scholarly journals First monk seal from the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of true seals

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20202318
Author(s):  
James P. Rule ◽  
Justin W. Adams ◽  
Felix G. Marx ◽  
Alistair R. Evans ◽  
Alan J. D. Tennyson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Major Change ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Monk Seals

Living true seals (phocids) are the most widely dispersed semi-aquatic marine mammals, and comprise geographically separate northern (phocine) and southern (monachine) groups. Both are thought to have evolved in the North Atlantic, with only two monachine lineages—elephant seals and lobodontins—subsequently crossing the equator. The third and most basal monachine tribe, the monk seals, have hitherto been interpreted as exclusively northern and (sub)tropical throughout their entire history. Here, we describe a new species of extinct monk seal from the Pliocene of New Zealand, the first of its kind from the Southern Hemisphere, based on one of the best-preserved and richest samples of seal fossils worldwide. This unanticipated discovery reveals that all three monachine tribes once coexisted south of the equator, and forces a profound revision of their evolutionary history: rather than primarily diversifying in the North Atlantic, monachines largely evolved in the Southern Hemisphere, and from this southern cradle later reinvaded the north. Our results suggest that true seals crossed the equator over eight times in their history. Overall, they more than double the age of the north–south dichotomy characterizing living true seals and confirms a surprisingly recent major change in southern phocid diversity.

The Metasomatized Mantle beneath the North Atlantic Craton: Insights from Peridotite Xenoliths of the Chidliak Kimberlite Province (NE Canada)

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 1991-2024 ◽  
Author(s):  
M G Kopylova ◽  
E Tso ◽  
F Ma ◽  
J Liu ◽  
D G Pearson
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Mantle Metasomatism ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Rock Types ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Craton

Abstract We studied the petrography, mineralogy, thermobarometry and whole-rock chemistry of 120 peridotite and pyroxenite xenoliths collected from the 156–138 Ma Chidliak kimberlite province (Southern Baffin Island). Xenoliths from pipes CH-1, -6, -7 and -44 are divided into two garnet-bearing series, dunites–harzburgites–lherzolites and wehrlites–olivine pyroxenites. Both series show widely varying textures, from coarse to sheared, and textures of late formation of garnet and clinopyroxene. Some samples from the lherzolite series may contain spinel, whereas wehrlites may contain ilmenite. In CH-6, rare coarse samples of the lherzolite and wehrlite series were derived from P = 2·8 to 5·6 GPa, whereas predominant sheared and coarse samples of the lherzolite series coexist at P = 5·6–7·5 GPa. Kimberlites CH-1, -7, -44 sample mainly the deeper mantle, at P = 5·0–7·5 GPa, represented by coarse and sheared lherzolite and wehrlite series. The bulk of the pressure–temperature arrays defines a thermal state compatible with 35–39 mW m–2 surface heat flow, but a significant thermal disequilibrium was evident in the large isobaric thermal scatter, especially at depth, and in the low thermal gradients uncharacteristic of conduction. The whole-rock Si and Mg contents of the Chidliak xenoliths and their mineral chemistry reflect initial high levels of melt depletion typical of cratonic mantle and subsequent refertilization in Ca and Al. Unlike the more orthopyroxene-rich mantle of many other cratons, the Chidliak mantle is rich (∼83 vol%) in forsteritic olivine. We assign this to silicate–carbonate metasomatism, which triggered wehrlitization of the mantle. The Chidliak mantle resembles the Greenlandic part of the North Atlantic Craton, suggesting the former contiguous nature of their lithosphere before subsequent rifting into separate continental fragments. Another, more recent type of mantle metasomatism, which affected the Chidliak mantle, is characterized by elevated Ti in pyroxenes and garnet typical of all rock types from CH-1, -7 and -44. These metasomatic samples are largely absent from the CH-6 xenolith suite. The Ti imprint is most intense in xenoliths derived from depths equivalent to 5·5–6·5 GPa where it is associated with higher strain, the presence of sheared samples of the lherzolite series and higher temperatures varying isobarically by up to 200 °C. The horizontal scale of the thermal-metasomatic imprint is more ambiguous and could be as regional as tens of kilometers or as local as <1 km. The time-scale of this metasomatism relates to a conductive length-scale and could be as short as <1 Myr, shortly predating kimberlite formation. A complex protracted metasomatic history of the North Atlantic Craton reconstructed from Chidliak xenoliths matches emplacement patterns of deep CO2-rich and Ti-rich magmatism around the Labrador Sea prior to the craton rifting. The metasomatism may have played a pivotal role in thinning the North Atlantic Craton lithosphere adjacent to the Labrador Sea from ∼240 km in the Jurassic to ∼65 km in the Paleogene.

scholarly journals Change in the North Atlantic circulation associated with the mid-Pleistocene transition

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1639-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria M. Martin-Garcia ◽  
Francisco J. Sierro ◽  
José A. Flores ◽  
Fátima Abrantes
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Water Masses ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
North Atlantic Current ◽  
The North ◽  
Oceanic Fronts ◽  
Surface Circulation ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. The southwestern Iberian margin is highly sensitive to changes in the distribution of North Atlantic currents and to the position of oceanic fronts. In this work, the evolution of oceanographic parameters from 812 to 530 ka (MIS20–MIS14) is studied based on the analysis of planktonic foraminifer assemblages from site IODP-U1385 (37∘34.285′ N, 10∘7.562′ W; 2585 m b.s.l.). By comparing the obtained results with published records from other North Atlantic sites between 41 and 55∘ N, basin-wide paleoceanographic conditions are reconstructed. Variations of assemblages dwelling in different water masses indicate a major change in the general North Atlantic circulation during MIS16, coinciding with the definite establishment of the 100 ky cyclicity associated with the mid-Pleistocene transition. At the surface, this change consisted in the redistribution of water masses, with the subsequent thermal variation, and occurred linked to the northwestward migration of the Arctic Front (AF), and the increase in the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation with respect to previous glacials. During glacials prior to MIS16, the NADW formation was very weak, which drastically slowed down the surface circulation; the AF was at a southerly position and the North Atlantic Current (NAC) diverted southeastwards, developing steep south–north, and east–west, thermal gradients and blocking the arrival of warm water, with associated moisture, to high latitudes. During MIS16, the increase in the meridional overturning circulation, in combination with the northwestward AF shift, allowed the arrival of the NAC to subpolar latitudes, multiplying the moisture availability for ice-sheet growth, which could have worked as a positive feedback to prolong the glacials towards 100 ky cycles.

Evidence for a Rapid Global Climate Shift across the Late 1960s

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2721-2744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Baines ◽  
Chris K. Folland
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Atlantic Sector ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
African Sahel

Abstract It is shown that a number of important characteristics of the global atmospheric circulation and climate changed in a near-monotonic fashion over the decade, or less, centered on the late 1960s. These changes were largest or commonest in tropical regions, the Southern Hemisphere, and the Atlantic sector of the Northern Hemisphere. Some, such as the decrease in rainfall in the African Sahel, are well known. Others appear to be new, but their combined extent is global and dynamical linkages between them are evident. The list of affected variables includes patterns of SST; tropical rainfall in the African Sahel and Sudan, the Amazon basin, and northeast Brazil; pressure and SST in the tropical North Atlantic and the west and central Pacific; various branches of the southern Hadley circulation and the southern subtropical jet stream; the summer North Atlantic Oscillation; south Greenland temperature; the Southern Hemisphere storm track; and, quite likely, the Antarctic sea ice boundary. These changes are often strongest in the June–August season; changes are also seen in December–February but are generally smaller. In Greenland, annual mean temperature seems to be affected strongly, reflecting similar changes in SST throughout the year in the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. Possible causes for these coordinated changes are briefly evaluated. The most likely candidates appear to be a likely reduction in the northward oceanic heat flux associated with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation in the 1950s to 1970s, which was nearly in phase with a rapid increase in anthropogenic aerosol emissions during the 1950s and 1960s, particularly over Europe and North America.

Climate Response to External Sources of Freshwater: North Atlantic versus the Southern Ocean

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald J. Stouffer ◽  
Dan Seidov ◽  
Bernd J. Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Real World ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract The response of an atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) to perturbations of freshwater fluxes across the sea surface in the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean is investigated. The purpose of this study is to investigate aspects of the so-called bipolar seesaw where one hemisphere warms and the other cools and vice versa due to changes in the ocean meridional overturning. The experimental design is idealized where 1 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of freshwater is added to the ocean surface for 100 model years and then removed. In one case, the freshwater perturbation is located in the Atlantic Ocean from 50° to 70°N. In the second case, it is located south of 60°S in the Southern Ocean. In the case where the North Atlantic surface waters are freshened, the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and associated northward oceanic heat transport weaken. In the Antarctic surface freshening case, the Atlantic THC is mainly unchanged with a slight weakening toward the end of the integration. This weakening is associated with the spreading of the fresh sea surface anomaly from the Southern Ocean into the rest of the World Ocean. There are two mechanisms that may be responsible for such weakening of the Atlantic THC. First is that the sea surface salinity (SSS) contrast between the North Atlantic and North Pacific is reduced. And, second, when freshwater from the Southern Ocean reaches the high latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean, it hinders the sinking of the surface waters, leading to the weakening of the THC. The spreading of the fresh SSS anomaly from the Southern Ocean into the surface waters worldwide was not seen in earlier experiments. Given the geography and climatology of the Southern Hemisphere where the climatological surface winds push the surface waters northward away from the Antarctic continent, it seems likely that the spreading of the fresh surface water anomaly could occur in the real world. A remarkable symmetry between the two freshwater perturbation experiments in the surface air temperature (SAT) response can be seen. In both cases, the hemisphere with the freshwater perturbation cools, while the opposite hemisphere warms slightly. In the zonally averaged SAT figures, both the magnitude and the pattern of the anomalies look similar between the two cases. The oceanic response, on the other hand, is very different for the two freshwater cases, as noted above for the spreading of the SSS anomaly and the associated THC response. If the differences between the atmospheric and oceanic responses apply to the real world, then the interpretation of paleodata may need to be revisited. To arrive at a correct interpretation, it matters whether or not the evidence is mainly of atmospheric or oceanic origin. Also, given the sensitivity of the results to the exact details of the freshwater perturbation locations, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, a more realistic scenario must be constructed to explore these questions.

scholarly journals Timing and structure of the Younger Dryas event and its underlying climate dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (38) ◽  
pp. 23408-23417
Author(s):  
Hai Cheng ◽  
Haiwei Zhang ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
Jonathan Baker ◽  
Ashish Sinha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Asian Monsoon ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Last Glacial

The Younger Dryas (YD), arguably the most widely studied millennial-scale extreme climate event, was characterized by diverse hydroclimate shifts globally and severe cooling at high northern latitudes that abruptly punctuated the warming trend from the last glacial to the present interglacial. To date, a precise understanding of its trigger, propagation, and termination remains elusive. Here, we present speleothem oxygen-isotope data that, in concert with other proxy records, allow us to quantify the timing of the YD onset and termination at an unprecedented subcentennial temporal precision across the North Atlantic, Asian Monsoon-Westerlies, and South American Monsoon regions. Our analysis suggests that the onsets of YD in the North Atlantic (12,870 ± 30 B.P.) and the Asian Monsoon-Westerlies region are essentially synchronous within a few decades and lead the onset in Antarctica, implying a north-to-south climate signal propagation via both atmospheric (decadal-time scale) and oceanic (centennial-time scale) processes, similar to the Dansgaard–Oeschger events during the last glacial period. In contrast, the YD termination may have started first in Antarctica at ∼11,900 B.P., or perhaps even earlier in the western tropical Pacific, followed by the North Atlantic between ∼11,700 ± 40 and 11,610 ± 40 B.P. These observations suggest that the initial YD termination might have originated in the Southern Hemisphere and/or the tropical Pacific, indicating a Southern Hemisphere/tropics to North Atlantic–Asian Monsoon-Westerlies directionality of climatic recovery.

A connected history of political economy in Asia and Europe, ca 1750–1914

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Alessandro Stanziani
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
History Of Political Economy ◽  
Political Economic

The history of political-economic thought has been built up over the centuries with a uniform focus on European and North American thinkers. Intellectuals beyond the North Atlantic have been largely understood as the passive recipients of already formed economic categories and arguments. This view has often been accepted not only by scholars and observers in Europe but also in many other places such as Russia, India, China, Japan, and the Ottoman Empire. In this regard, the articles included in this collection explicitly differentiate from this diffusionist approach (“born in Western Europe, then flowed everywhere else”).

Second reply to the comment by Romero and Kannada on “Genetic analysis of 16th-century whale bones prompts a revision of the impact of Basque whaling on right and bowhead whales in the western North Atlantic”Appears in Can. J. Zool. 84(7): 1059–1065.

2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff W. Higdon
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Bowhead Whales ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

The comments by A. Romero and S. Kannada (2006. Can. J. Zool. 84: 1059–1065) provide a brief summary of North Atlantic whaling history as a critique of T. Rastogi et al. (2004. Can. J. Zool. 82: 1647–1654) . However, they fall far short of providing an accurate review of whaling history in this region. The authors present a number of factual errors, misuse several key sources, and make significant omissions, ultimately defeating the purpose of providing information to biologists, managers, and historians. In this comment I highlight the mistakes in their representation of the history of North Atlantic whaling for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758). There are unacceptable errors for most nations covered, and for American whaling in particular. The authors assert that over 30 000 bowhead whales were landed by Yankee whalers in the North Atlantic when the vast majority were in fact taken on the Pacific grounds. Although a summary of whaling history is an admirable goal and of potential value, it is unfortunate that the authors missed such an opportunity by failing to adequately research this topic, failing to include important citations, and by including sources that do not provide the information indicated. Providing a whaling summary with such errors and omissions only adds further confusion to an already confusing theme.

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