Monsoonal Forcing of European Ice-Sheet Dynamics During the Late Quaternary

• Main Authors: Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie, Bahr, André, Zeeden, Christian, Toucanne, Samuel, Eynaud, Frédérique, Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco, Röhl, Ursula, Friedrich, Oliver, Pross, Jörg, Löwemark, Ludvig, Lourens, Lucas J.
• Other Authors: Stratigraphy & paleontology, Stratigraphy and paleontology
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: European Ice Sheet dynamics; glacial climate variability; low-latitude forcing of high-latitude glaciations; marine-terrestrial feedback in the Euro-Mediterranean realm; Mediterranean Outflow variability; Geophysics; Earth and Planetary Sciences(all); Ice Sheet; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/376773

The dynamics of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during Late Quaternary glacials have yet been dominantly examined from a Laurentide Ice Sheet perspective, which helped shaping the idea of moisture-starved glacials and small-scale ice volume variability. However, the waxing and waning of the European Ice Sheet (EIS) casts doubt on this perception. Understanding EIS dynamics under glacial boundary conditions is crucial because its meltwater pulses influence global climate by weakening deepwater formation in the North Atlantic Ocean. Here we show that the advection of subtropical water toward the continental margin of western Europe lead to enhanced moisture availability on the continent and fueled the growth of EIS lobes during glacials. This warm-water pooling was caused by monsoonally paced enhanced Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) entrainment that dragged subtropical surface waters toward the European margin. This mechanism presents a yet unrecognized marine-terrestrial pathway that allows low-latitude forcing to shape high-latitude glaciations.