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Science 22 December 1995:
Vol. 270. no. 5244, pp. 1962 - 1964
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5244.1962
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Reports

Complexity of Holocene Climate as Reconstructed from a Greenland Ice Core

S. R. O'Brien (1) (2),  P. A. Mayewski (2),  L. D. Meeker,  D. A. Meese,  M. S. Twickler,  S. I. Whitlow

Glaciochemical time series developed from Summit, Greenland, indicate that the chemical composition of the atmosphere was dynamic during the Holocene epoch. Concentrations of sea salt and terrestrial dusts increased in Summit snow during the periods 0 to 600, 2400 to 3100, 5000 to 6100, 7800 to 8800, and more than 11,300 years ago. The most recent increase, and also the most abrupt, coincides with the Little Ice Age. These changes imply that either the north polar vortex expanded or the meridional air flow intensified during these periods, and that temperatures in the mid to high northern latitudes were potentially the coldest since the Younger Dryas event.


S. R. O'Brien, M. S. Twickler, S. I. Whitlow, Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
P. A. Mayewkski, Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, and Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
L. D. Meeker, Glacier Research Group, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, and Department of Mathematics, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
D. A. Meese, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
(1) Present address: Paragon Environmental Services, Inc., 153 Washington, East Walpole, MA 02032, USA.
(2) To whom correspondence should be addressed.


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