IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v13y2022i1d10.1038_s41467-022-28814-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Past terrestrial hydroclimate sensitivity controlled by Earth system feedbacks

Author

Listed:
  • Ran Feng

    (University of Connecticut)

  • Tripti Bhattacharya

    (Syracuse University)

  • Bette L. Otto-Bliesner

    (Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research)

  • Esther C. Brady

    (Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research)

  • Alan M. Haywood

    (University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane)

  • Julia C. Tindall

    (University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane)

  • Stephen J. Hunter

    (University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane)

  • Ayako Abe-Ouchi

    (University of Tokyo)

  • Wing-Le Chan

    (University of Tokyo)

  • Masa Kageyama

    (Université Paris-Saclay)

  • Camille Contoux

    (Université Paris-Saclay)

  • Chuncheng Guo

    (NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research)

  • Xiangyu Li

    (China University of Geoscience)

  • Gerrit Lohmann

    (Alfred Wegener Institute-Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
    University of Bremen)

  • Christian Stepanek

    (Alfred Wegener Institute-Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research)

  • Ning Tan

    (Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Qiong Zhang

    (Stockholm University)

  • Zhongshi Zhang

    (China University of Geoscience)

  • Zixuan Han

    (Hohai University)

  • Charles J. R. Williams

    (University of Bristol, University Road)

  • Daniel J. Lunt

    (University of Bristol, University Road)

  • Harry J. Dowsett

    (Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, U. S. Geological Survey)

  • Deepak Chandan

    (University of Toronto)

  • W. Richard Peltier

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Despite tectonic conditions and atmospheric CO2 levels (pCO2) similar to those of present-day, geological reconstructions from the mid-Pliocene (3.3-3.0 Ma) document high lake levels in the Sahel and mesic conditions in subtropical Eurasia, suggesting drastic reorganizations of subtropical terrestrial hydroclimate during this interval. Here, using a compilation of proxy data and multi-model paleoclimate simulations, we show that the mid-Pliocene hydroclimate state is not driven by direct CO2 radiative forcing but by a loss of northern high-latitude ice sheets and continental greening. These ice sheet and vegetation changes are long-term Earth system feedbacks to elevated pCO2. Further, the moist conditions in the Sahel and subtropical Eurasia during the mid-Pliocene are a product of enhanced tropospheric humidity and a stationary wave response to the surface warming pattern, which varies strongly with land cover changes. These findings highlight the potential for amplified terrestrial hydroclimate responses over long timescales to a sustained CO2 forcing.

Suggested Citation

  • Ran Feng & Tripti Bhattacharya & Bette L. Otto-Bliesner & Esther C. Brady & Alan M. Haywood & Julia C. Tindall & Stephen J. Hunter & Ayako Abe-Ouchi & Wing-Le Chan & Masa Kageyama & Camille Contoux & , 2022. "Past terrestrial hydroclimate sensitivity controlled by Earth system feedbacks," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28814-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28814-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28814-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-022-28814-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michela Biasutti, 2019. "Rainfall trends in the African Sahel: Characteristics, processes, and causes," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), July.
    2. A. V. Fedorov & C. M. Brierley & K. T. Lawrence & Z. Liu & P. S. Dekens & A. C. Ravelo, 2013. "Patterns and mechanisms of early Pliocene warmth," Nature, Nature, vol. 496(7443), pages 43-49, April.
    3. Tapio Schneider & Tobias Bischoff & Gerald H. Haug, 2014. "Migrations and dynamics of the intertropical convergence zone," Nature, Nature, vol. 513(7516), pages 45-53, September.
    4. Hanlin Wang & Huayu Lu & Lin Zhao & Hongyan Zhang & Fang Lei & Yichao Wang, 2019. "Asian monsoon rainfall variation during the Pliocene forced by global temperature change," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    5. Jie He & Brian J. Soden, 2017. "A re-examination of the projected subtropical precipitation decline," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 53-57, January.
    6. Alan M. Haywood & Harry J. Dowsett & Aisling M. Dolan, 2016. "Integrating geological archives and climate models for the mid-Pliocene warm period," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Alexis Berg & Kirsten Findell & Benjamin Lintner & Alessandra Giannini & Sonia I. Seneviratne & Bart van den Hurk & Ruth Lorenz & Andy Pitman & Stefan Hagemann & Arndt Meier & Frédérique Cheruy & Agnè, 2016. "Land–atmosphere feedbacks amplify aridity increase over land under global warming," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(9), pages 869-874, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Victor A. Piedrahita & Andrew P. Roberts & Eelco J. Rohling & David Heslop & Xiang Zhao & Simone Galeotti & Fabio Florindo & Katharine M. Grant & Pengxiang Hu & Jinhua Li, 2024. "Dry hydroclimates in the late Palaeocene-early Eocene hothouse world," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Feng Cheng & Carmala Garzione & Xiangzhong Li & Ulrich Salzmann & Florian Schwarz & Alan M. Haywood & Julia Tindall & Junsheng Nie & Lin Li & Lin Wang & Benjamin W. Abbott & Ben Elliott & Weiguo Liu &, 2022. "Alpine permafrost could account for a quarter of thawed carbon based on Plio-Pleistocene paleoclimate analogue," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. G. Burch Fisher & Lisa V. Luna & William H. Amidon & Douglas W. Burbank & Bas Boer & Lennert B. Stap & Bodo Bookhagen & Vincent Godard & Michael E. Oskin & Ricardo N. Alonso & Erik Tuenter & Lucas J. , 2023. "Milankovitch-paced erosion in the southern Central Andes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Hong Ao & Eelco J. Rohling & Ran Zhang & Andrew P. Roberts & Ann E. Holbourn & Jean-Baptiste Ladant & Guillaume Dupont-Nivet & Wolfgang Kuhnt & Peng Zhang & Feng Wu & Mark J. Dekkers & Qingsong Liu & , 2021. "Global warming-induced Asian hydrological climate transition across the Miocene–Pliocene boundary," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Antoine Leblois, 2021. "Mitigating the impact of bad rainy seasons in poor agricultural regions to tackle deforestation," Post-Print hal-03111007, HAL.
    5. Ibrahim Sufiyan, 2020. "Rainfall Trend And It Impact In Keffi Nasarawa State," Engineering Heritage Journal (GWK), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 4(1), pages 23-26, June.
    6. Xiaoting Sun & Qinghua Ding & Shih-Yu Simon Wang & Dániel Topál & Qingquan Li & Christopher Castro & Haiyan Teng & Rui Luo & Yihui Ding, 2022. "Enhanced jet stream waviness induced by suppressed tropical Pacific convection during boreal summer," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Traore, Seydou & Zhang, Lei & Guven, Aytac & Fipps, Guy, 2020. "Rice yield response forecasting tool (YIELDCAST) for supporting climate change adaptation decision in Sahel," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    8. Renata Retkute & William Thurston & Christopher A. Gilligan, 2024. "Bayesian Inference for Multiple Datasets," Stats, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-11, May.
    9. Mohammed Achite & Gokmen Ceribasi & Ahmet Iyad Ceyhunlu & Andrzej Wałęga & Tommaso Caloiero, 2021. "The Innovative Polygon Trend Analysis (IPTA) as a Simple Qualitative Method to Detect Changes in Environment—Example Detecting Trends of the Total Monthly Precipitation in Semiarid Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    10. Humberto Millán & Idalberto Macías & Jakeline Rabelo-Lima, 2022. "Hurst scaling with crossover of a drought indicator: a case study in Belem and Manaus, Brazil," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 110(1), pages 69-93, January.
    11. Jian Cao & Haikun Zhao & Bin Wang & Liguang Wu, 2021. "Hemisphere-asymmetric tropical cyclones response to anthropogenic aerosol forcing," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    12. Aissatou Ndiaye & Mounkaila Saley Moussa & Cheikh Dione & Windmanagda Sawadogo & Jan Bliefernicht & Laouali Dungall & Harald Kunstmann, 2022. "Projected Changes in Solar PV and Wind Energy Potential over West Africa: An Analysis of CORDEX-CORE Simulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Stafford, Madison J. & Holländer, Hartmut M. & Dow, Karen, 2022. "Estimating groundwater recharge in the assiniboine delta aquifer using HYDRUS-1D," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    14. Gan Zhang, 2023. "Warming-induced contraction of tropical convection delays and reduces tropical cyclone formation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Xiangzhong Luo & Haoran Zhou & Tin W. Satriawan & Jiaqi Tian & Ruiying Zhao & Trevor F. Keenan & Daniel M. Griffith & Stephen Sitch & Nicholas G. Smith & Christopher J. Still, 2024. "Mapping the global distribution of C4 vegetation using observations and optimality theory," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    16. Edward Armstrong & Miikka Tallavaara & Peter O. Hopcroft & Paul J. Valdes, 2023. "North African humid periods over the past 800,000 years," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    17. Alessandra Giannini & Alexey Kaplan, 2019. "The role of aerosols and greenhouse gases in Sahel drought and recovery," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 449-466, March.
    18. Sahil Sharma & Kyung-Ja Ha & Ryohei Yamaguchi & Keith B. Rodgers & Axel Timmermann & Eui-Seok Chung, 2023. "Future Indian Ocean warming patterns," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    19. Raphael Portmann & Urs Beyerle & Edouard Davin & Erich M. Fischer & Steven Hertog & Sebastian Schemm, 2022. "Global forestation and deforestation affect remote climate via adjusted atmosphere and ocean circulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    20. Stewart S. R. Jamieson & Neil Ross & Guy J. G. Paxman & Fiona J. Clubb & Duncan A. Young & Shuai Yan & Jamin Greenbaum & Donald D. Blankenship & Martin J. Siegert, 2023. "An ancient river landscape preserved beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-28814-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.