Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Sediment Core Extrusion Method at Millimeter Resolution Using a Calibrated, Threaded-rod
Published on: August 17, 2016
A 0.5-million-year record of millennial-scale climate variability in the north atlantic
1Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Salem State College, Salem, MA 01970, USA.
Abstract:
Long, continuous, marine sediment records from the subpolar North Atlantic document the glacial modulation of regional climate instability throughout the past 0.5 million years. Whenever ice sheet size surpasses a critical threshold indicated by the benthic oxygen isotope (delta18O) value of 3.5 per mil during each of the past five glaciation cycles, indicators of iceberg discharge and sea-surface temperature display dramatically larger amplitudes of millennial-scale variability than when ice sheets are small. Sea-surface temperature oscillations of 1 degrees to 2 degreesC increase in size to approximately 4 degrees to 6 degreesC, and catastrophic iceberg discharges begin alternating repeatedly with brief quiescent intervals. The glacial growth associated with this amplification threshold represents a relatively small departure from the modern ice sheet configuration and sea level. Instability characterizes nearly all observed climate states, with the exception of a limited range of baseline conditions that includes the current Holocene interglacial.
Related Concept Videos
What is Climate?
Global Climate Change
Temperature Measurement Sites
Oral: When assessing oral temperature, the thermometer tip should be placed under the tongue in the posterior sublingual pocket. It offers accurate readings and can be...
Precipitation Gravimetry
In determining nickel by gravimetric analysis, a precipitant of ethanolic dimethylglyoxime is added to a hot nickel salt solution. This is quickly followed by the dropwise addition of dilute ammonia solution until precipitation occurs. A...
Magnetic Declination
Microbes and Climate Change

