The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability
Abstract The “4.2 ka event” is a commonly described abrupt climate excursion that occurred about 4200 years ago. However, the extent to which this event is coherent across regional and larger scales is unclear. To objectively assess climate excursions in the Holocene we compile 1142 paleoclimate dat...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:896a2f30923f407789d3bf74e1e328c0 2024-09-09T19:57:21+00:00 The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability Nicholas P. McKay Darrell S. Kaufman Stéphanie H. Arcusa Hannah R. Kolus David C. Edge Michael P. Erb Chris L. Hancock Cody C. Routson Maurycy Żarczyński Leah P. Marshall Georgia K. Roberts Frank Telles 2024-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w https://doaj.org/article/896a2f30923f407789d3bf74e1e328c0 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/896a2f30923f407789d3bf74e1e328c0 Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2024) Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w 2024-08-05T17:50:07Z Abstract The “4.2 ka event” is a commonly described abrupt climate excursion that occurred about 4200 years ago. However, the extent to which this event is coherent across regional and larger scales is unclear. To objectively assess climate excursions in the Holocene we compile 1142 paleoclimate datasets that span all continents and oceans and include a wide variety of archive and proxy types. We analyze these data to determine the timing, significance and spatial imprint of climate excursions using an objective method that quantifies local, regional and global significance. Site-level excursions in temperature and hydroclimate are common throughout the Holocene, but significant global-scale excursions are rare. The most prominent excursion occurred 8200 years ago, when cold and dry conditions formed a large, significant excursion centered in the North Atlantic. We find additional significant excursions between 1600 and 1000 years ago, which agree with tree-ring data and annual-scale paleoclimate reconstructions, adding confidence and context to our findings. In contrast, although some datasets show significant climate excursions 4200 years ago, they do not occur in large, coherent spatial regions. Consequently, like most other periods in the Holocene, the “4.2 ka event” is not a globally significant climate excursion. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Nature Communications 15 1 |
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English |
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Science Q |
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Science Q Nicholas P. McKay Darrell S. Kaufman Stéphanie H. Arcusa Hannah R. Kolus David C. Edge Michael P. Erb Chris L. Hancock Cody C. Routson Maurycy Żarczyński Leah P. Marshall Georgia K. Roberts Frank Telles The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
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Science Q |
description |
Abstract The “4.2 ka event” is a commonly described abrupt climate excursion that occurred about 4200 years ago. However, the extent to which this event is coherent across regional and larger scales is unclear. To objectively assess climate excursions in the Holocene we compile 1142 paleoclimate datasets that span all continents and oceans and include a wide variety of archive and proxy types. We analyze these data to determine the timing, significance and spatial imprint of climate excursions using an objective method that quantifies local, regional and global significance. Site-level excursions in temperature and hydroclimate are common throughout the Holocene, but significant global-scale excursions are rare. The most prominent excursion occurred 8200 years ago, when cold and dry conditions formed a large, significant excursion centered in the North Atlantic. We find additional significant excursions between 1600 and 1000 years ago, which agree with tree-ring data and annual-scale paleoclimate reconstructions, adding confidence and context to our findings. In contrast, although some datasets show significant climate excursions 4200 years ago, they do not occur in large, coherent spatial regions. Consequently, like most other periods in the Holocene, the “4.2 ka event” is not a globally significant climate excursion. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nicholas P. McKay Darrell S. Kaufman Stéphanie H. Arcusa Hannah R. Kolus David C. Edge Michael P. Erb Chris L. Hancock Cody C. Routson Maurycy Żarczyński Leah P. Marshall Georgia K. Roberts Frank Telles |
author_facet |
Nicholas P. McKay Darrell S. Kaufman Stéphanie H. Arcusa Hannah R. Kolus David C. Edge Michael P. Erb Chris L. Hancock Cody C. Routson Maurycy Żarczyński Leah P. Marshall Georgia K. Roberts Frank Telles |
author_sort |
Nicholas P. McKay |
title |
The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
title_short |
The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
title_full |
The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
title_fullStr |
The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
The 4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of Holocene climate variability |
title_sort |
4.2 ka event is not remarkable in the context of holocene climate variability |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w https://doaj.org/article/896a2f30923f407789d3bf74e1e328c0 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Nature Communications, Vol 15, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w https://doaj.org/toc/2041-1723 doi:10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w 2041-1723 https://doaj.org/article/896a2f30923f407789d3bf74e1e328c0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50886-w |
container_title |
Nature Communications |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1809928273136713728 |