European climate optimum and enhanced Greenland melt during the Last Interglacial

The Last Interglacial climatic optimum, ca. 128 ka, is the most recent climate interval signifi cantly warmer than present, providing an analogue (albeit imperfect) for ongoing global warming and the effects of Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) melting on climate over the coming millennium. While some clima...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology
Main Authors: Sáncez-Goñi, M.F., Bakker, P., Desprat, S., Carlson, A.E., van Meerbeeck, C.J.V.C., Odile-Peyron, O., Naughton, F., Fletcher, W.J., Eunaud, F., Rossignol, L., Renssen, H.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
name=SDG 13 - Climate Action
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/life_below_water
name=SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Greenland
Ice Sheet
Nordic Seas
Online Access:https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/2faa3e98-a9cd-4f2d-b075-92ec61479795
https://doi.org/10.1130/G32908.1
https://hdl.handle.net/1871.1/2faa3e98-a9cd-4f2d-b075-92ec61479795
http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/40/7/627
Description
Summary:The Last Interglacial climatic optimum, ca. 128 ka, is the most recent climate interval signifi cantly warmer than present, providing an analogue (albeit imperfect) for ongoing global warming and the effects of Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) melting on climate over the coming millennium. While some climate models predict an Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) strengthening in response to GIS melting, others simulate weakening, leading to cooling in Europe. Here, we present evidence from new proxy-based paleoclimate and ocean circulation reconstructions that show that the strongest warming in western Europe coincided with maximum GIS meltwater runoff and a weaker AMOC early in the Last Interglacial. By performing a series of climate model sensitivity experiments, including enhanced GIS melting, we were able to simulate this confi guration of the Last Interglacial climate system and infer information on AMOC slowdown and related climate effects. These experiments suggest that GIS melt inhibited deep convection off the southern coast of Greenland, cooling local climate and reducing AMOC by ~24% of its present strength. However, GIS melt did not perturb overturning in the Nordic Seas, leaving heat transport to, and thereby temperatures in, Europe unaffected. © 2012 Geological Society of America.

Similar Items