Humid periods over western Sahara during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition and their implications on the carbon cycle.

Cryospheric expansion during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition in Malta is followed by precession-paced sea-surface salinity shifts and a marked regional rise in biological productivity.

• Why it matters: The study addresses how Antarctic Ice Sheet growth, ocean circulation reorganizations, and carbon-cycle perturbations connect to regional hydroclimate and biological carbon cycling.
• What they did: New Malta geochemical records were used to track cryosphere-linked changes, then compare them with MSR-events and CM events, including the final CM-6 with uncertain pCO2 reconstructions.
• The result: Stronger monsoonal influence is indicated, implying enhanced freshwater and nutrient delivery that could strengthen a local biological carbon pump and possibly support global CO2 drawdown, though this remains tentative without contemporaneous high-resolution open-ocean records.

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