Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium
We present a new, diatom-based sea-level reconstruction for Iceland spanning the last similar to 500 years, and investigate the possible mechanisms driving the sea-level changes. A sea-level reconstruction from near the Icelandic low pressure system is important as it can improve understanding of oc...
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:46283 2023-05-15T16:46:36+02:00 Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium Saher, Margot H. Gehrels, W. Roland Barlow, Natasha L. M. Long, Antony J. Haigh, Ivan D. Blaauw, Maarten 2015-01 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45963.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45964.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/ eng eng Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45963.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45964.pdf doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use Quaternary Science Reviews (0277-3791) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2015-01 , Vol. 108 , P. 23-36 Diatoms Ocean dynamics Iceland Little Ice Age Sea-level rise NAO text Publication info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2015 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 2021-09-23T20:28:47Z We present a new, diatom-based sea-level reconstruction for Iceland spanning the last similar to 500 years, and investigate the possible mechanisms driving the sea-level changes. A sea-level reconstruction from near the Icelandic low pressure system is important as it can improve understanding of ocean atmosphere forcing on North Atlantic sea-level variability over multi-decadal to centennial timescales. Our reconstruction is from Vioarholmi salt marsh in Snafellsnes in western Iceland, a site from where we previously obtained a 2000-yr record based upon less precise sea-level indicators (salt-marsh foraminifera). The 20th century part of our record is corroborated by tide-gauge data from Reykjavik. Overall, the new reconstruction shows ca 0.6 m rise of relative sea level during the last four centuries, of which ca 0.2 m occurred during the 20th century. Low-amplitude and high-frequency sea-level variability is superimposed on the pre-industrial long-term rising trend of 0.65 m per 1000 years. Most of the relative sea-level rise occurred in three distinct periods: AD 1620-1650, AD 1780-1850 and AD 1950-2000, with maximum rates of similar to 3 +/- 2 mm/yr during the latter two of these periods. Maximum rates were achieved at the end of large shifts (from negative to positive) of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index as reconstructed from proxy data. Instrumental data demonstrate that a strong and sustained positive NAO (a deep Icelandic Low) generates setup on the west coast of Iceland resulting in rising sea levels. There is no strong evidence that the periods of rapid sea-level rise were caused by ocean mass changes, glacial isostatic adjustment or regional steric change. We suggest that wind forcing plays an important role in causing regional-scale coastal sea-level variability in the North Atlantic, not only on (multi-)annual timescales, but also on multi-decadal to centennial timescales. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) Quaternary Science Reviews 108 23 36 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
topic |
Diatoms Ocean dynamics Iceland Little Ice Age Sea-level rise NAO |
spellingShingle |
Diatoms Ocean dynamics Iceland Little Ice Age Sea-level rise NAO Saher, Margot H. Gehrels, W. Roland Barlow, Natasha L. M. Long, Antony J. Haigh, Ivan D. Blaauw, Maarten Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
topic_facet |
Diatoms Ocean dynamics Iceland Little Ice Age Sea-level rise NAO |
description |
We present a new, diatom-based sea-level reconstruction for Iceland spanning the last similar to 500 years, and investigate the possible mechanisms driving the sea-level changes. A sea-level reconstruction from near the Icelandic low pressure system is important as it can improve understanding of ocean atmosphere forcing on North Atlantic sea-level variability over multi-decadal to centennial timescales. Our reconstruction is from Vioarholmi salt marsh in Snafellsnes in western Iceland, a site from where we previously obtained a 2000-yr record based upon less precise sea-level indicators (salt-marsh foraminifera). The 20th century part of our record is corroborated by tide-gauge data from Reykjavik. Overall, the new reconstruction shows ca 0.6 m rise of relative sea level during the last four centuries, of which ca 0.2 m occurred during the 20th century. Low-amplitude and high-frequency sea-level variability is superimposed on the pre-industrial long-term rising trend of 0.65 m per 1000 years. Most of the relative sea-level rise occurred in three distinct periods: AD 1620-1650, AD 1780-1850 and AD 1950-2000, with maximum rates of similar to 3 +/- 2 mm/yr during the latter two of these periods. Maximum rates were achieved at the end of large shifts (from negative to positive) of the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index as reconstructed from proxy data. Instrumental data demonstrate that a strong and sustained positive NAO (a deep Icelandic Low) generates setup on the west coast of Iceland resulting in rising sea levels. There is no strong evidence that the periods of rapid sea-level rise were caused by ocean mass changes, glacial isostatic adjustment or regional steric change. We suggest that wind forcing plays an important role in causing regional-scale coastal sea-level variability in the North Atlantic, not only on (multi-)annual timescales, but also on multi-decadal to centennial timescales. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Saher, Margot H. Gehrels, W. Roland Barlow, Natasha L. M. Long, Antony J. Haigh, Ivan D. Blaauw, Maarten |
author_facet |
Saher, Margot H. Gehrels, W. Roland Barlow, Natasha L. M. Long, Antony J. Haigh, Ivan D. Blaauw, Maarten |
author_sort |
Saher, Margot H. |
title |
Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
title_short |
Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
title_full |
Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
title_fullStr |
Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sea-level changes in Iceland and the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation during the last half millennium |
title_sort |
sea-level changes in iceland and the influence of the north atlantic oscillation during the last half millennium |
publisher |
Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45963.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45964.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/ |
genre |
Iceland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
Iceland North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
Quaternary Science Reviews (0277-3791) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2015-01 , Vol. 108 , P. 23-36 |
op_relation |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45963.pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/45964.pdf doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00352/46283/ |
op_rights |
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.11.005 |
container_title |
Quaternary Science Reviews |
container_volume |
108 |
container_start_page |
23 |
op_container_end_page |
36 |
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1766036698780663808 |