Synchronous volcanic eruptions and abrupt climate change ∼17.7 ka plausibly linked by stratospheric ozone depletion

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Main Authors: Mcconnell, Joseph R., Burke, Andrea, Dunbar, Nelia W., Köhler, Peter, Thomas, Jennie L., Arienzo, Monica M., Chellman, Nathan J., Maselli, Olivia J., Sigl, Michael, Adkins, Jess F., Baggenstos, Daniel, Burkhart, John F., Brook, Edward J., Buizert, Christo, Cole-Dai, Jihong, Fudge, T. J., Knorr, Gregor, Graf, Hans-F., Grieman, Mackenzie M., Iverson, Nels, Mcgwire, Kenneth C., Mulvaney, Robert, Paris, Guillaume, Rhodes, Rachael H., Saltzman, Eric S., Severinghaus, Jeffrey P., Steffensen, Jørgen Peder, Taylor, Kendrick C., Winckler, Gisela
• Other Authors: Division of Hydrologic Sciences, Desert Research Institute (DRI), School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University St Andrews, University of St Andrews Scotland, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico Tech (NMT), New Mexico Consortium (NMC), Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences Pasadena, California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO - UC San Diego), University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Department of Geosciences Oslo, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Oslo, University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Corvallis (CEOAS), Oregon State University (OSU), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Brookings, South Dakota State University (SDSTATE), Department of Earth and Space Sciences Seattle, University of Washington Seattle, Centre for Atmospheric Science Cambridge, UK, University of Cambridge UK (CAM), Department of Earth System Science Irvine (ESS), University of California Irvine (UC Irvine), Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences (DEES), British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Department of Earth Sciences Cambridge, UK, Centre for Ice and Climate Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute Copenhagen (NBI), Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-Faculty of Science Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (UCPH), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), Columbia University New York
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; [SDU.STU.VO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Volcanology; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-01585759; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01585759/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01585759/file/10035.full.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1705595114

International audience Glacial-state greenhouse gas concentrations and Southern Hemisphere climate conditions persisted until ∼17.7 ka, when a nearly synchronous acceleration in deglaciation was recorded in paleoclimate proxies in large parts of the Southern Hemisphere, with many changes ascribed to a sudden poleward shift in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies and subsequent climate impacts. We used high-resolution chemical measurements in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, Byrd, and other ice cores to document a unique, ∼192-y series of halogen-rich volcanic eruptions exactly at the start of accelerated deglaciation, with tephra identifying the nearby Mount Takahe volcano as the source. Extensive fallout from these massive eruptions has been found >2,800 km from Mount Takahe. Sulfur isotope anomalies and marked decreases in ice core bromine consistent with increased surface UV radiation indicate that the eruptions led to stratospheric ozone depletion. Rather than a highly improbable coincidence, circulation and climate changes extending from the Antarctic Peninsula to the subtropics—similar to those associated with modern stratospheric ozone depletion over Antarctica—plausibly link the Mount Takahe eruptions to the onset of accelerated Southern Hemisphere deglaciation ∼17.7 ka.