scholarly journals Astronomical Calibration of the Ypresian Time Scale: Implications for Seafloor Spreading Rates and the Chaotic Behaviour of the Solar System?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Westerhold ◽  
Ursula Röhl ◽  
Thomas Frederichs ◽  
Claudia Agnini ◽  
Isabella Raffi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Early Eocene ◽  
Chaotic Diffusion ◽  
Planetary Orbits ◽  
Hyperthermal Events ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Spreading Rates

Abstract. To fully understand the global climate dynamics of the warm early Eocene with its reoccurring hyperthermal events, an accurate high-fidelity age model is required. The Ypresian Stage (56–47.8 Ma) covers a key interval within the Eocene as it ranges from the warmest marine temperatures in the early Eocene to the long-term cooling trends in the middle Eocene. Despite the recent development of detailed marine isotope records spanning portions of the Ypresian Stage, key records to establish a complete astronomically calibrated age model for the Ypresian are still missing. Here we present new high-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning Iron intensity, bulk stable isotope, calcareous nannofossil, and magnetostratigraphic data generated on core material from ODP Sites 1258 (Leg 207, Demerara Rise), 1262, 1263, 1265 and 1267 (Leg 208, Walvis Ridge) recovered in the Equatorial and South Atlantic Ocean. By combining new data with published records a 405-kyr eccentricity cyclostratigraphic framework was established, revealing a 300–400 kyr long condensed interval for Magnetochron C22n in the Leg 208 succession. Because the amplitudes are dominated by eccentricity, the XRF data help to identify the most suitable orbital solution for astronomical tuning of the Ypresian. Our new records fit best with the La2010b numerical solution for eccentricity, which was used as a target curve for compiling the Ypresian Astronomical Time Scale (YATS). The consistent positions of the very long eccentricity minima in the geological data and the La2010b solution suggest that the macroscopic feature displaying the chaotic diffusion of the planetary orbits, the transition from libration to circulation in the combination of angles in the precession motion of the orbits of Earth and Mars, occurred ~ 52 Ma ago. This is the first geological evidence for the chaotic behaviour of the solar system. Additionally, the new astrochronology and revised magnetostratigraphy provide robust ages and durations for Chrons C21n to C24n (47–54 Ma) revealing a major change in spreading rates in the interval from 51.0–52.5 Ma. Significantly, this major change in spreading rates is synchronous with a global reorganization of the plate-mantle system and the chaotic diffusion of the planetary orbits. Therefore, we hypothesize that changes in the gravitational interaction of the sun and the planets may have affected the dynamic mantle flow of the Earth triggering plate motion reorganisations ~ 52 Ma ago. Finally, the newly provided YATS also includes new absolute ages for bio- and magnetostratigraphic events/reversals and early Eocene hyperthermal events. Our new biomagnetostratigraphically calibrated stable isotope compilation may act as a reference for further paleoclimate studies of the Ypresian which is of special interest because of the outgoing warming and increasingly cooling phase.

scholarly journals Astronomical calibration of the Ypresian timescale: implications for seafloor spreading rates and the chaotic behavior of the solar system?

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1129-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Westerhold ◽  
Ursula Röhl ◽  
Thomas Frederichs ◽  
Claudia Agnini ◽  
Isabella Raffi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Chaotic Behavior ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Early Eocene ◽  
Chaotic Diffusion ◽  
Planetary Orbits ◽  
Hyperthermal Events ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Spreading Rates

Abstract. To fully understand the global climate dynamics of the warm early Eocene with its reoccurring hyperthermal events, an accurate high-fidelity age model is required. The Ypresian stage (56–47.8 Ma) covers a key interval within the Eocene as it ranges from the warmest marine temperatures in the early Eocene to the long-term cooling trends in the middle Eocene. Despite the recent development of detailed marine isotope records spanning portions of the Ypresian stage, key records to establish a complete astronomically calibrated age model for the Ypresian are still missing. Here we present new high-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning iron intensity, bulk stable isotope, calcareous nannofossil, and magnetostratigraphic data generated on core material from ODP Sites 1258 (Leg 207, Demerara Rise), 1262, 1263, 1265, and 1267 (Leg 208, Walvis Ridge) recovered in the equatorial and South Atlantic Ocean. By combining new data with published records, a 405 kyr eccentricity cyclostratigraphic framework was established, revealing a 300–400 kyr long condensed interval for magnetochron C22n in the Leg 208 succession. Because the amplitudes are dominated by eccentricity, the XRF data help to identify the most suitable orbital solution for astronomical tuning of the Ypresian. Our new records fit best with the La2010b numerical solution for eccentricity, which was used as a target curve for compiling the Ypresian astronomical timescale (YATS). The consistent positions of the very long eccentricity minima in the geological data and the La2010b solution suggest that the macroscopic feature displaying the chaotic diffusion of the planetary orbits, the transition from libration to circulation in the combination of angles in the precession motion of the orbits of Earth and Mars, occurred  ∼  52 Ma. This adds to the geological evidence for the chaotic behavior of the solar system. Additionally, the new astrochronology and revised magnetostratigraphy provide robust ages and durations for Chrons C21n to C24n (47–54 Ma), revealing a major change in spreading rates in the interval from 51.0 to 52.5 Ma. This major change in spreading rates is synchronous with a global reorganization of the plate–mantle system and the chaotic diffusion of the planetary orbits. The newly provided YATS also includes new absolute ages for biostratigraphic events, magnetic polarity reversals, and early Eocene hyperthermal events. Our new bio- and magnetostratigraphically calibrated stable isotope compilation may act as a reference for further paleoclimate studies of the Ypresian, which is of special interest because of the outgoing warming and increasingly cooling phase. Finally, our approach of integrating the complex comprehensive data sets unearths some challenges and uncertainties but also validates the high potential of chemostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and biostratigraphy in unprecedented detail being most significant for an accurate chronostratigraphy.

scholarly journals Mapping Solar System chaos with the Geological Orrery

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (22) ◽  
pp. 10664-10673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Olsen ◽  
Jacques Laskar ◽  
Dennis V. Kent ◽  
Sean T. Kinney ◽  
David J. Reynolds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Early Mesozoic ◽  
Planetary Orbits ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Chaotic Nature ◽  
Newark Basin

The Geological Orrery is a network of geological records of orbitally paced climate designed to address the inherent limitations of solutions for planetary orbits beyond 60 million years ago due to the chaotic nature of Solar System motion. We use results from two scientific coring experiments in Early Mesozoic continental strata: the Newark Basin Coring Project and the Colorado Plateau Coring Project. We precisely and accurately resolve the secular fundamental frequencies of precession of perihelion of the inner planets and Jupiter for the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic epochs (223–199 million years ago) using the lacustrine record of orbital pacing tuned only to one frequency (1/405,000 years) as a geological interferometer. Excepting Jupiter’s, these frequencies differ significantly from present values as determined using three independent techniques yielding practically the same results. Estimates for the precession of perihelion of the inner planets are robust, reflecting a zircon U–Pb-based age model and internal checks based on the overdetermined origins of the geologically measured frequencies. Furthermore, although not indicative of a correct solution, one numerical solution closely matches the Geological Orrery, with a very low probability of being due to chance. To determine the secular fundamental frequencies of the precession of the nodes of the planets and the important secular resonances with the precession of perihelion, a contemporaneous high-latitude geological archive recording obliquity pacing of climate is needed. These results form a proof of concept of the Geological Orrery and lay out an empirical framework to map the chaotic evolution of the Solar System.

scholarly journals Triassic–Jurassic climate in continental high-latitude Asia was dominated by obliquity-paced variations (Junggar Basin, Ürümqi, China)

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (12) ◽  
pp. 3624-3629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingeng Sha ◽  
Paul E. Olsen ◽  
Yanhong Pan ◽  
Daoyi Xu ◽  
Yaqiang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Junggar Basin ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Orbital Resonance ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Chaotic Diffusion ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Continental Climate

Empirical constraints on orbital gravitational solutions for the Solar System can be derived from the Earth’s geological record of past climates. Lithologically based paleoclimate data from the thick, coal-bearing, fluvial-lacustrine sequences of the Junggar Basin of Northwestern China (paleolatitude ∼60°) show that climate variability of the warm and glacier-free high latitudes of the latest Triassic–Early Jurassic (∼198–202 Ma) Pangea was strongly paced by obliquity-dominated (∼40 ky) orbital cyclicity, based on an age model using the 405-ky cycle of eccentricity. In contrast, coeval low-latitude continental climate was much more strongly paced by climatic precession, with virtually no hint of obliquity. Although this previously unknown obliquity dominance at high latitude is not necessarily unexpected in a high CO2 world, these data deviate substantially from published orbital solutions in period and amplitude for eccentricity cycles greater than 405 ky, consistent with chaotic diffusion of the Solar System. In contrast, there are indications that the Earth–Mars orbital resonance was in today’s 2-to-1 ratio of eccentricity to inclination. These empirical data underscore the need for temporally comprehensive, highly reliable data, as well as new gravitational solutions fitting those data.

scholarly journals CAN GENERAL RELATIVISTIC DESCRIPTION OF GRAVITATION BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE?

1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 1393-1400 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. V. AHLUWALIA
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Gravitational Potential ◽  
Invariance Properties ◽  
Planetary Orbits ◽  
Galactic Cluster ◽  
General Relativistic ◽  
Relativistic Description ◽  
Flavor Oscillation ◽  
Weak Fields ◽  
Great Attractor

The local galactic cluster, the Great attractor, embeds us in a dimensionless gravitational potential of about -3×10-5. In the solar system, this potential is constant to about 1 part in 1011. Consequently, planetary orbits, which are determined by the gradient in the gravitational potential, remain unaffected. However, this is not so for the recently introduced flavor-oscillation clocks where the new redshift-inducing phases depend on the gravitational potential itself. On these grounds, and by studying the invariance properties of the gravitational phenomenon in the weak fields, we argue that there exists an element of incompleteness in the general relativistic description of gravitation. An incompleteness-establishing inequality is derived and an experiment is outlined to test the thesis presented.

scholarly journals Solar System chaos and the Paleocene–Eocene boundary age constrained by geology and astronomy

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6456) ◽  
pp. 926-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Zeebe ◽  
Lucas J. Lourens
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Resonance Transition ◽  
Fundamental Frequencies ◽  
Thermal Maximum ◽  
Astronomical Time ◽  
Geologic Data

Astronomical calculations reveal the Solar System’s dynamical evolution, including its chaoticity, and represent the backbone of cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology. An absolute, fully calibrated astronomical time scale has hitherto been hampered beyond ~50 million years before the present (Ma) because orbital calculations disagree before that age. Here, we present geologic data and a new astronomical solution (ZB18a) showing exceptional agreement from ~58 to 53 Ma. We provide a new absolute astrochronology up to 58 Ma and a new Paleocene–Eocene boundary age (56.01 ± 0.05 Ma). We show that the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) onset occurred near a 405-thousand-year (kyr) eccentricity maximum, suggesting an orbital trigger. We also provide an independent PETM duration (170 ± 30 kyr) from onset to recovery inflection. Our astronomical solution requires a chaotic resonance transition at ~50 Ma in the Solar System’s fundamental frequencies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document