudes of North Atlantic.

This period provide a wide panel of baseline conditions (astronomical configuration, ice sheet size and CO2 concentrations) for testing the relationships of the different processes underlying rapid climate changes.

We will focus on past interglacials quantitatively similar to our present day interglacial such as Interglacials that occurred at 1100 ka, 780 ka,  420 ka, 125 ka (MIS 31, 19, 11, 5e), and we expect, therefore, that the understanding of these interglacials instabilities will provide crucial information on the dynamics of the ongoing climate.

 We also focus our study on the glacial inception phenomenon and take the challenge of answering the question: despite the ongoing global warming, could the Earth enter in a new glacial state, how and when?

To achieve the above-defined goals, in an innovative and effective way, we propose a multi-disciplinary approach integrating micropaleontology, sedimentology, and organic and inorganic geochemistry to the study of marine sedimentary sequences from key geographic areas such as North Atlantic and mid-latitudes. 

We propose, to perform for the first time, a high-resolution study on two cores: from SW Iberian Margin (IODP Exp339 site U1385) and in the North Atlantic Site U1308.

This research effort will contribute to resolve some major challenges of the past climate community, such as, assess the processes and influences related to the high versus the low latitudes’ forcing in the North Atlantic. The main focus is to understand the mechanisms behind past low and high frequency (orbital and suborbital time scales) climate changes during the Middle Pleistocene transition caused by complex interactions of internal and external forcing. Investigation of forcing, reaction of the climate system and impacts through integration of synchronized observations will allow us to improve our knowledge on the dynamics of the climate system. The MPT is an ideal period for testing the relationships of the different processes underlying both long and short-term climate changes, since it provides a wide array of baseline climatic situations. This will allow exploring the relationship between main forcing factors versus amplifying mechanisms able to modulate the response of the global climate system. In particular we will explore: a) the connections between mid and high latitudes of the North Atlantic b) the contribution of different forcing factors and feedbacks on past variability under different climate states: astronomical forcing, ice volume, GHG. To better accomplish these aims we will target specific contrasting and analogous periods such as: past best analogues for the present interglacial in terms of astronomical configuration, temperature, sea level/ Ice Volume (MIS 5e, MIS11, MIS19 and MIS31); cool Interglacials (MIS13, MIS23) vs warmer interglacial (MIS 5e, MIS 19); extreme millennial scale climate oscillations at glacial inceptions (MIS11, MIS 21 and MIS 25); The scenarios of coupled atmosphere-ocean-terrestrial interactions in the North Atlantic reconstructed from our paleo data will be compared with other paleo data and state of the art models for the selected periods. This comparison will also allow to assess the influence of the high latitudes into the mid-latitudes during major climate instabilities and ascertain if orbital and ice configuration precondition the predominance of high or low latitude forcing/linkages of the mid-latitudes climate variability. Furthermore, this integration will also allow us to better explore the importance of the thermal SST contrast between high/low latitudes during the target periods. Scientific dissemination will be achieved through presentations in specialized conferences and workshops and publications in ISI journals. Finally, the obtained scenarios will indirectly contribute to other national and international projects focused on understanding the evolution of climate in the future such as envisioned by Future Earth, the global platform for international scientific collaboration, providing the knowledge required for societies in the world to face risks posed by global environmental change and to seize opportunities in a transition to global sustainability.

International Conferences

Talks

• D. Oliveira, S. Desprat, Q. Yin, T. Rodrigues, F. Naughton, Q. Su, F. Abrantes, and M.F. Sánchez Goñi. 2020. SW European vegetation and climate dynamics in a cooler world: insights from MIS 13 InterglaciaL. 2nd Palaeontological Virtual Congress. 01.-05. May 2020. Book of Abstracts ISBN 978-84-09-20283-6, p. 45.
• Oliveira D, S Desprat, QZ Yin, T Rodrigues, F Naughton, Qianqian Su, A Voelker, F Abrantes, MF Sánchez Goñi. 2020. Intense precipitation in the western Mediterranean during the globally cool MIS 13 interglacial. UK IODP Annual Meeting 2020 online, 27-28 August, 2020.
• Gomes, S.D.; Fletcher, W.; Stone, A.; Naughton, F. 2020. Vegetation response across deglaciation in southwestern Europe: a role for atmospheric CO2 in driving biome shiftsUK IODP online Annual Meeting 2020, 28/08/2020, https://www.ukiodp.org/uk-iodp-annual-meeting-2020
• M. Alonso-Garcia, T. Rodrigues, E. Salgueiro, M. Padilha, A.I. Lopes, A. Voelker, H. Kuhnert, U. Röhl, F.J. Sierro, J.A. Flores, I. Gil, W. Soares and F. Abrantes. Iberian margin sea surface temperatures indicate a change in glacial North Atlantic circulation during the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene transition. 20th Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), Dublin, Ireland, 25-31 July, 2019.
• Naughton, F., Oliveira, D., Desprat, S., Rodrigues, T., Morales Molino, C.,  Hodell, D., Alonso-Garcia, M., Abrantes, F., Sanchèz-Goñi, M.F. 2019. Climate‐driven vegetation changes during MIS 12 and MIS 16 in southwestern Europe. 20th Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), Dublin July 2019
• Sánchez Goñi, M.F., Desprat, S., Morales del Molino, C., Naughton, F., Oliveira, D., Ferretti, P., Polanco-Martinez, J.M., Rodrigues, T., Alonso-García, M., Rodriguez-Tovar F.J., Dorador, J. 2019. 800,000 years of western Mediterranean vegetation and climate changes: a zooming on the cold MIS 17 interglacial (700 ka). MedPalyno, Bordeaux, France, june 2019

• T. Rodrigues; C. Gonçalves; J.O. Grimalt; F. Abrantes; What does past climate change tell us about global warming?; 42ndCIESM Congress, 7- 11 Outubro, Estoril, Lisboa 2019.
• T. Rodrigues; C. Gonçalves; M. Padilha; D. Oliveira; J.O. Grimalt; F. Abrantes;   Past Interglacials Climate Variability: Features and lessons from “Warm Worlds”; 13th International Conference of Paleoceanography, Sydney (Australia), 2-6 September 2019
• Gomes, S.D., Fletcher, W., Rodrigues, T. , Oliveira, D., Sanchez-Goni, M. F., Abrantes, F., Stone, A., Naughton, F . Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations: the overlooked factor promoting forest development in southwestern Europe across Termination I?. 20th Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), Dublin, Ireland, 25-31 July, 2019
• T. Rodrigues; C. Gonçalves; M. Padilha; M. Alonso-Garcia; D. Oliveira; J.O. Grimalt; F. Abrantes; What can  Past Interglacials Climate and Oceanographic Variability teach us about the ongoing climate warming?; 20th INQUA , 25th and 31st Dublin Ireland, July 2019
• Oliveira D, Desprat S, Naughton F, Rodrigues T, Alonso-García M, Joan O. Grimalt, Abrantes F, Sánchez Goñi MF. Climate change and vegetation dynamics during the lukewarm interglacial MIS 13 in SW Europe. 20th Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), Dublin, Ireland, 25-31 July, 2019.
• Oliveira D, Desprat S, Naughton F, Rodrigues T, Alonso-García M, Joan O. Grimalt, Abrantes F, Sánchez Goñi MF. Climate change and vegetation signature of MIS 13: the perspective from the Iberian margin on MIS 13 as a cool interglacial. MedPalyno 2019, Bordeaux, France,  9-11 July, 2019.
• V. Morenos, M. Alonso-Garcia, E. Salgueiro, C.N. Rodríguez-Díaz, T. Rodrigues, H. Kuhnert, A. Lopes, A.H.L. Voelker, M. Padilha, W. Soares, F.F.G. Abrantes Planktonic foraminifer isotopes record of the Early Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles at the SW Iberian Margin. 4th International Meeting of Early-stage Researchers in Palaeontology (IMERP), Cuenca, Spain, 11-14 June, 2019.
• C.N. Rodríguez-Díaz, A. Lopes, M. Alonso-García, V. Morenos, E. Salgueiro, T. Rodrigues, A.H.L. Voelker, H. Kuhnert, J. Groeneveld, C. Herrero, W. Soares, F. Abrantes. Changes in bottom water conditions at the SW Iberian Margin during the Early Pleistocene based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages. 4th International Meeting of Early-stage Researchers in Palaeontology (IMERP), Cuenca, Spain, 11-14 June, 2019.
• Salgueiro, E., Voelker, A., F. Sierro, D. Hodell, T. Rodrigues, M. Alonso-Garcia, F. Abrantes., 2019. Temperature and Productivity variability on the southwestern Portuguese Margin during the initial phase of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition.  EGU, 7-12 April 2019, Vienna, Austria.
• Gomes, S.D., Fletcher, W., Rodrigues, T. , Oliveira, D., Sanchez-Goni, M. F., Abrantes, F., Stone, A., Naughton, F. Abrupt climate shifts during the last deglaciation in SW Iberia. 2019 QRA ADM, Chester: Environmental Change: pace, magnitude and impact, 3- 5 January 2019.