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Reconstructing the last interglacial at Summit, Greenland: Insights from GISP2
Audrey M Yau1, Michael L Bender2, Alexander Robinson3
1Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540;
Summary
The Eemian interglacial saw significant Arctic warming. Greenland
Area of Science:
- Paleoclimatology
- Glaciology
- Climate Modeling
Background:
- The Eemian (last interglacial, 130-115 ka) was exceptionally warm, with Arctic summer temperatures 3-5°C higher than today.
- Understanding Greenland's ice sheet behavior during this period is crucial for predicting future sea-level rise.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconstruct detailed Eemian climate and elevation histories from central Greenland ice cores.
- To compare these reconstructions with climate-ice-sheet model simulations.
- To quantify the Greenland ice sheet's contribution to global sea level during the Eemian.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of ice core samples from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) core (2,750–3,040 m depth).
- Dating ice layers using measurements of methane (CH4) and oxygen isotopes (δ(18)O of O2).
- Reconstruction of temperature (δ(18)Oice), atmospheric composition (δ(15)N of N2), and air content, compared with North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) and North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) data.
- Comparison of reconstructed histories with an ensemble of coupled climate-ice-sheet model simulations.
Main Results:
- A significant warming of approximately 6°C occurred between 127-121 ka in central Greenland.
- Reconstructed elevation histories show consistency between GISP2 and NEEM sites.
- Climate-ice-sheet models most consistent with the data suggest a Greenland ice sheet contribution of 5.1 m (4.1-6.2 m) to global sea level near the end of the Eemian.
- No evidence found for Greenland contributing to anomalously high sea levels at ~127 ka or a rapid sea-level jump at ~120 ka.
Conclusions:
- The Greenland ice sheet contributed substantially to sea-level rise during the warm Eemian interglacial.
- Model simulations provide valuable insights but highlight remaining discrepancies with paleoclimate reconstructions.
- Further research is needed to resolve inconsistencies in temperature and accumulation rate histories between different ice core sites and models.
