Fast and slow components of interstadial warming in the North Atlantic during the last glacial

• Main Authors: Margari, V, Skinner, LC, Menviel, L, Capron, E, Rhodes, RH, Mleneck-Vautravers, MJ, Ezat, MM, Martrat, B, Grimalt, JO, Hodell, DA, Tzedakis, PC
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
• Subjects: 37 Earth Sciences; 3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience; 3705 Geology; 13 Climate Action; Greenland; Greenland ice core; Greenland ice cores; ice core; North Atlantic; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/326729; https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.74177

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The abrupt nature of warming events recorded in Greenland ice-cores during the last glacial has generated much debate over their underlying mechanisms. Here, we present joint marine and terrestrial analyses from the Portuguese Margin, showing a succession of cold stadials and warm interstadials over the interval 35–57 ka. Heinrich stadials 4 and 5 contain considerable structure, with a short transitional phase leading to an interval of maximum cooling and aridity, followed by slowly increasing sea-surface temperatures and moisture availability. A climate model experiment reproduces the changes in western Iberia during the final part of Heinrich stadial 4 as a result of the gradual recovery of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. What emerges is that Greenland ice-core records do not provide a unique template for warming events, which involved the operation of both fast and slow components of the coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice system, producing adjustments over a range of timescales.</jats:p>