Reports

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

Jørgen Peder Steffensen,^1* Katrine K. Andersen,¹ Matthias Bigler,^1,2 Henrik B. Clausen,¹ Dorthe Dahl-Jensen,¹ Hubertus Fischer,^2,3 Kumiko Goto-Azuma,⁴ Margareta Hansson,⁵ Sigfús J. Johnsen,¹ Jean Jouzel,⁶ Valérie Masson-Delmotte,⁶ Trevor Popp,⁷ Sune O. Rasmussen,¹ Regine Röthlisberger,^2,8 Urs Ruth,³ Bernhard Stauffer,² Marie-Louise Siggaard-Andersen,¹ Árn E. Sveinbjörnsdóttir,⁹ Anders Svensson,¹ James W. C. White⁷

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

¹ Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen OE, Denmark.
² Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012, Switzerland.
³ Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI), Postfach 120161, D-27515 Bremerhaven, Germany.
⁴ National Institute of Polar Research, Kaga 1-9-10, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8515, Japan.
⁵ Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁶ Institut Pierre Simon Laplace/Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA)–CNRS–Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France.
⁷ The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Campus Box 450, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA.
⁸ British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
⁹ Raunvísindastofnun Háskálans, Dunhagi 3, Iceland.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jps{at}gfy.ku.dk

Read the Full Text

The Celtic fringe of Britain: insights from small mammal phylogeography.

J. B. Searle, P. Kotlik, R. V. Rambau, S. Markova, J. S. Herman, and A. D. McDevitt (2009)
Proc R Soc B 276, 4287-4294
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

Dynamic Processes Governing Lower-Tropospheric HDO/H2O Ratios as Observed from Space and Ground.

C. Frankenberg, K. Yoshimura, T. Warneke, I. Aben, A. Butz, N. Deutscher, D. Griffith, F. Hase, J. Notholt, M. Schneider, et al. (2009)
Science 325, 1374-1377
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

What Drives Climate Flip-Flops?.

A. Timmermann and L. Menviel (2009)
Science 325, 273-274
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

Shifting Gear, Quickly.

E. G. Nisbet and J. Chappellaz (2009)
Science 324, 477-478
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

Wildfire responses to abrupt climate change in North America.

J. R. Marlon, P. J. Bartlein, M. K. Walsh, S. P. Harrison, K. J. Brown, M. E. Edwards, P. E. Higuera, M. J. Power, R. S. Anderson, C. Briles, et al. (2009)
PNAS 106, 2519-2524
 |  Abstract »  |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

Global warming: Stop worrying, start panicking?.

H. J. Schellnhuber (2008)
PNAS 105, 14239-14240
 |  Full Text »  |  PDF »

To Advertise   |   Find Products