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Timing of meltwater pulse 1a and climate responses to meltwater injections

Timing of meltwater pulse 1a and climate responses to meltwater injections
Timing of meltwater pulse 1a and climate responses to meltwater injections
The temporal relationship between meltwater pulse 1a (mwp-1a) and the climate history of the last deglaciation remains a subject of debate. By combining the Greenland Ice Core Project d18O ice core record on the new Greenland ice core chronology 2005 timescale with the U/Th-dated Barbados coral record, we conclusively derive that mwp-1a did not coincide with the sharp Bølling warming but instead with the abrupt
cooling of the Older Dryas. To evaluate whether there is a relationship between meltwater injections, North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation, and climate change, we present a high-resolution record of NADW flow intensity from Eirik Drift through the last deglaciation. It indicates only a relatively minor 200-year weakening of NADW flow, coincident with mwp-1a. Our compilation of records also indicates that during Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas there were no discernible sea level rises, and yet these periods were characterized by intense NADW slowdowns/shutdowns. Clearly, deepwater formation and climate are not simply controlled by the magnitude or rate of meltwater addition. Instead, our results emphasize that the location of meltwater pulses may be more important, with NADW formation being particularly sensitive to surface freshening in the Arctic/Nordic Seas.
palaeoceanography, meltwater, thermohaline circulation, climate
0883-8305
PA4103
Stanford, J.D.
ec911ce0-c35d-4fd8-9479-b142dfaf1c2e
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Hunter, S.H.
8cbf2823-c807-4364-bfe5-0a2c56cb196c
Roberts, A.P.
4497b436-ef02-428d-a46e-65a22094ba52
Rasmussen, S.O.
f0465bed-5fe6-4339-a2e9-39803541925d
Bard, E.
a003f080-1ccc-4f49-b9e5-fbb953e1d848
McManus, J.
1ce61906-c1fa-436c-99b6-3c8ed3c2e09a
Fairbanks, R.G.
6d2c53ba-077b-45f5-bb8c-d64000ce70e8
Stanford, J.D.
ec911ce0-c35d-4fd8-9479-b142dfaf1c2e
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Hunter, S.H.
8cbf2823-c807-4364-bfe5-0a2c56cb196c
Roberts, A.P.
4497b436-ef02-428d-a46e-65a22094ba52
Rasmussen, S.O.
f0465bed-5fe6-4339-a2e9-39803541925d
Bard, E.
a003f080-1ccc-4f49-b9e5-fbb953e1d848
McManus, J.
1ce61906-c1fa-436c-99b6-3c8ed3c2e09a
Fairbanks, R.G.
6d2c53ba-077b-45f5-bb8c-d64000ce70e8

Stanford, J.D., Rohling, E.J., Hunter, S.H., Roberts, A.P., Rasmussen, S.O., Bard, E., McManus, J. and Fairbanks, R.G. (2006) Timing of meltwater pulse 1a and climate responses to meltwater injections. Paleoceanography, 21 (4), PA4103. (doi:10.1029/2006PA001340).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The temporal relationship between meltwater pulse 1a (mwp-1a) and the climate history of the last deglaciation remains a subject of debate. By combining the Greenland Ice Core Project d18O ice core record on the new Greenland ice core chronology 2005 timescale with the U/Th-dated Barbados coral record, we conclusively derive that mwp-1a did not coincide with the sharp Bølling warming but instead with the abrupt
cooling of the Older Dryas. To evaluate whether there is a relationship between meltwater injections, North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation, and climate change, we present a high-resolution record of NADW flow intensity from Eirik Drift through the last deglaciation. It indicates only a relatively minor 200-year weakening of NADW flow, coincident with mwp-1a. Our compilation of records also indicates that during Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas there were no discernible sea level rises, and yet these periods were characterized by intense NADW slowdowns/shutdowns. Clearly, deepwater formation and climate are not simply controlled by the magnitude or rate of meltwater addition. Instead, our results emphasize that the location of meltwater pulses may be more important, with NADW formation being particularly sensitive to surface freshening in the Arctic/Nordic Seas.

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More information

Published date: December 2006
Keywords: palaeoceanography, meltwater, thermohaline circulation, climate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 42486
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/42486
ISSN: 0883-8305
PURE UUID: 59203416-2358-4706-9134-034713296959
ORCID for E.J. Rohling: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5349-2158

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Dec 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:46

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Contributors

Author: J.D. Stanford
Author: E.J. Rohling ORCID iD
Author: S.H. Hunter
Author: A.P. Roberts
Author: S.O. Rasmussen
Author: E. Bard
Author: J. McManus
Author: R.G. Fairbanks

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