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Climate records covering the last deglaciation
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 14, 1995
Summary
Antarctic warming preceded Greenland warming by 3000 years during the last deglaciation. Rising greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane likely initiated this global climate transition.
Area of Science:
- Paleoclimatology
- Ice Core Analysis
- Climate Change Science
Background:
- Ice cores provide invaluable records of past climate conditions.
- Synchronizing chronologies between different ice core sites is crucial for global climate comparisons.
- The Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP) II and Antarctic ice cores (Vostok, Byrd) offer complementary climate data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a precise time-stratigraphic link between Greenland and Antarctic ice core records.
- To investigate the timing of climate events during the last deglaciation.
- To assess the role of greenhouse gases in initiating global warming.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the oxygen-18/oxygen-16 ratio of trapped molecular oxygen as a chronological marker.
- Correlated climate records from the GISP II ice core with Vostok and Byrd ice cores.
- Analyzed atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane concentrations from ice core samples.
Main Results:
- Established a synchronized chronology between Antarctic and Greenland ice cores.
- Identified that Antarctic warming began approximately 3000 years before the Bølling period in Greenland.
- Observed increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane 2000–3000 years prior to Greenland warming.
Conclusions:
- The oxygen isotope ratio serves as a reliable time-stratigraphic marker for inter-hemispheric ice core correlation.
- Antarctic warming initiated the last deglaciation, preceding Northern Hemisphere warming.
- Rising greenhouse gas concentrations played a significant role in driving global deglaciation and warming.
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