Relaxation oscillators in concert: A conceptual framework for late Pleistocene millenial-scale climate variability

Using a box model of the North Atlantic Ocean and a parameterization of Heinrich Events, we suggest that self-sustained oscillations of the large-scale oceanic circulation provide a framework to accommodate crucial elements of late Pleistocene climate variability: (i) Dansgaard-Oeschger-style oscill...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Schulz, M., Timmermann, Axel, Paul, A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: AGU (American Geophysical Union) 2002
Subjects:
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/702/
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/702/1/Schulz_et_al-2002-Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016144
Description
Summary:Using a box model of the North Atlantic Ocean and a parameterization of Heinrich Events, we suggest that self-sustained oscillations of the large-scale oceanic circulation provide a framework to accommodate crucial elements of late Pleistocene climate variability: (i) Dansgaard-Oeschger-style oscillations with varying interstadial length, (ii) synchronization between Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials and Heinrich Events, and (iii) Younger Dryas-type events. The latter result from the restart of the oscillations after a glacial maximum and can be regarded as Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials, overprinted by rapidly changing boundary conditions.

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