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Paleoclimatology (thesaurus)

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Upper Pliocene  

Definition

  • The Upper Pliocene is a sub-epoch of the Pliocene Epoch, which lasted from 3.600 Ma (million years ago) to 2.588 Ma. The northern hemisphere ice sheet was ephemeral before the onset of extensive glaciation over Greenland that occurred in the late Pliocene around 3 Ma. The formation of an Arctic ice cap is signaled by an abrupt shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean beds. Mid-latitude glaciation was probably underway before the end of the epoch. The global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas. (Adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliocene)

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-1FKLZ7XB-7

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