Nonuniform response of the major surface currents in the Nordic Seas to insolation forcing: Implications for the Holocene climate variability

Type Article
Date 2004-04
Language English
Author(s) Andersen C1, Koc N1, Jennings A2, 3, Andrews Jt2, 3
Affiliation(s) 1 : Norwegian Polar Res Inst, N-9296 Tromso, Norway.
2 : Univ Colorado, INSTAAR, Boulder, CO 80309 USA.
3 : Univ Colorado, Dept Geol Sci, Boulder, CO 80309 USA.
Source Paleoceanography (0883-8305) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2004-04 , Vol. 19 , N. 2 , P. 1-16
DOI 10.1029/2002PA000873
WOS© Times Cited 204
Keyword(s) Nordic Seas, Holocene, sea-surface temperatures
Abstract High-resolution sediment cores from the Voring Plateau, the North Iceland shelf, and the East Greenland shelf have been studied to investigate the stability of major surface currents in the Nordic Seas during the Holocene. Results from diatom assemblages and reconstructed sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) indicate a division of the Holocene into three periods: the Holocene Climate Optimum (9500 - 6500 calendar (cal) years BP), the Holocene Transition Period ( 6500 - 3000 cal years BP) and the Cool Late Holocene Period ( 3000 - 0 cal years BP). The overall climate development is in step with the decreasing insolation on the Northern Hemisphere, but regional differences occur regarding both timing and magnitude of SST changes. Sites under the direct influence of the Norwegian Atlantic Current and the Irminger Current indicate SST cooling of 4 - 5 degreesC from early Holocene to present, compared to 2 degreesC recorded under the East Greenland Current. Superimposed on the general Holocene cooling trend, there is a high-frequency SST variability, which is in the order of 1 - 1.5degreesC for the Voring Plateau and the East Greenland shelf and 2.5-3degreesC on the North Iceland shelf.
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