Paleoclimate of Florida

Abstract

We present our understanding of Florida’s paleoclimate for the past ~50 million years (Myr). The paleoclimate of the Florida Platform is closely linked to global paleoclimate. Global climate change over the past 50 Myr is a record of declining atmospheric carbon dioxide, decreasing temperature, and progressive addition of ice sheets. The overall global climate narrative is one of transition from a greenhouse Earth (warm temperatures with higher sea levels) to an icehouse Earth (colder temperatures with lower sea levels). The early 21st century has been a period of extreme climate conditions in Florida, in that we have already seen very low lake levels, including complete drying of some water bodies for the first time in recorded history. Such complete drying was never reported previously and suggests that we have entered a new climate regime in this millennium. Key