Sea-ice response to climate change in the Bering Sea during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition

Sea-ice is believed to be an important control on climatic changes through the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT; 0.6-1.2 Ma). However, the low resolution/short timescale of existing reconstructions prevents a full evaluation of these dynamics. Here, diatom assemblages from the Bering Sea are used to investigate sea-ice evolution on millennial timescales. We find that sea-ice was primarily controlled by ice-sheet/sea level fluctuations that modulated warm water flow into the Bering Sea. Facilitated by an amplified Walker circulation, sea-ice expansion began at similar to 1.05 Ma with a step-increase during the 900 kyr event. Maximal pack ice was simultaneous with glacial maxima, suggesting sea-ice was responding to, rather than modulating ice-sheet dynamics, as proposed by the sea-ice switch hypothesis. Significant pack ice, coupled with Bering Strait closure at 0.9 Ma, indicates that brine rejection played an integral role in the glacial expansion/deglacial collapse of intermediate waters during the MPT, regulating subarctic ocean-atmospheric exchanges of CO2. Crown Copyright (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

Sea-ice has been an important factor in climate change over millions of years, and a study of diatom assemblages in the Bering Sea reveals the significance of ice-sheet and sea-level fluctuations in controlling sea-ice evolution. The research also shows that sea-ice expansion is primarily influenced by the amplified Walker circulation and coincides with glacial maxima.