Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks
Understanding feedbacks between the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is crucial for reducing uncertainties over future sea level and ocean circulation change. Reconstructing past GrIS dynamics can extend the observational record and elucidate mech...
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ftunswworks:oai:unsworks.library.unsw.edu.au:1959.4/unsworks_67443 2024-05-12T08:04:25+00:00 Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks Rainsley, E Menviel, L Fogwill, CJ Turney, CSM Hughes, ALC Rood, DH 2018-12-01 http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_67443 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 unknown Springer Nature http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_67443 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 open access https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ urn:ISSN:2045-2322 Scientific Reports, 8, 1, 11307 14 Life Below Water 13 Climate Action journal article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 2018 ftunswworks https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 2024-04-17T15:10:12Z Understanding feedbacks between the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is crucial for reducing uncertainties over future sea level and ocean circulation change. Reconstructing past GrIS dynamics can extend the observational record and elucidate mechanisms that operate on multi-decadal timescales. We report a highly-constrained last glacial vertical profile of cosmogenic isotope exposure ages from Sermilik Fjord, a marine-terminating ice stream in the southeast sector of the GrIS. Our reconstruction reveals substantial ice-mass loss throughout the Younger Dryas (12.9-11.7 ka), a period of marked atmospheric and sea-surface cooling. Earth-system modelling reveals that southern GrIS marginal melt was likely driven by strengthening of the Irminger Current at depth due to a weakening of the AMOC during the Younger Dryas. This change in North Atlantic circulation appears to have drawn warm subsurface waters to southeast Greenland despite markedly cooler sea surface temperatures, enhancing thermal erosion at the grounding lines of palaeo ice-streams, supporting interpretation of regional marine-sediment cores. Given current rates of GrIS meltwater input into the North Atlantic and the vulnerability of major ice streams to water temperature changes at the grounding line, this mechanism has important implications for future AMOC changes and northern hemisphere heat transport. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sermilik UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales): UNSWorks Greenland Scientific Reports 8 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales): UNSWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftunswworks |
language |
unknown |
topic |
14 Life Below Water 13 Climate Action |
spellingShingle |
14 Life Below Water 13 Climate Action Rainsley, E Menviel, L Fogwill, CJ Turney, CSM Hughes, ALC Rood, DH Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
topic_facet |
14 Life Below Water 13 Climate Action |
description |
Understanding feedbacks between the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is crucial for reducing uncertainties over future sea level and ocean circulation change. Reconstructing past GrIS dynamics can extend the observational record and elucidate mechanisms that operate on multi-decadal timescales. We report a highly-constrained last glacial vertical profile of cosmogenic isotope exposure ages from Sermilik Fjord, a marine-terminating ice stream in the southeast sector of the GrIS. Our reconstruction reveals substantial ice-mass loss throughout the Younger Dryas (12.9-11.7 ka), a period of marked atmospheric and sea-surface cooling. Earth-system modelling reveals that southern GrIS marginal melt was likely driven by strengthening of the Irminger Current at depth due to a weakening of the AMOC during the Younger Dryas. This change in North Atlantic circulation appears to have drawn warm subsurface waters to southeast Greenland despite markedly cooler sea surface temperatures, enhancing thermal erosion at the grounding lines of palaeo ice-streams, supporting interpretation of regional marine-sediment cores. Given current rates of GrIS meltwater input into the North Atlantic and the vulnerability of major ice streams to water temperature changes at the grounding line, this mechanism has important implications for future AMOC changes and northern hemisphere heat transport. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rainsley, E Menviel, L Fogwill, CJ Turney, CSM Hughes, ALC Rood, DH |
author_facet |
Rainsley, E Menviel, L Fogwill, CJ Turney, CSM Hughes, ALC Rood, DH |
author_sort |
Rainsley, E |
title |
Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
title_short |
Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
title_full |
Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
title_fullStr |
Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Greenland ice mass loss during the Younger Dryas driven by Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation feedbacks |
title_sort |
greenland ice mass loss during the younger dryas driven by atlantic meridional overturning circulation feedbacks |
publisher |
Springer Nature |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_67443 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sermilik |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sermilik |
op_source |
urn:ISSN:2045-2322 Scientific Reports, 8, 1, 11307 |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/unsworks_67443 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 |
op_rights |
open access https://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 CC BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29226-8 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1798846619488092160 |