Rapid northern hemisphere ice sheet melting during the penultimate deglaciation
The rate and consequences of future high latitude ice sheet retreat remain a major concern given ongoing anthropogenic warming. Here, new precisely dated stalagmite data from NW Iberia provide the first direct, high-resolution records of periods of rapid melting of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets dur...
| Published in: | Nature Communications |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/publications/8d951113-5711-4d94-8f8b-5f8eb5140ff7 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31619-3 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/25631/1/Stoll_2022_NC_Rapid_northern_hemisphere_CC.pdf |
| Summary: | The rate and consequences of future high latitude ice sheet retreat remain a major concern given ongoing anthropogenic warming. Here, new precisely dated stalagmite data from NW Iberia provide the first direct, high-resolution records of periods of rapid melting of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the penultimate deglaciation. These records reveal the penultimate deglaciation initiated with rapid century-scale meltwater pulses which subsequently trigger abrupt coolings of air temperature in NW Iberia consistent with freshwater-induced AMOC slowdowns. The first of these AMOC slowdowns, 600-year duration, was shorter than Heinrich 1 of the last deglaciation. Although similar insolation forcing initiated the last two deglaciations, the more rapid and sustained rate of freshening in the eastern North Atlantic penultimate deglaciation likely reflects a larger volume of ice stored in the marine-based Eurasian Ice sheet during the penultimate glacial in contrast to the land-based ice sheet on North America as during the last glacial. |
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