Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly
The Younger Dryas is considered the archetypal millennial-scale climate change event, and identifying its cause is fundamental for thoroughly understanding climate systematics during deglaciations. However, the mechanisms responsible for its initiation remain elusive, and both of the most researched...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c82dab44001c4b949ee409f70f257021 2023-05-15T16:27:06+02:00 Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly J. U. L. Baldini R. J. Brown N. Mawdsley 2018-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 https://doaj.org/article/c82dab44001c4b949ee409f70f257021 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.clim-past.net/14/969/2018/cp-14-969-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/c82dab44001c4b949ee409f70f257021 Climate of the Past, Vol 14, Pp 969-990 (2018) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 2023-01-08T01:38:58Z The Younger Dryas is considered the archetypal millennial-scale climate change event, and identifying its cause is fundamental for thoroughly understanding climate systematics during deglaciations. However, the mechanisms responsible for its initiation remain elusive, and both of the most researched triggers (a meltwater pulse or a bolide impact) are controversial. Here, we consider the problem from a different perspective and explore a hypothesis that Younger Dryas climate shifts were catalysed by the unusually sulfur-rich 12.880 ± 0.040 ka BP eruption of the Laacher See volcano (Germany). We use the most recent chronology for the GISP2 ice core ion dataset from the Greenland ice sheet to identify a large volcanic sulfur spike coincident with both the Laacher See eruption and the onset of Younger Dryas-related cooling in Greenland (i.e. the most recent abrupt Greenland millennial-scale cooling event, the Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1). Previously published lake sediment and stalagmite records confirm that the eruption's timing was indistinguishable from the onset of cooling across the North Atlantic but that it preceded westerly wind repositioning over central Europe by ∼ 200 years. We suggest that the initial short-lived volcanic sulfate aerosol cooling was amplified by ocean circulation shifts and/or sea ice expansion, gradually cooling the North Atlantic region and incrementally shifting the midlatitude westerlies to the south. The aerosol-related cooling probably only lasted 1–3 years, and the majority of Younger Dryas-related cooling may have been due to the sea-ice–ocean circulation positive feedback, which was particularly effective during the intermediate ice volume conditions characteristic of ∼ 13 ka BP. We conclude that the large and sulfur-rich Laacher See eruption should be considered a viable trigger for the Younger Dryas. However, future studies should prioritise climate modelling of high-latitude volcanism during deglacial boundary conditions in order to test the hypothesis proposed here. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Climate of the Past 14 7 969 990 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 J. U. L. Baldini R. J. Brown N. Mawdsley Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
topic_facet |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
The Younger Dryas is considered the archetypal millennial-scale climate change event, and identifying its cause is fundamental for thoroughly understanding climate systematics during deglaciations. However, the mechanisms responsible for its initiation remain elusive, and both of the most researched triggers (a meltwater pulse or a bolide impact) are controversial. Here, we consider the problem from a different perspective and explore a hypothesis that Younger Dryas climate shifts were catalysed by the unusually sulfur-rich 12.880 ± 0.040 ka BP eruption of the Laacher See volcano (Germany). We use the most recent chronology for the GISP2 ice core ion dataset from the Greenland ice sheet to identify a large volcanic sulfur spike coincident with both the Laacher See eruption and the onset of Younger Dryas-related cooling in Greenland (i.e. the most recent abrupt Greenland millennial-scale cooling event, the Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1). Previously published lake sediment and stalagmite records confirm that the eruption's timing was indistinguishable from the onset of cooling across the North Atlantic but that it preceded westerly wind repositioning over central Europe by ∼ 200 years. We suggest that the initial short-lived volcanic sulfate aerosol cooling was amplified by ocean circulation shifts and/or sea ice expansion, gradually cooling the North Atlantic region and incrementally shifting the midlatitude westerlies to the south. The aerosol-related cooling probably only lasted 1–3 years, and the majority of Younger Dryas-related cooling may have been due to the sea-ice–ocean circulation positive feedback, which was particularly effective during the intermediate ice volume conditions characteristic of ∼ 13 ka BP. We conclude that the large and sulfur-rich Laacher See eruption should be considered a viable trigger for the Younger Dryas. However, future studies should prioritise climate modelling of high-latitude volcanism during deglacial boundary conditions in order to test the hypothesis proposed here. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. U. L. Baldini R. J. Brown N. Mawdsley |
author_facet |
J. U. L. Baldini R. J. Brown N. Mawdsley |
author_sort |
J. U. L. Baldini |
title |
Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
title_short |
Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
title_full |
Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
title_fullStr |
Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly |
title_sort |
evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich laacher see volcanic eruption and the younger dryas climate anomaly |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 https://doaj.org/article/c82dab44001c4b949ee409f70f257021 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Greenland ice core Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice |
op_source |
Climate of the Past, Vol 14, Pp 969-990 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.clim-past.net/14/969/2018/cp-14-969-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/c82dab44001c4b949ee409f70f257021 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-969-2018 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
969 |
op_container_end_page |
990 |
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1766016155138392064 |