Near-Synchronous Interhemispheric Termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in Mid-Latitudes

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Schaefer, Joerg M., Denton, George H., Barrell, David J. A., Ivy-Ochs, Susan, Kubik, Peter W., Andersen, Bjorn G., Phillips, Fred M., Lowell, Thomas V., Schlüchter, Christian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2006
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*; North Atlantic; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1122872; https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1122872

Isotopic records from polar ice cores imply globally asynchronous warming at the end of the last glaciation. However, 10 Be exposure dates show that large-scale retreat of mid-latitude Last Glacial Maximum glaciers commenced at about the same time in both hemispheres. The timing of retreat is consistent with the onset of temperature and atmospheric CO 2 increases in Antarctic ice cores. We suggest that a global trend of rising summer temperatures at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum was obscured in North Atlantic regions by hypercold winters associated with unusually extensive winter sea ice.