The key role of global solid-Earth processes in preconditioning Greenland's glaciation since the Pliocene

After >500Ma of absence, major Northern Hemisphere glaciations appeared during the Plio-Pleistocene, with Greenland leading other northern areas. Here, we propose that three major solid-Earth processes underpinned build-up of the Greenland ice-sheet. First, a mantle-plume pulse, responsible for the North Atlantic Igneous Province at similar to 60Ma, regionally thinned the lithosphere. Younger plume pulses led to uplift, which accelerated at similar to 5Ma, lifting the parts of the East Greenland margin closest to Iceland to elevations of more than 3km above sea level. Second, plate-tectonic reconstruction shows a similar to 6 degrees northward component of Greenland motion relative to the mantle since similar to 60Ma. Third, a concurrent northward rotation of the entire mantle and crust towards the pole, dubbed True Polar Wander (TPW), contributed an additional similar to 12 degrees change in latitude. These global geodynamic processes preconditioned Greenland to sustain long-term glaciation, emphasizing the role of solid-Earth processes in driving long-term global climatic transitions.