Quaternary Climate Variability and Periglacial Dynamics

• Main Authors: Naughton, Filipa, Sánchez Goñi, Maria Fernanda, Toucanne, Samuel
• Other Authors: Geo-Ocean (GEO-OCEAN), Université de Bretagne Sud (UBS)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Greenland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04309726; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14895-8_2

This chapter briefly describes the long term climate evolution, as well as, the superimposed abrupt climate shifts that have punctuated the last glaciation, the last deglaciation and the present-day interglacial, known as the Holocene. The last glacial period, from Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5e to MIS 1 (115–14.7 cal ka BP), was punctuated by a series of abrupt climate shifts such as the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles, including the extreme Heinrich Stadials (HS) associated with meltwater pulse episodes and collapse of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The last deglaciation, from ~20 cal. ka BP to ~7 cal. ka BP, although associated with a long term increase in boreal summer insolation, was interrupted by several climate shifts including the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS 1), the Bølling-Allerød (BA) and the Younger Dryas (YD). Finally, the Holocene, since ~11.7 cal. ka BP, is subdivided in 3 long term Sub-series/Sub-epochs (Stage/Age) an Early Holocene (Greenlandian Stage/Age), Middle Holocene (Northgrippian Stage/Age) and Late Holocene (Meghalayan Stage/Age), was also marked by a number of rapid climate shifts. A short description on the impact of these long term and abrupt changes in the North Atlantic, Greenland and over Europe is also provided.