Rapid switches in subpolar North Atlantic hydrography and climate during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e)
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2012-05 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Irvali Nil1, 2, Ninnemann Ulysses S.1, 2, Galaasen Eirik V.2, Rosenthal Yair3, Kroon Dick4, Oppo Delia W.5, Kleiven Helga F.1, 2, Darling Kate F.4, Kissel Catherine6 | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Uni Res, Uni Bjerknes Ctr, N-5007 Bergen, Norway. 2 : Univ Bergen, Dept Earth Sci, Bergen, Norway. 3 : Rutgers State Univ, Dept Geol, New Brunswick, NJ 08903 USA. 4 : Univ Edinburgh, Sch GeoSci, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. 5 : Woods Hole Oceanog Inst, Dept Geol & Geophys, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA. 6 : CEA CNRS UVSQ, Lab Sci Climat & Environm IPSL, Gif Sur Yvette, France. |
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| Source | Paleoceanography (0883-8305) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2012-05 , Vol. 27 , P. - | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1029/2011PA002244 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 58 | ||||||||
| Keyword(s) | Eirik Drift, MIS 5e, North Atlantic, last interglacial, multiproxy | ||||||||
| Abstract | At the peak of the previous interglacial period, North Atlantic and subpolar climate shared many features in common with projections of our future climate, including warmer-than-present conditions and a diminished Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). Here we portray changes in North Atlantic hydrography linked with Greenland climate during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e using (sub)centennially sampled records of planktonic foraminiferal isotopes and assemblage counts and ice-rafted debris counts, as well as modern analog technique and Mg/Ca-based paleothermometry. We use the core MD03-2664 recovered from a high accumulation rate site (similar to 34 cm/kyr) on the Eirik sediment drift (57 degrees 26.34'N, 48 degrees 36.35'W). The results indicate that surface waters off southern Greenland were similar to 3-5 degrees C warmer than today during early MIS 5e. These anomalously warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) prevailed until the isotopic peak of MIS 5e when they were interrupted by a cooling event beginning at similar to 126 kyr BP. This interglacial cooling event is followed by a gradual warming with SSTs subsequently plateauing just below early MIS 5e values. A planktonic delta O-18 minimum during the cooling event indicates that marked freshening of the surface waters accompanied the cooling. We suggest that switches in the subpolar gyre hydrography occurred during a warmer climate, involving regional changes in freshwater fluxes/balance and East Greenland Current influence in the study area. The nature of these hydrographic transitions suggests that they are most likely related to large-scale circulation dynamics, potentially amplified by GIS meltwater influences. | ||||||||
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