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Middle Pliocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction: PRISM2

Entry ID: USGS_OF99-535

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Summary

Abstract: As part of the USGS Global Change Research effort, the PRISM (Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping) Project has documented the characteristics of middle Pliocene climate on a global scale. The middle Pliocene was selected for detailed study because it spans the transition from relatively warm global climates when glaciers were absent or greatly reduced in the Northern ... Hemisphere to the generally cooler climates of the Pleistocene with expanded Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and prominent glacial-interglacial cycles.

The purpose of this report is to document and explain the PRISM2 mid Pliocene reconstruction. The PRISM2 reconstruction consists of a series of 28 global scale data sets (Table 1) on a 2° latitude by 2° longitude grid. As such, it is the most complete and detailed global reconstruction of climate and environmental conditions older than the last glacial.

PRISM2 evolved from a series of studies that summarized conditions at a large number of marine and terrestrial sites and areas (eg. Cronin and Dowsett, 1991; Poore and Sloan, 1996). The first global reconstruction of mid Pliocene climate (PRISM1) was based upon 64 marine sites and 74 terrestrial sites and included data sets representing annual vegetation and land ice, monthly sea surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice, sea level and topography on a 2°x2° grid (Dowsett et al. (1996) and Thompson and Fleming (1996)). The current reconstruction (PRISM2) is a revision of PRISM1 that incorporates several important differences:

1) Additional sites were added to the marine portion of the reconstruction to improve previous coverage. Sites from the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean are incorporated for the first time in PRISM2.

2) All Pliocene sea surface temperature (SST) estimates were recalculated based upon a new core top calibration to the Reynolds and Smith (1995) adjusted optimum interpolation (AOI) SST data set. This reduced some of the problems previously encountered when different fossil groups were calibrated to different modern climatologies (Climate / Long Range Investigation Mapping and Predictions [CLIMAP], Goddard Institute for Space Sciences [GISS], Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer [AVHRR], etc.).

3) PRISM2 uses a +25m rise in sea level for the Pliocene (PRISM1 used +35m), in keeping with much new data that has become available.

4) Although the change in global ice volume between PRISM1 and PRISM2 is minor, PRISM2 uses model results from Prentice (personal communication) to guide the areal and topographic distribution of Antarctic ice. This results in a more realistic Antarctic ice configuration in tune with the +25m sea level rise.

Related URL

Link: VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

Description: Access to documentation

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: 90.0

S: -90.0

E: 180.0

W: -180.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: Dowsett, H.J., J.A. Barron, R.A. Poore, R.S.Thompson, T,M. Cronin, S.E.Ishman, and D.A.Willard

Dataset Title: Middle Pliocene Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction: PRISM2

Dataset Series Name: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN FILE REPORT 99-535

Dataset Release Date: 1999

Dataset Release Place: Reston, VA

Dataset Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Version: 1.0

Issue Identification: 99-535

Online Resource: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1999/of99-535/

Paleo Temporal Coverage

Paleo Start Date: 3.29 Ma
Paleo Stop Date: 2.97 Ma
Chrono Unit:

PHANEROZOIC > CENOZOIC > NEOGENE > PLIOCENE

Location Keywords

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > GLOBAL

Data Resolution

Latitude Resolution: 2 degree
Longitude Resolution: 2 degree
Horizontal Resolution Range: 100 km - < 250 km or approximately 1 degree - < 2.5 degrees
Temporal Resolution: monthly, annual
Temporal Resolution Range: Monthly - < Annual

Science Keywords

CRYOSPHERE > SNOW/ICE > ICE EXTENT

TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > SNOW/ICE > ICE EXTENT

ISO Topic Category

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Project

PRISM > Pleistocene, Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping Project

Ancillary Keywords

99-535

OFR

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

USGS

Data Center

Eastern Earth Surface Processes Team, Eastern Region, Geology Division, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior

Data Center URL: http://geology.er.usgs.gov/eespteam/

Data Center Personnel
Name: HARRY J. DOWSETT Contact Address: U.S. Geological Survey 955 National Center City: Reston Province or State: VA Postal Code: 20192 Country: USA