Climate change in Greenland, Denmark and the Levant

• Main Author: Schrøder, Niels
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Greenland; GRIP; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/publications/5dffec10-52d0-11db-8236-000ea68e967b; https://hdl.handle.net/1800/5dffec10-52d0-11db-8236-000ea68e967b

The classical sites for studies of human occupation and climatic changes – Lejre-Roskilde Fjord (Denmark) and Yarbrud (Syria) – have been re-examined. A detailed geological/geophysical mapping of the areas and geochemical/palynological analysis of cores/profiles confirms, that climate change has been the decisive factor behind the main change in human activities in the areas. It also confirms that the climatic history of the sites and of Greenland is closely correlated, with strong ties to global causes of climate change. When the GRIP drilling and the adjacent GISP2 drilling presented their isotopic records it was clear that the records were similar showing a series of climatic fluctuations (Dansgaard/Oescher events) We have re-examined the Yarbrud site in Syria (OSL dating and pollen analysis) in the hope that we could correlate the 25 cultural layers here (Rust 1950), with the Dansgaard/Oescher events. It is concluded that: The effect of the NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation), given rise to opposite climate conditions in Denmark (NW Europe), the Levant and Greenland in the observation based climatic overview showis an interannual to decadal correlation of the climate. At the century scale there seems to be an opposite correlation in the trend in precipitation in Northern Europe (Denmark) and the Levant (Cyprus) but the trend in Greenland is positive, similar to the data for Denmark. For the Holocene it can be concluded that the Blytt-Sernander model fits very well with the climatic proxies from the Lejre area, and that climatic history of Denmark and Greenland is closely correlated whereas the rainfall history of the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean) is opposite the Danish history. The ice drillings in Greenland are showing a series of climatic fluctuations (Dansgaard/Oescher events) in the last Ice age. We have not been able to correlate this events with proxies from the Levant. But for a similar event: the Younger Dryas, proxies show low precipitation in as well Greenland, Denmark and the Eastern Mediterranean ...