Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling
Abstract Late Miocene climate evolution provides an opportunity to assess Earth’s climate sensitivity to carbon cycle perturbation under warmer-than-modern conditions. Despite its relevance for understanding the climate system, the driving mechanisms underlying profound climate and carbon cycle chan...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56477-7 |
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| author | Yi Zhong Zhiguo Li Xuefa Shi Terry Isson Jimin Yu Sev Kender Zhou Liang George E. A. Swann Alex Pullen Michael E. Weber Jinlong Du Juan C. Larrasoaña Jingyu Zhang Yafang Song F. J. González Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr Hai Li Qi Zhang Debo Zhao Wei Cao Mingyu Zhao Qingsong Liu |
| author_facet | Yi Zhong Zhiguo Li Xuefa Shi Terry Isson Jimin Yu Sev Kender Zhou Liang George E. A. Swann Alex Pullen Michael E. Weber Jinlong Du Juan C. Larrasoaña Jingyu Zhang Yafang Song F. J. González Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr Hai Li Qi Zhang Debo Zhao Wei Cao Mingyu Zhao Qingsong Liu |
| author_sort | Yi Zhong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Late Miocene climate evolution provides an opportunity to assess Earth’s climate sensitivity to carbon cycle perturbation under warmer-than-modern conditions. Despite its relevance for understanding the climate system, the driving mechanisms underlying profound climate and carbon cycle changes – including the enigmatic Late Miocene cooling from 7 to 5.4 million years ago – remain unclear. Here, we present magnetic and geochemical paleoceanographic proxies from a hydrogenetic ferromanganese crust retrieved in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Our results indicate a striking 50% surge in deep ocean phosphorus concentrations occurred 7 – 4 million years ago, synchronous with enhanced deep ocean oxygen consumption. Employing a global biogeochemical model, we show that increased continental phosphorus weathering, without a concurrent rise in silicate weathering, contributed to the decline in atmospheric CO2 and associated cooling over the Late Miocene. This suggests a prominent decoupling of phosphorus and silicate weathering during a major carbon cycling event over the last 10 million years. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f8c7201e182e4d7dbc3d7ce239622b12 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-f8c7201e182e4d7dbc3d7ce239622b122025-02-02T12:33:19ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-56477-7Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene coolingYi Zhong0Zhiguo Li1Xuefa Shi2Terry Isson3Jimin Yu4Sev Kender5Zhou Liang6George E. A. Swann7Alex Pullen8Michael E. Weber9Jinlong Du10Juan C. Larrasoaña11Jingyu Zhang12Yafang Song13F. J. González14Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr15Hai Li16Qi Zhang17Debo Zhao18Wei Cao19Mingyu Zhao20Qingsong Liu21Centre for Marine Magnetism (CM2), Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Earth Sciences, China University of GeosciencesKey Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic AdministrationTe Aka Mātuatua, University of Waikato (Tauranga), BOPLaoshan LaboratoryCamborne School of Mines, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of ExeterDepartment of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State UniversitySchool of Geography, University of NottinghamDepartment of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson UniversityInstitute for Geosciences, Department of Geochemistry and Petrology, University of BonnState Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji UniversityDepartment of Science, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus de ArrosadiaCentre for Marine Magnetism (CM2), Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and TechnologyChinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of ChinaGeological Survey of Spain (IGME), Rios Rosas 23Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität BerlinSouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)School of Geophysics and Information Technology, China University of GeosciencesKey Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCentre for Marine Magnetism (CM2), Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and TechnologyState Key Laboratory of Lithospheric and Environmental Coevolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of SciencesCentre for Marine Magnetism (CM2), Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and TechnologyAbstract Late Miocene climate evolution provides an opportunity to assess Earth’s climate sensitivity to carbon cycle perturbation under warmer-than-modern conditions. Despite its relevance for understanding the climate system, the driving mechanisms underlying profound climate and carbon cycle changes – including the enigmatic Late Miocene cooling from 7 to 5.4 million years ago – remain unclear. Here, we present magnetic and geochemical paleoceanographic proxies from a hydrogenetic ferromanganese crust retrieved in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Our results indicate a striking 50% surge in deep ocean phosphorus concentrations occurred 7 – 4 million years ago, synchronous with enhanced deep ocean oxygen consumption. Employing a global biogeochemical model, we show that increased continental phosphorus weathering, without a concurrent rise in silicate weathering, contributed to the decline in atmospheric CO2 and associated cooling over the Late Miocene. This suggests a prominent decoupling of phosphorus and silicate weathering during a major carbon cycling event over the last 10 million years.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56477-7 |
| spellingShingle | Yi Zhong Zhiguo Li Xuefa Shi Terry Isson Jimin Yu Sev Kender Zhou Liang George E. A. Swann Alex Pullen Michael E. Weber Jinlong Du Juan C. Larrasoaña Jingyu Zhang Yafang Song F. J. González Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr Hai Li Qi Zhang Debo Zhao Wei Cao Mingyu Zhao Qingsong Liu Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling Nature Communications |
| title | Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling |
| title_full | Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling |
| title_fullStr | Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling |
| title_short | Enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to Late Miocene cooling |
| title_sort | enhanced phosphorus weathering contributed to late miocene cooling |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56477-7 |
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