The Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Arctic Ocean Climate and Sea Ice History: A Challenge for Past and Future Scientific Ocean Drilling

Abstract

Over the past 3–4 decades, coincident with global warming and atmospheric CO2 increase, Arctic sea ice has significantly decreased in its extent as well as in thickness. When extrapolating this alarming trend, the central Arctic Ocean might become ice-free during summers within about the next 2–5 decades. Paleoclimate records allow us to better understand the processes controlling modern climate change and distinguish between natural and anthropogenic forcing. In this context, detailed studies of the earlier Earth history characterized by a much warmer global climate with elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations are important. The main focus of this review paper is the long-term late Mesozoic-Cenozoic Arctic Ocean climate history from Greenhouse to Icehouse conditions, with special emphasis on Arctic sea ice history. Starting with some information on the Cretaceous Arctic Ocean climate, this paper will concentrate on selected results from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 302 (Arctic Ocean Coring Expedition (ACEX)), the first scientific drilling in the permanently ice-covered Arctic Ocean, dealing with the Cenozoic climate history. While these results from ACEX were unprecedented, key questions related to the Cenozoic Arctic climate history remain unanswered, largely due to the major mid-Cenozoic hiatus (if existing) and partly to the poor recovery of the ACEX record. Following-up ACEX and its cutting-edge science, a second scientific drilling on Lomonosov Ridge with a focus on the reconstruction of the continuous and complete Cenozoic Arctic Ocean climate history has currently been proposed and scheduled as IODP Expedition 377 for 2021.