On the effects of northern hemisphere cooling on atmospheric circulation patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean: The 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event at Tenaghi Philippon
Despite mounting evidence of the anthropogenic influence on the Earth's climate, underlying mechanisms of climate change often remain elusive. The investigation of periods of rapid climate change from geological archives may provide crucial information about magnitude, duration, teleconnections...
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| Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2018
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| Online Access: | http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/45634 https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-456341 http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/files/45634/Diss_Schemmel.pdf |
| Summary: | Despite mounting evidence of the anthropogenic influence on the Earth's climate, underlying mechanisms of climate change often remain elusive. The investigation of periods of rapid climate change from geological archives may provide crucial information about magnitude, duration, teleconnections of and regional responses to global and hemispheric scale climate perturbations. Thus, paleoclimate reconstructions may help in mitigating and adapting to the challenges of the coming decades. The '8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event' has previously been proposed as a possible analogue for the future climatic scenario of a reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The catastrophic drainage of the Laurentide meltwater lakes through the Hudson Bay and into the Labrador Sea, that occurred ca. 8.47 kyr B.P., caused the slowdown of the AMOC around 8.2 kyr B.P. Subsequently, reduced heat transfer towards Europe triggered a substantial decline in (winter) temperature and pronounced changes in atmospheric circulation patterns in many regions of the northern hemisphere, especially the North Atlantic realm and Europe. Among the regions affected by the 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event, the Eastern Mediterranean region is of particular interest for both past and future climate developments. Traditionally characterized as a region highly sensitive to variations in the climate systems of the high and low latitudes, abrupt climate changes have the potential to strongly alter atmospheric circulation patterns and thus precipitation distribution in the region that may have severe socioeconomical consequences. The analysis of stable hydrogen (δD) and oxygen isotopes (δ18O) in precipitation is an excellent tool to trace changes in atmospheric circulation. Here, we present a comparative study of δD and δ18O in precipitation from the Eastern Mediterranean region both in a present day scenario and during the 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event. We analyze the influences of topography, air mass trajectory, climate and seasonality among others the ... |
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