Despite extensive investigation, the nature and causes of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition remain enigmatic. In this work, we assess its linkage to asynchronous development of bipolar ice sheets by synthesizing Pleistocene mid- to high-latitude proxy records linked to hemispheric ice sheet evolution. Our results indicate substantial growth of the Antarctic Ice Sheets (AISs) at 2.0 to 1.25 million years ago, preceding the rapid expansion of Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheets after ~1.25 million years ago. Proxy-model comparisons suggest that AIS and associated Southern Ocean sea ice expansion can induce northern high-latitude cooling and enhanced moisture transport to the Northern Hemisphere, thus triggering the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. The dynamic processes involved are crucial for assessing modern global warming that is already inducing asynchronous bipolar melting of ice sheets.

中文翻译：

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南极冰盖增长引发的中更新世气候转变


尽管进行了广泛的调查，中更新世过渡的性质和原因仍然是个谜。在这项工作中，我们通过综合与半球冰盖演化相关的更新世中高纬度代理记录来评估其与双极冰盖异步发展的联系。我们的研究结果表明，南极冰盖 (AIS) 在 2.0 至 125 万年前大幅增长，而北半球冰盖在约 125 万年前迅速扩张。代理模型比较表明，AIS 和相关的南大洋海冰扩张可以引起北部高纬度地区变冷并增强向北半球的水分输送，从而引发中更新世过渡。所涉及的动态过程对于评估已经引起冰盖异步双极融化的现代全球变暖至关重要。