Isotopic evidence of cool winter conditions in the mid-Piacenzian (Pliocene) of the southern North Sea Basin

Oxygen isotope thermometry of Aequipecten opercularis and Atrina fragilis bivalves (which demonstrate all-year growth), provides quantitative evidence of cool-temperate winter conditions (below 10 °C) during deposition of the mid-Piacenzian Oorderen Sands and time-equivalent strata in the southern North Sea Basin (SNSB). Isotopic summer temperatures (seafloor) are within or only marginally above, the cool-temperate range (upper limit 20 °C). The occurrence of warm-temperate dinoflagellate cysts alongside (and presumably contemporaneous with) the bivalves, indicates the development of a correspondingly warm surface layer in summer (encystment allowing the dinoflagellates to survive cool winter conditions).This evidence of greater surface seasonality than now is consistent with greater global warmth and a reduction in the vigour of the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift (GS/NAD), leading to a reduced supply of winter heat. This reduction in GS/NAD strength may be linked to breaching of the emerging Isthmus of Panama.

Research highlights
► Mid-Piacenzian (MPWI) deposits, southern North Sea Basin (SNSB) were studied.
► Oxygen thermometry from bivalves indicated cool-temperate conditions for the SNSB.
► Results contradicted SNSB Pliocene dinoflagellate cysts warm-temperate regime.
► Reduced GS/NAD influence in SNSB in the MPWI reflected in increased seasonality.
► Ocean heat transport variation was evidence of breaches in the Isthmus of Panama.