Researchers report that a proxy-based reconstruction of sea surface temperatures in the Oligocene, 33.9-23.0 million years ago, combined with climate modeling suggests a warm global climate in the presence of relatively low atmospheric CO2 and a highly dynamic Antarctic ice sheet; the findings defy simple explanations for the maintenance of greenhouse climates in the past and fill in an unknown chapter in Earth's surface temperature history, according to the authors.
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Article #20-03914: "The enigma of Oligocene climate and global surface temperature evolution," by Charlotte L. O'Brien et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Charlotte L. O'Brien, University College London, UNITED KINGDOM; e-mail: < c.l.obrien@ucl.ac.uk >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences