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Reconstruction of Patagonia’s glacial history informs key global climate drivers

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The causes of symmetrical changes in climate between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere are poorly understood. A geological reconstruction of Patagonian glacial extent reveals that changes in Pacific-wide atmospheric circulation (linked to variations in Earth’s orbit and teleconnections between hemispheres) may have led to nearly synchronous global ice sheet evolution.

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Fig. 1: The relationship between Patagonian Ice Sheet extent and global mean climate.

References

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This is a summary of: Sproson, A. D. et al. Near-synchronous Northern Hemisphere and Patagonian Ice Sheet variation over the last glacial cycle. Nat. Geosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01436-y (2024).

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Reconstruction of Patagonia’s glacial history informs key global climate drivers. Nat. Geosci. 17, 381–382 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01437-x

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