Asynchronous Antarctic and Greenland ice-volume contributions to the last interglacial sea-level highstand

The last interglacial (LIG; ~130 to ~118 thousand years ago, ka) was the last time global sea level rose well above the present level. Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) contributions were insufficient to explain the highstand, so that substantial Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) reduction is implied. However, the nature and drivers of GrIS and AIS reductions remain enigmatic, even though they may be critical for understanding future sea-level rise. Here we complement existing records with new data, and reveal that the LIG contained an AIS-derived highstand from ~129.5 to ~125 ka, a lowstand centred on 125–124 ka, and joint AIS + GrIS contributions from ~123.5 to ~118 ka. Moreover, a dual substructure within the first highstand suggests temporal variability in the AIS contributions. Implied rates of sea-level rise are high (up to several meters per century; m c−1), and lend credibility to high rates inferred by ice modelling under certain ice-shelf instability parameterisations.Universidade de VigoAustralian Research Council Laureate Fellowship | Ref. FL120100050RCN project THRESHOLDS | Ref. 2549

Rapid switches in subpolar North Atlantic hydrography and climate during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e)

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 27 (2012): PA2207, doi:10.1029/2011PA002244.At the peak of the previous interglacial period, North Atlantic and subpolar climate shared many features in common with projections of our future climate, including warmer-than-present conditions and a diminished Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). Here we portray changes in North Atlantic hydrography linked with Greenland climate during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e using (sub)centennially sampled records of planktonic foraminiferal isotopes and assemblage counts and ice-rafted debris counts, as well as modern analog technique and Mg/Ca-based paleothermometry. We use the core MD03-2664 recovered from a high accumulation rate site (∼34 cm/kyr) on the Eirik sediment drift (57°26.34′N, 48°36.35′W). The results indicate that surface waters off southern Greenland were ∼3–5°C warmer than today during early MIS 5e. These anomalously warm sea surface temperatures (SSTs) prevailed until the isotopic peak of MIS 5e when they were interrupted by a cooling event beginning at ∼126 kyr BP. This interglacial cooling event is followed by a gradual warming with SSTs subsequently plateauing just below early MIS 5e values. A planktonic δ18O minimum during the cooling event indicates that marked freshening of the surface waters accompanied the cooling. We suggest that switches in the subpolar gyre hydrography occurred during a warmer climate, involving regional changes in freshwater fluxes/balance and East Greenland Current influence in the study area. The nature of these hydrographic transitions suggests that they are most likely related to large-scale circulation dynamics, potentially amplified by GIS meltwater influences.This work is a contribution of the European Science Foundation EuroMARC program, through the AMOCINT project, funded through grants from the Research Council of Norway (RCN) and contributes to EU-FP7 IP Past4Future. N. Irvalı was additionally funded by an ESF EUROCORES Short-term Visit grant and a RCN Leiv Eiriksson mobility grant to support research stays at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA, respectively, during which parts of the data for this paper were acquired. U. Ninnemann was funded by a University of Bergen Meltzer research grant.2012-11-1

Evidence for regional cooling, frontal advances, and East Greenland Ice Sheet changes during the demise of the last interglacial

High-resolution lithic and sea surface climate records are used to portray the progression of North Atlantic climate, hydrography, and Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) activity through the peak of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e into the last glacial inception. We use Eirik Drift sediment core MD03-2664 (57°26.34′N, 48°36.35′W), recovered south of Greenland, strategically located to monitor fluctuations in GIS extent and iceberg calving events. Our results show that a significant amount of ice-rafted debris (IRD) was present during the early MIS 5e, until gradually tapering off by 122 kyr BP due to a diminishing GIS. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the northern subpolar gyre reached peak values early in MIS 5e coinciding with peak insolation. Regional cooling leading to the demise of the last interglacial started prior to the end of the MIS 5e benthic δ18O plateau, at approximately 119 kyr BP, as summer insolation waned. This gradual cooling trend is interrupted by an abrupt and brief cooling episode at ∼117 kyr BP. Increased IRD abundance during the 117 kyr BP cooling event suggests that regional ice sheet growth occurred prior to the end of the MIS 5e benthic δ18O plateau, and the major glacial inception. SSTs south of Greenland followed a two-step cooling during the glacial inception similar to the pattern observed across much of the North Atlantic and Europe. Benthic δ18O increases in parallel, suggesting that this two-step cooling is linked to a two-phased intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation