Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion
Cold and dry glacial-state climate conditions persisted in the Southern Hemisphere until approximately 17.7 ka, when paleoclimate records show a largely unexplained sharp, nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation. Detailed measurements in Antarctic ice cores document exactly at that time a un...
Published in: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2017
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5617275/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28874529 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1705595114 |
Summary: | Cold and dry glacial-state climate conditions persisted in the Southern Hemisphere until approximately 17.7 ka, when paleoclimate records show a largely unexplained sharp, nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation. Detailed measurements in Antarctic ice cores document exactly at that time a unique, ∼192-y series of massive halogen-rich volcanic eruptions geochemically attributed to Mount Takahe in West Antarctica. Rather than a coincidence, we postulate that halogen-catalyzed stratospheric ozone depletion over Antarctica triggered large-scale atmospheric circulation and hydroclimate changes similar to the modern Antarctic ozone hole, explaining the synchronicity and abruptness of accelerated Southern Hemisphere deglaciation. |
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