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Mechanisms responsible for the initiation of major glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere at about 2.75 million years ago are poorly understood. A laminated terrestrial sequence from Pula maar, Hungary, containing about 320,000 years in annual layers between 3.05 and 2. 60 million years ago, provides a detailed record of rates of climatic change across this dramatic transition. An analysis of the record implies that climatic variations at sub-Milankovitch frequencies (less than or equal to 15,000 years) were an important driving force during this transitional interval and that, as the threshold was approached, these increased in frequency and amplitude, possibly providing the final trigger for the amplification of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Original publication

DOI

10.1126/science.285.5427.568

Type

Journal article

Journal

Science

Publication Date

23/07/1999

Volume

285

Pages

568 - 571