Impact of terrestrial biosphere on the atmospheric CO 2 concentration across Termination V

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Hes, Gabriel, Sánchez Goñi, María, Bouttes, Nathaëlle
• Other Authors: École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Modélisation du climat (CLIM), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), This research has been supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant no. CE27-0011-01)., ANR-18-CE27-0011,HOMES,Modéliser la maisonnée : économies et société des premières populations agricoles d'Europe continentale(2018)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces; environment; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03714882; https://hal.science/hal-03714882/document; https://hal.science/hal-03714882/file/cp-18-1429-2022.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1429-2022

International audience Among the 100 kyr climatic cycles of the Late Pleistocene, Termination V (TV, ∼ 433-404 kyr BP), the fifth last deglaciation, stands out for its minimum in astronomical forcing associated paradoxically with maxima in sea level, Antarctic temperature and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. However, the driving mechanisms explaining TV remain only partially understood. For instance, climate models cannot fully represent the atmospheric CO 2 variation observed in paleoclimate data. Aside from essential oceanic circulation processes, there is increasing evidence that terrestrial biosphere may have played a key role in the global carbon cycle. This study proposes a three-step integrated approach, combining regional and global vegetation records with modelling results, to unveil the evolution of terrestrial biosphere and its contribution to the carbon cycle during TV. First, we provide a new high-resolution (∼ 700 years) deep-sea pollen record from the Gulf of Cádiz (site U1386, 36 • 49.680 N; 7 • 45.320 W) for TV, which shows a moderate expansion of the Mediterranean forest. We then construct the first global forest pollen database for this period. Our compilation features distinct evolutions for different types of forest, highlighting a strong development of temperate and boreal forest which might have delayed the atmospheric CO 2 increase during TV. Finally, the direct comparison of global simulated forests (iLOVECLIM model) to our pollen database reveals overall consistent temperate and boreal forest evolutions despite model biases, thereby supporting the hypothesis of a significant CO 2 sequestration by middle and high-latitude forests of the Northern Hemisphere shortly after the onset of TV.