Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion. ...

Glacial-state greenhouse gas concentrations and Southern Hemisphere climate conditions persisted until ∼17.7 ka, when a nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation was recorded in paleoclimate proxies in large parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with many changes ascribed to a sudden poleward shif...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: McConnell, Joseph R, Burke, Andrea, Dunbar, Nelia W, Köhler, Peter, Thomas, Jennie L, Arienzo, Monica M, Chellman, Nathan J, Maselli, Olivia J, Sigl, Michael, Adkins, Jess F, Baggenstos, Daniel, Burkhart, John F, Brook, Edward J, Buizert, Christo, Cole-Dai, Jihong, Fudge, TJ, Knorr, Gregor, Graf, Hans-F, Grieman, Mackenzie M, Iverson, Nels, McGwire, Kenneth C, Mulvaney, Robert, Paris, Guillaume, Rhodes, Rachael H, Saltzman, Eric S, Severinghaus, Jeffrey P, Steffensen, Jørgen Peder, Taylor, Kendrick C, Winckler, Gisela
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2017
Subjects:
aerosol
climate
deglaciation
ozone
volcanism
Antarctic
Byrd
Mount Takahe
Takahe
West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarc*
ice core
Ice Sheet
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.30535
https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/283172
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Summary:Glacial-state greenhouse gas concentrations and Southern Hemisphere climate conditions persisted until ∼17.7 ka, when a nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation was recorded in paleoclimate proxies in large parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with many changes ascribed to a sudden poleward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and subsequent climate impacts. We used high-resolution chemical measurements in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, Byrd, and other ice cores to document a unique, ∼192-y series of halogen-rich volcanic eruptions exactly at the start of accelerated deglaciation, with tephra identifying the nearby Mount Takahe volcano as the source. Extensive fallout from these massive eruptions has been found >2,800 km from Mount Takahe. Sulfur isotope anomalies and marked decreases in ice core bromine consistent with increased surface UV radiation indicate that the eruptions led to stratospheric ozone depletion. Rather than a highly improbable coincidence, circulation and climate ...

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