A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway
At Hardangerjøkulen, central southern Norway, detailed knowledge of the number, age and magnitude of Holocene glacier fluctuations is used to reconstruct variations in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) for the last 10 000 years. Present and past ELAs are based on an accumulation-area ratio (AAR) of 0....
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369600600401 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369600600401 |
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crsagepubl:10.1177/095968369600600401 2024-09-30T14:35:23+00:00 A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway Dahl, Svein Olaf Nesje, Atle 1996 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369600600401 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369600600401 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license The Holocene volume 6, issue 4, page 381-398 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 journal-article 1996 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369600600401 2024-09-17T04:40:22Z At Hardangerjøkulen, central southern Norway, detailed knowledge of the number, age and magnitude of Holocene glacier fluctuations is used to reconstruct variations in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) for the last 10 000 years. Present and past ELAs are based on an accumulation-area ratio (AAR) of 0.7 and are adjusted for land uplift. A synchronous relationship between advanced glacier positions and the highest pine-tree limits ( Pinus sylvestris L.) is demonstrated for the early to mid-Holocene in southern Scandinavia, which indicates that warm summers were compensated for by high winter precipitation. Based on pine-tree limit fluctuations as a measure of mean ablation-season temperature, Holocene variations in winter precipitation at Hardangerjøkulen have been calculated by substitution in the close exponential relationship between mean ablation-season temperature and winter precipitation at the ELA of Norwegian glaciers. Setting the winter precipitation during the period AD 1961-1990 at 100%, mean values varied from about 65 to c. 175%. The wettest phase, at c. 8500-8300 cal. BP, experienced a mean summer temperature of c. 1.35°C warmer than at present, and may be regarded as a climatic analogue for the increase in precipitation which may accompany greenhouse warming of the atmosphere during the next century. These early-Holocene 'greenhouse centuries' ended abruptly within 30-50 years, and changed into a climatic regime dominated by dry winters and by summers only a little warmer than at present. The transition is synchronous with the most notable δ 18 O minimum recorded in Greenland ice cores at 8210 ± 30 years ago (before AD 1990), and is tentatively suggested as a Holocene analogue for the climatic instability (which may have been) recorded in the GRIP ice core during the last interglacial period (the Eemian). Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier glacier Greenland Greenland ice cores GRIP ice core SAGE Publications Greenland Norway Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) The Holocene 6 4 381 398 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SAGE Publications |
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crsagepubl |
language |
English |
description |
At Hardangerjøkulen, central southern Norway, detailed knowledge of the number, age and magnitude of Holocene glacier fluctuations is used to reconstruct variations in equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) for the last 10 000 years. Present and past ELAs are based on an accumulation-area ratio (AAR) of 0.7 and are adjusted for land uplift. A synchronous relationship between advanced glacier positions and the highest pine-tree limits ( Pinus sylvestris L.) is demonstrated for the early to mid-Holocene in southern Scandinavia, which indicates that warm summers were compensated for by high winter precipitation. Based on pine-tree limit fluctuations as a measure of mean ablation-season temperature, Holocene variations in winter precipitation at Hardangerjøkulen have been calculated by substitution in the close exponential relationship between mean ablation-season temperature and winter precipitation at the ELA of Norwegian glaciers. Setting the winter precipitation during the period AD 1961-1990 at 100%, mean values varied from about 65 to c. 175%. The wettest phase, at c. 8500-8300 cal. BP, experienced a mean summer temperature of c. 1.35°C warmer than at present, and may be regarded as a climatic analogue for the increase in precipitation which may accompany greenhouse warming of the atmosphere during the next century. These early-Holocene 'greenhouse centuries' ended abruptly within 30-50 years, and changed into a climatic regime dominated by dry winters and by summers only a little warmer than at present. The transition is synchronous with the most notable δ 18 O minimum recorded in Greenland ice cores at 8210 ± 30 years ago (before AD 1990), and is tentatively suggested as a Holocene analogue for the climatic instability (which may have been) recorded in the GRIP ice core during the last interglacial period (the Eemian). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dahl, Svein Olaf Nesje, Atle |
spellingShingle |
Dahl, Svein Olaf Nesje, Atle A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
author_facet |
Dahl, Svein Olaf Nesje, Atle |
author_sort |
Dahl, Svein Olaf |
title |
A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
title_short |
A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
title_full |
A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
title_fullStr |
A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from Hardangerjokulen, central southern Norway |
title_sort |
new approach to calculating holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case stud from hardangerjokulen, central southern norway |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369600600401 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369600600401 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Greenland Norway Ela |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Norway Ela |
genre |
glacier glacier Greenland Greenland ice cores GRIP ice core |
genre_facet |
glacier glacier Greenland Greenland ice cores GRIP ice core |
op_source |
The Holocene volume 6, issue 4, page 381-398 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369600600401 |
container_title |
The Holocene |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
381 |
op_container_end_page |
398 |
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1811638679647551488 |