High-Resolution Greenland Ice Core Data Show Abrupt Climate Change Happens in Few Years

• The last two abrupt warmings at the onset of our present warm interglacial period, interrupted bythe Younger Dryas cooling event, were investigated at high temporal resolution from the NorthGreenland Ice Core Project ice core. The deuterium excess, a proxy of Greenland precipitationmoisture source, switched mode within 1 to 3 years over these transitions and initiated a moregradual change (over 50 years) of the Greenland air temperature, as recorded by stable waterisotopes. The onsets of both abrupt Greenland warmings were slightly preceded by decreasingGreenland dust deposition, reflecting the wetting of Asian deserts. A northern shift of theIntertropical Convergence Zone could be the trigger of these abrupt shifts of Northern Hemisphereatmospheric circulation, resulting in changes of 2 to 4 kelvin in Greenland moisture sourcetemperature from one year to the next.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

climate

ice cores

Greenland

Earth sciences

Geovetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)