New constraints on European glacial freshwater releases to the North Atlantic Ocean
[1] During the late Quaternary, both external and internal forcings have driven major climatic shifts from glacial to interglacial conditions. Nonlinear climatic steps character-ized the transitions leading to these extrema, with interme-diate excursions particularly well expressed in the dynamics o...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.635.4443 http://hal-cea.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/72/48/19/PDF/GRL-Eynaud.pdf |
| Summary: | [1] During the late Quaternary, both external and internal forcings have driven major climatic shifts from glacial to interglacial conditions. Nonlinear climatic steps character-ized the transitions leading to these extrema, with interme-diate excursions particularly well expressed in the dynamics of the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere. Here we document the impact of these dynamics on the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, focussing on the 35–10 ka interval. Sea-surface salinities have been reconstructed quantitatively based on two independent methods from core MD95-2002, recovered from the northern Bay of Biscay adjacent to the axis of the Manche paleoriver outlet and thus in connection with proximal European ice sheets and glaciers. Quantita-tive reconstructions deriving from dinocyst and planktonic foraminiferal analyses have been combined within a robust chronology to assess the amplitude and timing of hydro-logical changes in this region. Our study evidences strong pulsed freshwater discharges which may have impacted |
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