Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition
Climate records of the mid-to-late Holocene transition, between 3–4 thousand years before present (ka), often exhibit a rapid change in response to the gradual change in orbital insolation. Here we investigate North Atlantic Central Water circulation as a possible mechanism regulating the latitudina...
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ftcolumbiauniv:oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D82V2D6P 2023-05-15T17:29:12+02:00 Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition Morely, Audrey Rosenthal, Yair deMenocal, Peter B. 2014 https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P English eng Elsevier https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P Oceanography Paleoclimatology Hydrology Articles 2014 ftcolumbiauniv https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P 2019-04-04T08:10:43Z Climate records of the mid-to-late Holocene transition, between 3–4 thousand years before present (ka), often exhibit a rapid change in response to the gradual change in orbital insolation. Here we investigate North Atlantic Central Water circulation as a possible mechanism regulating the latitudinal temperature gradient (LTG), which, in turn, amplifies climate sensitivity to small changes in solar irradiance. Through this mechanism, sharp climate events and transitions are the result of a positive feedback process that propagates and amplifies climate events in the North Atlantic region. We explore these linkages using an intermediate water temperature record reconstructed from Mg/Ca measurements of benthic foraminifera (Hyalinea balthica) from a sediment core off NW Africa (889 m depth) between 0 to 5.5 ka. Our results show that Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) cooled by ~1°±0.7 °C~1°±0.7 °C and densities decreased by σθ=0.4±0.2σθ=0.4±0.2 between 3.3 and 2.6 ka. This shift in ENACW hydrography illustrates a transition towards enhanced mid-latitude atmospheric circulation after 2.7 ka in particular during cold events of the late-Holocene. The presented records demonstrate the important role of ENACW circulation in propagating the climate signatures of the LTG by reducing the meridional heat transfer from high to low latitudes during the transition from the Holocene Thermal Maximum to the late-Holocene. In addition, the dynamic response of ENACW circulation to the gradual climate forcing of LTGs provides a prime example of an amplifying climate feedback mechanism. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Columbia University: Academic Commons |
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Open Polar |
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Columbia University: Academic Commons |
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ftcolumbiauniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Oceanography Paleoclimatology Hydrology |
spellingShingle |
Oceanography Paleoclimatology Hydrology Morely, Audrey Rosenthal, Yair deMenocal, Peter B. Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
topic_facet |
Oceanography Paleoclimatology Hydrology |
description |
Climate records of the mid-to-late Holocene transition, between 3–4 thousand years before present (ka), often exhibit a rapid change in response to the gradual change in orbital insolation. Here we investigate North Atlantic Central Water circulation as a possible mechanism regulating the latitudinal temperature gradient (LTG), which, in turn, amplifies climate sensitivity to small changes in solar irradiance. Through this mechanism, sharp climate events and transitions are the result of a positive feedback process that propagates and amplifies climate events in the North Atlantic region. We explore these linkages using an intermediate water temperature record reconstructed from Mg/Ca measurements of benthic foraminifera (Hyalinea balthica) from a sediment core off NW Africa (889 m depth) between 0 to 5.5 ka. Our results show that Eastern North Atlantic Central Waters (ENACW) cooled by ~1°±0.7 °C~1°±0.7 °C and densities decreased by σθ=0.4±0.2σθ=0.4±0.2 between 3.3 and 2.6 ka. This shift in ENACW hydrography illustrates a transition towards enhanced mid-latitude atmospheric circulation after 2.7 ka in particular during cold events of the late-Holocene. The presented records demonstrate the important role of ENACW circulation in propagating the climate signatures of the LTG by reducing the meridional heat transfer from high to low latitudes during the transition from the Holocene Thermal Maximum to the late-Holocene. In addition, the dynamic response of ENACW circulation to the gradual climate forcing of LTGs provides a prime example of an amplifying climate feedback mechanism. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Morely, Audrey Rosenthal, Yair deMenocal, Peter B. |
author_facet |
Morely, Audrey Rosenthal, Yair deMenocal, Peter B. |
author_sort |
Morely, Audrey |
title |
Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
title_short |
Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
title_full |
Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
title_fullStr |
Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late Holocene transition |
title_sort |
ocean-atmosphere climate shift during the mid-to-late holocene transition |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7916/D82V2D6P |
_version_ |
1766122852635901952 |