Enhanced surface melting of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during periods of North Atlantic cooling ...
Heinrich events (HEs) are dramatic episodes of marine-terminating ice discharge and sediment rafting during periods of cold North Atlantic climate. However, the causal chain of events leading to their occurrence is unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that enhanced surface melting of land-terminating ma...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
Columbia University
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-7b91-zv22 https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/d8-7b91-zv22 |
| Summary: | Heinrich events (HEs) are dramatic episodes of marine-terminating ice discharge and sediment rafting during periods of cold North Atlantic climate. However, the causal chain of events leading to their occurrence is unresolved. Here, we demonstrate that enhanced surface melting of land-terminating margins of the southern Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) is a recurring feature of Heinrich stadials (HSs), the cold periods during which HEs occur. We use neodymium isotopes to show that the Channel River transported detrital sediments from the interior of eastern Europe to the Bay of Biscay in the northeast Atlantic Ocean at ca. 158–154 ka. Based on similar evidence from the last glacial period, we infer that this interval corresponds to the melting and retreat of the southern FIS margin despite contemporaneous cooling in the North Atlantic and central Europe. The FIS melting episode occurred just prior to a HE, consistent with findings from the more recent HSs 1, 2, and 3. Based on this evidence, we clarify a ... |
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