The North Atlantic's 1–2 kyr climate rhythm: Relation to Heinrich events, Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles and the Little Ice Age

1999 ◽  
pp. 35-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard C. Bond ◽  
William Showers ◽  
Mary Elliot ◽  
Michael Evans ◽  
Rusty Lotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Heinrich Events ◽  
The North

scholarly journals Climatic variability and human impact during the last 2000 years in western Mesoamerica: evidence of late Classic (AD 600–900) and Little Ice Age drought events

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rodríguez-Ramírez ◽  
M. Caballero ◽  
P. Roy ◽  
B. Ortega ◽  
G. Vázquez-Castro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Impact ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
High Pressure Cell ◽  
Western Mexico ◽  
The North

Abstract. We present results of analysis of biological (diatoms and ostracodes) and non-biological (Ti, Ca / Ti, total inorganic carbon, magnetic susceptibility) variables from an 8.8 m long, high-resolution (~ 20 yr sample−1) laminated sediment sequence from Lake Santa María del Oro (SMO), western Mexico. This lake lies at a sensitive location between the dry climates of northern Mexico, under the influence of the North Pacific subtropical high-pressure cell and the moister climates of central Mexico, under the influence of the seasonal migration of the intertropical convergence zone and the North American monsoon (NAM). The sequence covers the last 2000 years and provides evidence of two periods of human impact in the catchment, shown by increases in the diatom Achnanthidium minutissimum. The first from AD 100 to 400 (Early Classic) is related to the shaft and chamber tombs cultural tradition in western Mexico, and the second is related to Post-Classic occupation from AD 1100 to 1300. Both periods correspond to relatively wet conditions. Three dry intervals are identified from increased carbonate and the presence of ostracodes and aerophilous Eolimna minima. The first, from AD 500 to 1000 (most intense during the late Classic, from AD 600 to 800), correlates with the end of the shaft and chamber tradition in western Mexico after ca. AD 600. This late Classic dry period is the most important climatic signal in the Mesoamerican region during the last 2000 years, and has been recorded at several sites from Yucatan to the Pacific coast. In the Yucatan area, this dry interval has been related with the demise of the Maya culture at the end of the Classic (AD 850 to 950). The last two dry events (AD 1400 to 1550 and 1690 to 1770) correspond with the onset of, and the late, Little Ice Age, and follow largely the Spörer and Maunder minima in solar radiation. The first of these intervals (AD 1400 to 1550) shows the most intense signal over western Mexico; however this pattern is different at other sites. Dry/wet intervals in the SMO record are related with lower/higher intensity of the NAM over this region, respectively.

scholarly journals Bunker Cave stalagmites: an archive for central European Holocene climate variability

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1687-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fohlmeister ◽  
A. Schröder-Ritzrau ◽  
D. Scholz ◽  
C. Spötl ◽  
D. F. C. Riechelmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Central European ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Meteoric Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

Abstract. Holocene climate was characterised by variability on multi-centennial to multi-decadal time scales. In central Europe, these fluctuations were most pronounced during winter. Here we present a new record of past winter climate variability for the last 10.8 ka based on four speleothems from Bunker Cave, Western Germany. Due to its central European location, the cave site is particularly well suited to record changes in precipitation and temperature in response to changes in the North Atlantic realm. We present high resolution records of δ18O, δ13C values and Mg/Ca ratios. We attribute changes in the Mg/Ca ratio to variations in the meteoric precipitation. The stable C isotope composition of the speleothems most likely reflects changes in vegetation and precipitation and variations in the δ18O signal are interpreted as variations in meteoric precipitation and temperature. We found cold and dry periods between 9 and 7 ka, 6.5 and 5.5 ka, 4 and 3 ka as well as between 0.7 to 0.2 ka. The proxy signals in our stalagmites compare well with other isotope records and, thus, seem representative for central European Holocene climate variability. The prominent 8.2 ka event and the Little Ice Age cold events are both recorded in the Bunker cave record. However, these events show a contrasting relationship between climate and δ18O, which is explained by different causes underlying the two climate anomalies. Whereas the Little Ice Age is attributed to a pronounced negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, the 8.2 ka event was triggered by cooler conditions in the North Atlantic due to a slowdown of the Thermohaline Circulation.

scholarly journals Tree-ring radiocarbon reveals reduced solar activity during Younger Dryas cooling

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Sookdeo ◽  
Bernd Kromer ◽  
Florian Adolphi ◽  
Jürg Beer ◽  
Nicolas Brehm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The North ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Clear Sign

<p>The Younger Dryas stadial (YD) was a return to glacial-like conditions in the North Atlantic region that interrupted deglacial warming around 12900 cal BP (before 1950 AD). Terrestrial and marine records suggest this event was initiated by the interruption of deep-water formation arising from North American freshwater runoff, but the causes of the millennia-long duration remain unclear. To investigate the solar activity, a possible YD driver, we exploit the cosmic production signals of tree-ring radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C) and ice-core beryllium-10 (<sup>10</sup>Be). Here we present the highest temporally resolved dataset of <sup>14</sup>C measurements (n = 1558) derived from European tree rings that have been accurately extended back to 14226 cal BP (±8, 2-σ), allowing precise alignment of ice-core records across this period. We identify a substantial increase in <sup>14</sup>C and <sup>10</sup>Be production starting at 12780 cal BP is comparable in magnitude to the historic Little Ice Age, being a clear sign of grand solar minima. We hypothesize the timing of the grand solar minima provides a significant amplifying factor leading to the harsh sustained glacial-like conditions seen in the YD.</p>

Little Ice Age fluctuations of Glaciar Río Manso in the North Patagonian Andes of Argentina

2010 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.H. Masiokas ◽  
B.H. Luckman ◽  
R. Villalba ◽  
A. Ripalta ◽  
J. Rabassa
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Lateral Moraine ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Subfossil Wood ◽  
Moraine Ridge ◽  
Patagonian Andes

Little Ice Age (LIA) fluctuations of Glaciar R"o Manso, north Patagonian Andes, Argentina are studied using information from previous work and dendrogeomorphological analyses of living and subfossil wood. The most extensive LIA expansion occurred between the late 1700s and the 1830"1840s. Except for a massive older frontal moraine system apparently predating ca. 2240 14C yr BP and a small section of a south lateral moraine ridge that is at least 300 yr old, the early nineteenth century advance overrode surficial evidence of any earlier LIA glacier events. Over the past 150 yr the gently sloping, heavily debris-covered lower glacier tongue has thinned significantly, but several short periods of readvance or stasis have been identified and tree-ring dated to the mid-1870s, 1890s, 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, and the mid-1970s. Ice mass loss has increased in recent years due to calving into a rapidly growing proglacial lake. The neighboring debris-free and land-based Glaciar Fr"as has also retreated markedly in recent years but shows substantial differences in the timing of the peak LIA advance (early 1600s). This indicates that site-specific factors can have a significant impact on the resulting glacier records and should thus be considered carefully in the development and assessment of regional glacier chronologies.

Cuban stalagmite suggests relationship between Caribbean precipitation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation during the past 1.3 ka

The Holocene ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1405-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Fensterer ◽  
Denis Scholz ◽  
Dirk Hoffmann ◽  
Christoph Spötl ◽  
Jesús M Pajón ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Rainfall Intensity ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Southward Shift ◽  
The North Atlantic

Here we present the first high-resolution δ18O record of a stalagmite from western Cuba. The record reflects precipitation variability in the northwestern Caribbean during the last 1.3 ka and exhibits a correlation to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). This suggests a relationship between Caribbean rainfall intensity and North Atlantic sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies. A potential mechanism for this relationship may be the strength of the Thermohaline Circulation (THC). For a weaker THC, lower SSTs in the North Atlantic possibly lead to a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and drier conditions in Cuba. Thus, this Cuban stalagmite records drier conditions during cold phases in the North Atlantic such as the ‘Little Ice Age’. This study contributes to the understanding of teleconnections between North Atlantic SSTs and northern Caribbean climate variability during the past 1.3 ka.

scholarly journals Intermittent thinning of Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, since the Little Ice Age

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (184) ◽  
pp. 131-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bea Csatho ◽  
Toni Schenk ◽  
C.J. Van Der Veen ◽  
William B. Krabill
Keyword(s):  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Dynamical Response ◽  
The South ◽  
Glacier Surface ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
The North ◽  
Climate Forcings

AbstractRapid thinning and velocity increase on major Greenland outlet glaciers during the last two decades may indicate that these glaciers became unstable as a consequence of the Jakobshavn effect (Hughes, 1986), with terminus retreat leading to increased discharge from the interior and consequent further thinning and retreat. To assess whether recent trends deviate from longer-term behavior, we measured glacier surface elevations and terminus positions for Jakobshavn Isbræ, West Greenland, using historical photographs acquired in 1944, 1953, 1959, 1964 and 1985. These results were combined with data from historical records, aerial photographs, ground surveys, airborne laser altimetry and field mapping of lateral moraines and trimlines, to reconstruct the history of changes since the Little Ice Age (LIA). We identified three periods of rapid thinning since the LIA: 1902–13, 1930–59 and 1999–present. During the first half of the 20th century, the calving front appears to have been grounded and it started to float during the late 1940s. The south and north tributaries exhibit different behavior. For example, the north tributary was thinning between 1959 and 1985 during a period when the calving front was stationary and the south tributary was in balance. The record of intermittent thinning, combined with changes in ice-marginal extent and position of the calving front, together with changes in velocity, imply that the behavior of the lower parts of this glacier represents a complex ice-dynamical response to local climate forcings and interactions with drainage from the interior.

scholarly journals Late Holocene climate variability in the southwestern Mediterranean region: an integrated marine and terrestrial geochemical approach

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1655-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Martín-Puertas ◽  
F. Jiménez-Espejo ◽  
F. Martínez-Ruiz ◽  
V. Nieto-Moreno ◽  
M. Rodrigo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Warm Period ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. A combination of marine (Alboran Sea cores, ODP 976 and TTR 300 G) and terrestrial (Zoñar Lake, Andalucia, Spain) paleoclimate information using geochemical proxies provides a high resolution reconstruction of climate variability and human influence in southwestern Mediterranean region for the last 4000 years at inter-centennial resolution. Proxies respond to changes in precipitation rather than temperature alone. Our archive documents a succession of dry and wet periods coherent with the North Atlantic climate signal. Drier stages occurred prior to 2.7 cal ka BP, well-correlated with the global aridity crisis of the third-millennium BC, and during the Medieval Warm Period (1.4–0.7 cal ka BP). Wetter conditions prevailed from 2.7 to 1.4 cal ka BP and after the Medieval Warm Period and the onset of the Little Ice Age. Hydrological signatures during the Little Ice Age are highly variable but consistent with more humidity that the period before. Additionally, Pb anomalies in sediments at the end of Bronze Age suggest anthropogenic pollution earlier than the Roman Empire development in the Iberian Peninsula. The evolution of the climate in the study area during the Late Holocene confirms the see-saw pattern previously shown between eastern and western Mediterranean regions and suggests a higher influence of the North Atlantic dynamics in the western Mediterranean.

scholarly journals The origin of glacial alpine landscape in Tröllaskagi Peninsula (North Iceland)

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 341 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Andrés ◽  
L. M. Tanarro ◽  
J. M. Fernández ◽  
D. Palacios
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Important Advance ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Rock Glaciers ◽  
Basalt Plateau ◽  
Tertiary Basalt

The Tröllaskagi peninsula is located in north central Iceland, between meridians 19º30’W and 18º10’W , limited by Skagafjödur fiord to the west and the Eyjafjödur fiord to the east, jutting out into the North Atlantic to latitude 66º12’N and linked to the central Icelandic highlands to the south. The peninsula is a Tertiary basalt plateau topped by flat summits with altitudes of 1000-1500 m, intensely dissected by the drainage network. The aim of this present study is to synthesize the recent advances in our understanding of the landscape and its dynamics in the Tröllaskagi peninsula and find the origin of its significant difference from the rest of Iceland. Results of the most recent research suggest the situation of Tröllaskagi as ice-free, delimited by the two great glacial outlets flowing down from the Icelandic Ice Sheet through the Skagafjödur and Eyjafjödur fiords, from at least the Oldest Dryas to the end of the Early Preboreal. Inland in Tröllaskagi, the glaciers formed in the north-facing cirques without losing their alpine characteristics during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The advances of these glaciers during the Oldest, Older and Youngest Dryas and the Early Preboreal were only a few hundred metres greater than the most important advance in the second half of the Holocene, during the Little Ice Age. Only a few of these glaciers remained debris-free and are sensitive to the minor climate oscillations. The rest, due to the important geomorphological activity on their walls, developed into debris-covered and rock glaciers and lost this significant dynamism.

scholarly journals Radiocarbon/Tree-Ring Calibration, Solar Activity, and Upwelling of Ocean Water

Radiocarbon ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 987-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
F B Knox ◽  
B G McFadgen
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Calibration Data ◽  
Ocean Water ◽  
Smooth Curves ◽  
The North ◽  
Oceanic Upwelling

Least-squares fitted smooth curves to radiocarbon versus tree-ring calibration data for the period AD 1140 to 1950 are compared with climatic warming and cooling of the North Atlantic (Little Ice Age), and with recorded sunspot numbers over the period AD 1670 to 1950.Calibration curves from different parts of the globe are not identical, and appear to be determined by a combination of variable solar activity and variable oceanic upwelling of 14C-depleted water, with the variable upwelling itself partly determined by solar activity.

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