The potential role of Arctic seaway expansion in driving the Mid-Pleistocene Transition
Abstract
The Mid-Pleistocene Transition between ~ 1.25 and 0.7 million years ago is a critical interval in Quaternary climate history, marked by a shift in glacial-interglacial cyclicity from ~ 41,000 to ~ 100,000 years, yet its cause remains debated. Here we present authigenic neodymium isotope records from marine sediments to reconstruct past changes in Arctic Ocean circulation during this period. Our results indicate a notable increase in Arctic-Atlantic exchange across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, likely driven by the opening of the Barents Seaway following extensive glacial erosion. We propose that increased Arctic-Atlantic connectivity at that time contributed to the reorganization of global ocean circulation, enhancing deep-ocean carbon storage and increasing moisture supply to Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. These changes likely accounted for the long-term decline in glacial pCO2 levels and wetter conditions in surrounding Arctic regions, allowing ice sheets to persist through insolation maxima and ultimately establishing the 100,000-year glacial cyclicity. The opening of the Barents Seaway intensified Arctic-Atlantic exchange, triggering ocean-circulation changes that enabled long-lasting ice sheets and the shift to 100,000-year glacial cycles, according to neodymium isotope analyses of Arctic sediments.
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BibTeX
@article{jang2026potential,
title = {{The potential role of Arctic seaway expansion in driving the Mid-Pleistocene Transition}},
author = {Kwangchul Jang and Germain Bayon and Yeongcheol Han and Young Jin Joe and Sang-Yoon Jun and Yeong Ju Son and Jens Matthiessen and Matt O’regan and Christoph Vogt and Ruediger Stein and Tatsuhiko Sakamoto and Eunji Byun and Kyung Sik Woo and Seung-Il Nam},
journal = {Communications Earth \& Environment},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1038/s43247-026-03570-4},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05854041v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The potential role of Arctic seaway expansion in driving the Mid-Pleistocene Transition
AU - Kwangchul Jang
AU - Germain Bayon
AU - Yeongcheol Han
AU - Young Jin Joe
AU - Sang-Yoon Jun
AU - Yeong Ju Son
AU - Jens Matthiessen
AU - Matt O’regan
AU - Christoph Vogt
AU - Ruediger Stein
AU - Tatsuhiko Sakamoto
AU - Eunji Byun
AU - Kyung Sik Woo
AU - Seung-Il Nam
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Communications Earth & Environment
DO - 10.1038/s43247-026-03570-4
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05854041v1
AB - The Mid-Pleistocene Transition between ~ 1.25 and 0.7 million years ago is a critical interval in Quaternary climate history, marked by a shift in glacial-interglacial cyclicity from ~ 41,000 to ~ 100,000 years, yet its cause remains debated. Here we present authigenic neodymium isotope records from marine sediments to reconstruct past changes in Arctic Ocean circulation during this period. Our results indicate a notable increase in Arctic-Atlantic exchange across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, likely driven by the opening of the Barents Seaway following extensive glacial erosion. We propose that increased Arctic-Atlantic connectivity at that time contributed to the reorganization of global ocean circulation, enhancing deep-ocean carbon storage and increasing moisture supply to Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. These changes likely accounted for the long-term decline in glacial pCO2 levels and wetter conditions in surrounding Arctic regions, allowing ice sheets to persist through insolation maxima and ultimately establishing the 100,000-year glacial cyclicity. The opening of the Barents Seaway intensified Arctic-Atlantic exchange, triggering ocean-circulation changes that enabled long-lasting ice sheets and the shift to 100,000-year glacial cycles, according to neodymium isotope analyses of Arctic sediments.
SN - 2662-4435
ER -