1. |
- Czymzik, Markus, et al.
(author)
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Synchronizing 10Be in two varved lake sediment records to IntCal13 14C during three grand solar minima
- 2018
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 14:5, s. 687-696
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Timescale uncertainties between paleoclimate reconstructions often inhibit studying the exact timing, spatial expression and driving mechanisms of climate variations. Detecting and aligning the globally common cosmogenic radionuclide production signal via a curve fitting method provides a tool for the quasi-continuous synchronization of paleoclimate archives. In this study, we apply this approach to synchronize Be-10 records from varved sediments of Tiefer See and Lake Czechowskie covering the Maunder, Homeric and 5500 a BP grand solar minima with C-14 production rates inferred from the IntCal13 calibration curve. Our analyses indicate best fits with C-14 production rates when the Be-10 records from Tiefer See were shifted for 8 (-12/+4) (Maunder Minimum), 31 (-16/+12) (Homeric Minimum) and 86 (-22/+18) years (5500 a BP grand solar minimum) towards the past. The best fit between the Lake Czechowskie Be-10 record for the 5500 a BP grand solar minimum and C-14 production was obtained when the Be-10 time series was shifted 29 (-8/+7) years towards present. No significant fits were detected between the Lake Czechowskie Be-10 records for the Maunder and Homeric minima and C-14 production, likely due to intensified in-lake sediment resuspension since about 2800 a BP, transporting "old" Be-10 to the coring location. Our results provide a proof of concept for facilitating Be-10 in varved lake sediments as a novel synchronization tool required for investigating leads and lags of proxy responses to climate variability. However, they also point to some limitations of Be-10 in these archives, mainly connected to in-lake sediment resuspension processes.
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2. |
- Czymzik, Markus, et al.
(author)
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A varved lake sediment record of the Be-10 solar activity proxy for the Lateglacial-Holocene transition
- 2016
-
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 153, s. 31-39
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Solar modulated variations in cosmogenic radionuclide production provide both information on past changes in the activity of the Sun and a global synchronization tool. However, to date the use of cosmogenic radionuclides for these applications is almost exclusively based on Be-10 records from ice cores and C-14 time-series from tree rings, all including archive-specific limitations. We present the first Be-10 record from annually laminated (varved) lake sediments for the Lateglacial-Holocene transition from Meerfelder Maar. We quantify environmental influences on the catchment and, consequently, Be-10 deposition using a new approach based on regression analyses between our Be-10 record and environmental proxy time-series from the same archive. Our analyses suggest that environmental influences contribute to up to 37% of the variability in our Be-10 record, but cannot be the main explanation for major Be-10 excursions. Corrected for these environmental influences, our Be-10 record is interpreted to dominantly reflect changes in solar modulated cosmogenic radionuclide production. The preservation of a solar production signal in Be-10 from varved lake sediments highlights the largely unexplored potential of these archives for solar activity reconstruction, as global synchronization tool and, thus, for more robust paleoclimate studies.
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3. |
- Czymzik, Markus, et al.
(author)
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Solar cycles and depositional processes in annual Be-10 from two varved lake sediment records
- 2015
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In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-013X .- 0012-821X. ; 428, s. 44-51
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Beryllium 10 concentrations (Be-10(con)) were measured at annual resolution from varved sediment cores of Lakes Tiefer See (TSK) and Czechowskie (JC) for the period 1983-2009 (similar to solar cycles 22 and 23). Calibrating the Be-10(con) time-series against complementing proxy records from the same archive as well as local precipitation and neutron monitor data, reflecting solar forced changes in atmospheric radionuclide production, allowed (i) identifying the main depositional processes and (ii) evaluating the potential for solar activity reconstruction. Be-10(con) in TSK and JC sediments are significantly correlated to varying neutron monitor counts (TSK: r = 0.5, p = 0.05, n = 16; JC: r = 0.46, p = 0.03, n = 22). However, the further correlations with changes in organic carbon contents in TSK as well as varying organic carbon and detrital matter contents in JC point to catchment specific biases in the 10Be(con) time-series. In an attempt to correct for these biases multiple regression analysis was applied to extract an atmospheric Be-10 production signal (Be-10(atmosphere)). To increase the signal to noise ratio a Be-10 composite record (Be-10(composite)) was calculated from the TSK time-series. Be-10(composite) and JC Be-10(atmosphere) is significantly correlated to variations in the neutron monitor record (r = 0.49, p = 0.01, n = 25) and matches the expected amplitude changes in 10Be production between solar cycle minima and maxima. This calibration study on 10Be from two sites indicates the large potential but also, partly site-specific, limitations of Be-10 in varved lake sediments for solar activity reconstruction. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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4. |
- Mekhaldi, Florian, et al.
(author)
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Multiradionuclide evidence for the solar origin of the cosmic-ray events of ᴀᴅ 774/5 and 993/4.
- 2015
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The origin of two large peaks in the atmospheric radiocarbon ((14)C) concentration at AD 774/5 and 993/4 is still debated. There is consensus, however, that these features can only be explained by an increase in the atmospheric (14)C production rate due to an extraterrestrial event. Here we provide evidence that these peaks were most likely produced by extreme solar events, based on several new annually resolved (10)Be measurements from both Arctic and Antarctic ice cores. Using ice core (36)Cl data in pair with (10)Be, we further show that these solar events were characterized by a very hard energy spectrum with high fluxes of solar protons with energy above 100 MeV. These results imply that the larger of the two events (AD 774/5) was at least five times stronger than any instrumentally recorded solar event. Our findings highlight the importance of studying the possibility of severe solar energetic particle events.
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5. |
- O'Hare, Paschal, et al.
(author)
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Multiradionuclide evidence for an extreme solar proton event around 2,610 BP (similar to 660 BC)
- 2019
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : NATL ACAD SCIENCES. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:13, s. 5961-5966
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recently, it has been confirmed that extreme solar proton events can lead to significantly increased atmospheric production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides. Evidence of such events is recorded in annually resolved natural archives, such as tree rings [carbon-14 (C-14)] and ice cores [beryllium-10 (Be-10), chlorine-36 (Cl-36)]. Here, we show evidence for an extreme solar event around 2,610 years B.P. (similar to 660 BC) based on high-resolution Be-10 data from two Greenland ice cores. Our conclusions are supported by modeled C-14 production rates for the same period. Using existing Cl-36 ice core data in conjunction with Be-10, we further show that this solar event was characterized by a very hard energy spectrum. These results indicate that the 2,610-years B.P. event was an order of magnitude stronger than any solar event recorded during the instrumental period and comparable with the solar proton event of AD 774/775, the largest solar event known to date. The results illustrate the importance of multiple ice core radionuclide measurements for the reliable identification of short-term production rate increases and the assessment of their origins.
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6. |
- Adolphi, Florian, et al.
(author)
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Connecting the Greenland ice-core and U/Th timescales via cosmogenic radionuclides : Testing the synchroneity of Dansgaard-Oeschger events
- 2018
-
In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 14:11, s. 1755-1781
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the last glacial period Northern Hemisphere climate was characterized by extreme and abrupt climate changes, so-called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events. Most clearly observed as temperature changes in Greenland ice-core records, their climatic imprint was geographically widespread. However, the temporal relation between DO events in Greenland and other regions is uncertain due to the chronological uncertainties of each archive, limiting our ability to test hypotheses of synchronous change. In contrast, the assumption of direct synchrony of climate changes forms the basis of many timescales. Here, we use cosmogenic radionuclides (10Be, 36Cl, 14C) to link Greenland ice-core records to U=Th-dated speleothems, quantify offsets between the two timescales, and improve their absolute dating back to 45 000 years ago. This approach allows us to test the assumption that DO events occurred synchronously between Greenland ice-core and tropical speleothem records with unprecedented precision. We find that the onset of DO events occurs within synchronization uncertainties in all investigated records. Importantly, we demonstrate that local discrepancies remain in the temporal development of rapid climate change for specific events and speleothems. These may either be related to the location of proxy records relative to the shifting atmospheric fronts or to underestimated U=Th dating uncertainties. Our study thus highlights the potential for misleading interpretations of the Earth system when applying the common practice of climate wiggle matching.
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7. |
- Adolphi, Florian, et al.
(author)
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Radiocarbon calibration uncertainties during the last deglaciation : Insights from new floating tree-ring chronologies
- 2017
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791. ; 170, s. 98-108
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Radiocarbon dating is the most commonly used chronological tool in archaeological and environmental sciences dealing with the past 50,000 years, making the radiocarbon calibration curve one of the most important records in paleosciences. For the past 12,560 years, the radiocarbon calibration curve is constrained by high quality tree-ring data. Prior to this, however, its uncertainties increase rapidly due to the absence of suitable tree-ring 14C data. Here, we present new high-resolution 14C measurements from 3 floating tree-ring chronologies from the last deglaciation. By using combined information from the current radiocarbon calibration curve and ice core 10Be records, we are able to absolutely date these chronologies at high confidence. We show that our data imply large 14C-age variations during the Bølling chronozone (Greenland Interstadial 1e) – a period that is currently characterized by a long 14C-age plateau in the most recent IntCal13 calibration record. We demonstrate that this lack of structure in IntCal13 may currently lead to erroneous calibrated ages by up to 500 years.
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8. |
- Adolphi, Florian, et al.
(author)
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Synchronizing the Greenland ice core and radiocarbon timescales over the Holocene-Bayesian wiggle-matching of cosmogenic radionuclide records
- 2016
-
In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 12:1, s. 15-30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Investigations of past climate dynamics rely on accurate and precise chronologies of the employed climate reconstructions. The radiocarbon dating calibration curve (IntCal13) and the Greenland ice core chronology (GICC05) represent two of the most widely used chronological frameworks in paleoclimatology of the past 1/4 g50g000 years. However, comparisons of climate records anchored on these chronologies are hampered by the precision and accuracy of both timescales. Here we use common variations in the production rates of 14C and 10Be recorded in tree-rings and ice cores, respectively, to assess the differences between both timescales during the Holocene. Compared to earlier work, we employ a novel statistical approach which leads to strongly reduced and yet, more robust, uncertainty estimates. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the inferred timescale differences are robust independent of (i) the applied ice core 10Be records, (ii) assumptions of the mode of 10Be deposition, as well as (iii) carbon cycle effects on 14C, and (iv) in agreement with independent estimates of the timescale differences. Our results imply that the GICC05 counting error is likely underestimated during the most recent 2000 years leading to a dating bias that propagates throughout large parts of the Holocene. Nevertheless, our analysis indicates that the GICC05 counting error is generally a robust uncertainty measurement but care has to be taken when treating it as a nearly Gaussian error distribution. The proposed IntCal13-GICC05 transfer function facilitates the comparison of ice core and radiocarbon dated paleoclimate records at high chronological precision.
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9. |
- Bernhardson, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Sand drift events and surface winds in south-central Sweden : From the deglaciation to the present
- 2019
-
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791. ; 209, s. 13-22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the transition from the last glacial into the Holocene interglacial, the atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic area changed from a glacial mode, influenced by the presence of large ice sheets, into a system more similar to that of the present day. This change had implications for wind, temperature and precipitation patterns that can be traced in geological archives. Here, we focus on reconstructing past wind directions over southern Scandinavia, as inferred from the net sediment transport direction of inland dunes in south-central Sweden. We analysed single dunes and dune fields along a 540-km-long S-N transect with LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) derived DEMs (digital elevation models) to determine their geomorphological type and the directional mode of the wind that led to their formation. Luminescence ages of sand drift and dune formation were compiled from previous studies, allowing us to build a chronology of sand drift after the deglaciation of south-central Sweden. The majority of the dunes appear to have been formed by westerly or northwesterly winds and stabilised ∼10.5–9.0 ka. Although this is rather close in time to the local deglaciation for the northern sites, it is long after the disappearance of ice from the more southern sites. The coeval dune stabilisation over such a large geographical area suggests that regional environmental conditions played an important role. It is likely that an unstable climate in conjunction with low groundwater tables during the early Holocene locally delayed vegetation from stabilising the dunes.
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10. |
- Björck, Svante, et al.
(author)
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A South Atlantic island record uncovers shifts in westerlies and hydroclimate during the last glacial
- 2019
-
In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 15:6, s. 1939-1958
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Changes in the latitudinal position and strength of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies (SHW) are thought to be tightly coupled to important climate processes, such as cross-equatorial heat fluxes, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the bipolar seesaw, Southern Ocean ventilation and atmospheric CO2 levels. However, many uncertainties regarding magnitude, direction, and causes and effects of past SHW shifts still exist due to lack of suitable sites and scarcity of information on SHW dynamics, especially from the last glacial. Here we present a detailed hydroclimate multiproxy record from a 36.4-18.6 kyr old lake sediment sequence on Nightingale Island (NI). It is strategically located at 37ĝF S in the central South Atlantic (SA) within the SHW belt and situated just north of the marine Subtropical Front (SF). This has enabled us to assess hydroclimate changes and their link to the regional climate development as well as to large-scale climate events in polar ice cores. The NI record exhibits a continuous impact of the SHW, recording shifts in both position and strength, and between 36 and 31 ka the westerlies show high latitudinal and strength-wise variability possibly linked to the bipolar seesaw. This was followed by 4 kyr of slightly falling temperatures, decreasing humidity and fairly southerly westerlies. After 27 ka temperatures decreased 3-4 ĝC, marking the largest hydroclimate change with drier conditions and a variable SHW position. We note that periods with more intense and southerly-positioned SHW seem to be related to periods of increased CO2 outgassing from the ocean, while changes in the cross-equatorial gradient during large northern temperature changes appear as the driving mechanism for the SHW shifts. Together with coeval shifts of the South Pacific westerlies, our results show that most of the Southern Hemisphere experienced simultaneous atmospheric circulation changes during the latter part of the last glacial. Finally we can conclude that multiproxy lake records from oceanic islands have the potential to record atmospheric variability coupled to large-scale climate shifts over vast oceanic areas..
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11. |
- Czymzik, Markus, et al.
(author)
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Mid-Holocene humid periods reconstructed from calcite varves of the Lake Woserin sediment record (north-eastern Germany)
- 2016
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In: Holocene. - : SAGE Publications. - 0959-6836. ; 26:6, s. 935-946
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Time-series of varve properties and geochemistry were established from varved sediments of Lake Woserin (north-eastern Germany) covering the recent period AD 2010–1923 and the mid-Holocene time-window 6400–4950 varve years before present (vyr BP) using microfacies analyses, x-ray fluorescence (µ-XRF) scanning, microscopic varve chronology, and 14C dating. The microscopic varve chronology was compared with a macroscopic varve chronology for the same sediment interval. Calcite layer thickness during the recent period is significantly correlated to increases in local annual precipitation (r = 0.46, p = 0.03) and reduced air-pressure (r = −0.72, p < 0.0001). Meteorologically consistent with enhanced precipitation at Lake Woserin, a composite 500 hPa anomaly map for years with >1 standard deviation calcite layer thickness depicts a negative wave train air-pressure anomaly centered over southern Europe, with north-eastern Germany at its northern frontal zone. Three centennial-scale intervals of thicker calcite layers around the mid-Holocene periods 6200–5900, 5750–5400, and 5300–4950 vyr BP might reflect humid conditions favoring calcite precipitation through the transport of Ca2+ ions into Lake Woserin, synchronous to wetter conditions in Europe. Calcite layer thickness oscillations of about 88 and 208 years resemble the solar Gleissberg and Suess cycles suggesting that the recorded hydroclimate changes in north-eastern Germany are modified by solar influences on synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation. However, parts of the periods of thicker calcite layers around 5750–5400 and 5200 vyr BP also coincide with enhanced human catchment activity at Lake Woserin. Therefore, calcite precipitation during these time-windows might have further been favored by anthropogenic deforestation mobilizing Ca2+ ions and/or lake eutrophication.
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12. |
- Edvardsson, Johannes, et al.
(author)
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Periodicities in mid- to late-Holocene peatland hydrology identified from Swedish and Lithuanian tree-ring data
- 2016
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In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 137, s. 200-208
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Twenty-five tree-ring width (TRW) chronologies, developed from moisture sensitive peatland trees in Sweden and Lithuania, and representing eight periods during the mid-Holocene to present, were analysed regarding common periodicities (cycles). Periods of 13e15, 20e22, and 30e35 years were found in most chronologies, while 8e10, 18e19, and 60e65 year periodicities were observed as well, but less commonly. Similar periodicities, especially about 15 and 30 years in duration, were detected in both living and subfossil trees, indicating that the trees have responded to similar forcing mechanisms on those timescales through time. Some of the detected periods may be related to solar variability and lunar nodal tides, but most of the detected periodicities are more likely linked to hydrological changes in the peatlands associated to atmospheric patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), or variations in sea surface temperatures (i.e. the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO). However, no significant relationships between tree growth, NAO and AMO could be formally established, possibly due to hydrological lag and feedback effects which are typical for peatlands but render in-depth assessments rather difficult.
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13. |
- Erhardt, Tobias, et al.
(author)
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Decadal-scale progression of the onset of Dansgaard-Oeschger warming events
- 2019
-
In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 15:2, s. 811-825
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the last glacial period, proxy records throughout the Northern Hemisphere document a succession of rapid millennial-scale warming events, called Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events. A range of different mechanisms has been proposed that can produce similar warming in model experiments; however, the progression and ultimate trigger of the events are still unknown. Because of their fast nature, the progression is challenging to reconstruct from paleoclimate data due to the limited temporal resolution achievable in many archives and cross-dating uncertainties between records. Here, we use new high-resolution multi-proxy records of sea-salt (derived from sea spray and sea ice over the North Atlantic) and terrestrial (derived from the central Asian deserts) aerosol concentrations over the period 10-60 ka from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) and North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) ice cores in conjunction with local precipitation and temperature proxies from the NGRIP ice core to investigate the progression of environmental changes at the onset of the warming events at annual to multi-annual resolution. Our results show on average a small lead of the changes in both local precipitation and terrestrial dust aerosol concentrations over the change in sea-salt aerosol concentrations and local temperature of approximately one decade. This suggests that, connected to the reinvigoration of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the warming in the North Atlantic, both synoptic and hemispheric atmospheric circulation changes at the onset of the DO warming, affecting both the moisture transport to Greenland and the Asian monsoon systems. Taken at face value, this suggests that a collapse of the sea-ice cover may not have been the initial trigger for the DO warming.
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14. |
- Guettler, D., et al.
(author)
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Rapid increase in cosmogenic C-14 in AD 775 measured in New Zealand kauri trees indicates short-lived increase in C-14 production spanning both hemispheres
- 2015
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In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-013X .- 0012-821X. ; 411, s. 290-297
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2012, Miyake et al. reported a sudden and strong increase of the atmospheric radiocarbon (C-14) content in Japanese cedar trees of 1.2% between AD 774 and 775. While their findings were quickly confirmed by a German oak chronology for the Northern Hemisphere (NH), the question remained if the effect was seen in both hemispheres. Here we present the first annually resolved Southern Hemisphere (SH) C-14 record spanning the interval AD 760-787, using New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) chronology wood. An almost identical distinct increase compared to Northern Hemisphere data was observed, suggesting a cosmic event with globally uniform impact as a potential cause for the increase. Deploying a carbon cycle box model a worldwide averaged net C-14 production of 2.2 x 10(8) C-14 atoms cm(-2) was estimated, which is 3.7 times higher than the average annual C-14 production. The immediate appearance of the event in tree rings on both hemispheres suggests a short duration event of significantly less than 1 yr.
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15. |
- Muscheler, Raimund, et al.
(author)
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The Revised Sunspot Record in Comparison to Cosmogenic Radionuclide-Based Solar Activity Reconstructions
- 2016
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In: Solar Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0038-0938 .- 1573-093X. ; 291:9-10, s. 3025-3043
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent revisions in the sunspot records illustrate the challenges related to obtaining a 400-year-long observational record of past solar-activity changes. Cosmogenic radionuclides offer the possibility of obtaining an alternative and completely independent record of solar variability. Here, we illustrate that these records offer great potential for quantitative solar-activity reconstructions far back into the past, and we provide updated radionuclide-based solar-activity reconstructions for the past 2000 years. However, cosmogenic-radionuclide records are also influenced by processes independent of solar activity, leading to the need for critical assessment and correction for the non-solar influences. Independent of these uncertainties, we show a very good agreement between the revised sunspot records and the 10Be records from Antarctica and, in particular, the 14C-based solar-activity reconstructions. This comparison offers the potential of identifying remaining non-solar processes in the radionuclide-based solar-activity reconstructions, but it also helps identifying remaining biases in the recently revised sunspot records.
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16. |
- Sigl, Michael, et al.
(author)
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The WAIS Divide deep ice core WD2014 chronology - Part 2 : Annual-layer counting (0-31 ka BP)
- 2016
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 12:3, s. 769-786
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the WD2014 chronology for the upper part (0-2850 m; 31.2 ka BP) of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide (WD) ice core. The chronology is based on counting of annual layers observed in the chemical, dust and electrical conductivity records. These layers are caused by seasonal changes in the source, transport, and deposition of aerosols. The measurements were interpreted manually and with the aid of two automated methods. We validated the chronology by comparing to two high-accuracy, absolutely dated chronologies. For the Holocene, the cosmogenic isotope records of 10Be from WAIS Divide and 14C for IntCal13 demonstrated that WD2014 was consistently accurate to better than 0.5 % of the age. For the glacial period, comparisons to the Hulu Cave chronology demonstrated that WD2014 had an accuracy of better than 1 % of the age at three abrupt climate change events between 27 and 31 ka. WD2014 has consistently younger ages than Greenland ice core chronologies during most of the Holocene. For the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition (11.595 ka; 24 years younger) and the Bølling-Allerød Warming (14.621 ka; 7 years younger), WD2014 ages are within the combined uncertainties of the timescales. Given its high accuracy, WD2014 can become a reference chronology for the Southern Hemisphere, with synchronization to other chronologies feasible using high-quality proxies of volcanism, solar activity, atmospheric mineral dust, and atmospheric methane concentrations.
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17. |
- Sjolte, Jesper, et al.
(author)
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Solar and volcanic forcing of North Atlantic climate inferred from a process-based reconstruction
- 2018
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 14:8, s. 1179-1194
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effect of external forcings on atmospheric circulation is debated. Due to the short observational period, the analysis of the role of external forcings is hampered, making it difficult to assess the sensitivity of atmospheric circulation to external forcings, as well as persistence of the effects. In observations, the average response to tropical volcanic eruptions is a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the following winter. However, past major tropical eruptions exceeding the magnitude of eruptions during the instrumental era could have had more lasting effects. Decadal NAO variability has been suggested to follow the 11-year solar cycle, and linkages have been made between grand solar minima and negative NAO. However, the solar link to NAO found by modeling studies is not unequivocally supported by reconstructions, and is not consistently present in observations for the 20th century. Here we present a reconstruction of atmospheric winter circulation for the North Atlantic region covering the period 1241-1970 CE. Based on seasonally resolved Greenland ice core records and a 1200-year-long simulation with an isotope-enabled climate model, we reconstruct sea level pressure and temperature by matching the spatiotemporal variability in the modeled isotopic composition to that of the ice cores. This method allows us to capture the primary (NAO) and secondary mode (Eastern Atlantic Pattern) of atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic region, while, contrary to previous reconstructions, preserving the amplitude of observed year-to-year atmospheric variability. Our results show five winters of positive NAO on average following major tropical volcanic eruptions, which is more persistent than previously suggested. In response to decadal minima of solar activity we find a high-pressure anomaly over northern Europe, while a reinforced opposite response in pressure emerges with a 5-year time lag. On centennial timescales we observe a similar response of circulation as for the 5-year time-lagged response, with a high-pressure anomaly across North America and south of Greenland. This response to solar forcing is correlated to the second mode of atmospheric circulation, the Eastern Atlantic Pattern. The response could be due to an increase in blocking frequency, possibly linked to a weakening of the subpolar gyre. The long-term anomalies of temperature during solar minima shows cooling across Greenland, Iceland and western Europe, resembling the cooling pattern during the Little Ice Age (1450-1850 CE). While our results show significant correlation between solar forcing and the secondary circulation pattern on decadal (r Combining double low line 0.29, p < 0.01) and centennial timescales (r Combining double low line 0.6, p < 0.01), we find no consistent relationship between solar forcing and NAO. We conclude that solar and volcanic forcing impacts different modes of our reconstructed atmospheric circulation, which can aid in separating the regional effects of forcings and understanding the underlying mechanisms..
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18. |
- Staff, Richard A., et al.
(author)
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Reconciling the Greenland ice-core and radiocarbon timescales through the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion
- 2019
-
In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-821X. ; 520, s. 1-9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cosmogenic radionuclides, such as 10Be and 14C, share a common production signal, with their formation in the Earth's upper atmosphere modulated by changes to the geomagnetic field, as well as variations in the intensity of the solar wind. Here, we use this common production signal to compare between the radiocarbon (IntCal)and Greenland ice-core (GICC05)timescales, utilising the most pronounced cosmogenic production peak of the last 100,000 years – that associated with the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion circa 41,000 years ago. We present 54 new 14C measurements from a peat core (‘TP-2005’)from Tenaghi Philippon, NE Greece, contiguously spanning between circa 47,300 and 39,600 cal. BP, demonstrating a distinctive tripartite structure in the build up to the principal Laschamp production maximum that is not present in the consensus IntCal13 calibration curve. This is the first time that a continuous, non-reservoir corrected 14C dataset has been generated over such a long time span for this, the oldest portion of the radiocarbon timescale. This period is critical for both palaeoenvironmental and archaeological applications, with the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans in Europe around this time. By placing our Tenaghi Philippon 14C dataset on to the Hulu Cave U-series timescale of Cheng et al. (2018)via Bayesian statistical modelling, the comparison of TP-2005 14C with Greenland 10Be fluxes also implicitly relates the underlying U-series and GICC05 timescales themselves. This comparison suggests that whilst these two timescales are broadly coherent, the IntCal13 timescale contains erroneous structure circa 40,000 cal. BP.
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19. |
- Turney, Chris S M, et al.
(author)
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High-precision dating and correlation of ice, marine and terrestrial sequences spanning Heinrich Event 3 : Testing mechanisms of interhemispheric change using New Zealand ancient kauri (Agathis australis)
- 2016
-
In: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0277-3791. ; 137, s. 126-134
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Robustly testing hypotheses of geographic synchroneity of abrupt and extreme change during the late Pleistocene (60,000 to 11,650 years ago) requires a level of chronological precision often lacking in ice, marine and terrestrial sequences. Here we report a bidecadally-resolved New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) tree-ring sequence spanning two millennia that preserves a record of atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) during ice-rafted debris event Heinrich Event 3 (HE3) in the North Atlantic and Antarctic Isotope Maximum 4 (AIM4) in the Southern Hemisphere. Using 14C in the marine Cariaco Basin and 10Be preserved in Greenland ice, the kauri 14C sequence allows us to precisely align sequences across this period. We observe no significant difference between atmospheric and marine 14C records during HE3, suggesting no stratification of surface waters and collapse in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Instead our results support recent evidence for a weakened AMOC across at least two millennia of the glacial period. Our work adds to a growing body of literature confirming that Heinrich events are not the cause of stadial cooling and suggests changes in the AMOC were not the primary driver of antiphase temperature trends between the hemispheres. Decadally-resolved 14C in ancient kauri offers a powerful new (and complementary) approach to polar ice core CH4 alignment for testing hypotheses of abrupt and extreme climate change.
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20. |
- Turney, Chris S M, et al.
(author)
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Rapid global ocean-atmosphere response to Southern Ocean freshening during the last glacial
- 2017
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Contrasting Greenland and Antarctic temperatures during the last glacial period (115,000 to 11,650 years ago) are thought to have been driven by imbalances in the rates of formation of North Atlantic and Antarctic Deep Water (the 'bipolar seesaw'). Here we exploit a bidecadally resolved 14C data set obtained from New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) to undertake high-precision alignment of key climate data sets spanning iceberg-rafted debris event Heinrich 3 and Greenland Interstadial (GI) 5.1 in the North Atlantic (~30,400 to 28,400 years ago). We observe no divergence between the kauri and Atlantic marine sediment 14C data sets, implying limited changes in deep water formation. However, a Southern Ocean (Atlantic-sector) iceberg rafted debris event appears to have occurred synchronously with GI-5.1 warming and decreased precipitation over the western equatorial Pacific and Atlantic. An ensemble of transient meltwater simulations shows that Antarctic-sourced salinity anomalies can generate climate changes that are propagated globally via an atmospheric Rossby wave train.
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21. |
- Zheng, Minjie, et al.
(author)
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Climate information preserved in seasonal water isotope at NEEM : Relationships with temperature, circulation and sea ice
- 2018
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In: Climate of the Past. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1814-9324 .- 1814-9332. ; 14:7, s. 1067-1078
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Analyzing seasonally resolved δ18O ice core data can aid the interpretation of the climate information in ice cores, also providing insights into factors governing the δ18O signal that cannot be deciphered by investigating the annual δ18O data only. However, the seasonal isotope signal has not yet been investigated in northern Greenland, e.g., at the NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) ice core drill site. Here, we analyze seasonally resolved δ18O data from four shallow NEEM ice cores covering the last 150 years. Based on correlation analysis with observed temperature, we attribute about 70 and 30%of annual accumulation to summer and winter, respectively. The NEEM summer δ18O signal correlates strongly with summer western Greenland coastal temperature and with the first principal component (PC1) of summer δ18O from multiple seasonally resolved ice cores from central/southern Greenland. However, there are no significant correlations between NEEM winter δ18O data and western Greenland coastal winter temperature or southern/central Greenland winter δ18O PC1. The stronger correlation with temperature during summer and the dominance of summer precipitation skew the annual δ18O signal in NEEM. The strong footprint of temperature in NEEM summer δ18O record also suggests that the summer δ18O record rather than the winter δ18O record is a better temperature proxy at the NEEM site. Despite the dominant signal of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) in the central?southern ice core data, both NAO and AMO exert weak influences on NEEM seasonal δ18O variations. The NEEM seasonal δ18O is found to be highly correlated with Baffin Bay sea ice concentration (SIC) in the satellite observation period (1979?2004), suggesting a connection of the sea ice extent with δ18O at NEEM. NEEM winter δ18O significantly correlates with SIC even for the period prior to satellite observation (1901? 1978). The NEEM winter δ18O may reflect sea ice variationsof Baffin Bay rather than temperature itself. This study shows that seasonally resolved δ18O records, especially for sites with a seasonal precipitation bias such as NEEM, provide a better understanding of how changing air temperature and circulation patterns are associated with the variability in the δ18O records.
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