Modelling the concentration of atmospheric CO2 during the Younger Dryas climate event

The Younger Dryas (YD, dated between 12.7–11.6 ky BP in the GRIP ice core, Central Greenland) is a distinct cold period in the North Atlantic region during the last deglaciation. A popular, but controversial hypothesis to explain the cooling is a reduction of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate Dynamics
Main Authors: Marchal, O., Stocker, T. F., Joos, F., Indermühle, A., Blunier, T., Tschumi, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer-Verlag 1999
Subjects:
530 Physics
Byrd
East Antarctica
Greenland
Southern Ocean
West Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctica
GRIP
ice core
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://boris.unibe.ch/158825/1/marchal99cd.pdf
https://boris.unibe.ch/158825/
Description
Summary:The Younger Dryas (YD, dated between 12.7–11.6 ky BP in the GRIP ice core, Central Greenland) is a distinct cold period in the North Atlantic region during the last deglaciation. A popular, but controversial hypothesis to explain the cooling is a reduction of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) and associated northward heat flux as triggered by glacial meltwater. Recently, a CH4-based synchronization of GRIP δ18O and Byrd CO2 records (West Antarctica) indicated that the concentration of atmospheric CO2 (COatm 2) rose steadily during the YD, suggesting a minor influence of the THC on COatm 2 at that time. Here we show that the COatm 2 change in a zonally averaged, circulation-biogeochemistry ocean model when THC is collapsed by freshwater flux anomaly is consistent with the Byrd record. Cooling in the North Atlantic has a small effect on COatm 2 in this model, because it is spatially limited and compensated by far-field changes such as a warming in the Southern Ocean. The modelled Southern Ocean warming is in agreement with the anti-phase evolution of isotopic temperature records from GRIP (Northern Hemisphere) and from Byrd and Vostok (East Antarctica) during the YD. δ13C depletion and PO4 enrichment are predicted at depth in the North Atlantic, but not in the Southern Ocean. This could explain a part of the controversy about the intensity of the THC during the YD. Potential weaknesses in our interpretation of the Byrd CO2 record in terms of THC changes are discussed.

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