Jacqueline Flückiger

High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the last interglacial period

Two deep ice cores from central Greenland, drilled in the 1990s, have played a key role in climate reconstructions of the Northern Hemisphere, but the oldest sections of the cores were disturbed in chronology owing to ice folding near the bedrock. Here we present an undisturbed climate record from a North Greenland ice core, which extends back to 123,000 years before the present, within the last interglacial period. The oxygen isotopes in the ice imply that climate was stable during the last interglacial period, with temperatures 5 °C warmer than today. We find unexpectedly large temperature differences between our new record from northern Greenland and the undisturbed sections of the cores from central Greenland, suggesting that the extent of ice in the Northern Hemisphere modulated the latitudinal temperature gradients in Greenland. This record shows a slow decline in temperatures that marked the initiation of the last glacial period. Our record reveals a hitherto unrecognized warm period initiated by an abrupt climate warming about 115,000 years ago, before glacial conditions were fully developed. This event does not appear to have an immediate Antarctic counterpart, suggesting that the climate see-saw between the hemispheres (which dominated the last glacial period) was not operating at this time.Two deep ice cores from central Greenland, drilled in the 1990s, have played a key role in climate reconstructions of the Northern Hemisphere, but the oldest sections of the cores were disturbed in chronology owing to ice folding near the bedrock. Here we present an undisturbed climate record from a North Greenland ice core, which extends back to 123,000 years before the present, within the last interglacial period. The oxygen isotopes in the ice imply that climate was stable during the last interglacial period, with temperatures 5 °C warmer than today. We find unexpectedly large temperature differences between our new record from northern Greenland and the undisturbed sections of the cores from central Greenland, suggesting that the extent of ice in the Northern Hemisphere modulated the latitudinal temperature gradients in Greenland. This record shows a slow decline in temperatures that marked the initiation of the last glacial period. Our record reveals a hitherto unrecognized warm period initiated by an abrupt climate warming about 115,000 years ago, before glacial conditions were fully developed. This event does not appear to have an immediate Antarctic counterpart, suggesting that the climate see-saw between the hemispheres (which dominated the last glacial period) was not operating at this time.

Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core

The Antarctic Vostok ice core provided compelling evidence of the nature of climate, and of climate feedbacks, over the past 420,000 years. Marine records suggest that the amplitude of climate variability was smaller before that time, but such records are often poorly resolved. Moreover, it is not possible to infer the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from marine records. Here we report the recovery of a deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, that provides a climate record for the past 740,000 years. For the four most recent glacial cycles, the data agree well with the record from Vostok. The earlier period, between 740,000 and 430,000 years ago, was characterized by less pronounced warmth in interglacial periods in Antarctica, but a higher proportion of each cycle was spent in the warm mode. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions about 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the transition into the present interglacial period in terms of the magnitude of change in temperatures and greenhouse gases, but there are significant differences in the patterns of change. The interglacial stage following Termination V was exceptionally long—28,000 years compared to, for example, the 12,000 years recorded so far in the present interglacial period. Given the similarities between this earlier warm period and today, our results may imply that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present one would extend well into the future.The Antarctic Vostok ice core provided compelling evidence of the nature of climate, and of climate feedbacks, over the past 420,000 years. Marine records suggest that the amplitude of climate variability was smaller before that time, but such records are often poorly resolved. Moreover, it is not possible to infer the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from marine records. Here we report the recovery of a deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, that provides a climate record for the past 740,000 years. For the four most recent glacial cycles, the data agree well with the record from Vostok. The earlier period, between 740,000 and 430,000 years ago, was characterized by less pronounced warmth in interglacial periods in Antarctica, but a higher proportion of each cycle was spent in the warm mode. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions about 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the transition into the present interglacial period in terms of the magnitude of change in temperatures and greenhouse gases, but there are significant differences in the patterns of change. The interglacial stage following Termination V was exceptionally long—28,000 years compared to, for example, the 12,000 years recorded so far in the present interglacial period. Given the similarities between this earlier warm period and today, our results may imply that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present one would extend well into the future.

Atmospheric Methane and Nitrous Oxide of the Late Pleistocene from Antarctic Ice Cores

The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core enables us to extend existing records of atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) back to 650,000 years before the present. A combined record of CH4 measured along the Dome C and the Vostok ice cores demonstrates, within the resolution of our measurements, that preindustrial concentrations over Antarctica have not exceeded 773 ± 15 ppbv (parts per billion by volume) during the past 650,000 years. Before 420,000 years ago, when interglacials were cooler, maximum CH4 concentrations were only about 600 ppbv, similar to lower Holocene values. In contrast, the N2O record shows maximum concentrations of 278 ± 7 ppbv, slightly higher than early Holocene values.

Strong hemispheric coupling of glacial climate through freshwater discharge and ocean circulation

The climate of the last glacial period was extremely variable, characterized by abrupt warming events in the Northern Hemisphere, accompanied by slower temperature changes in Antarctica and variations of global sea level. It is generally accepted that this millennial-scale climate variability was caused by abrupt changes in the ocean thermohaline circulation. Here we use a coupled ocean–atmosphere–sea ice model to show that freshwater discharge into the North Atlantic Ocean, in addition to a reduction of the thermohaline circulation, has a direct effect on Southern Ocean temperature. The related anomalous oceanic southward heat transport arises from a zonal density gradient in the subtropical North Atlantic caused by a fast wave-adjustment process. We present an extended and quantitative bipolar seesaw concept that explains the timing and amplitude of Greenland and Antarctic temperature changes, the slow changes in Antarctic temperature and its similarity to sea level, as well as a possible time lag of sea level with respect to Antarctic temperature during Marine Isotope Stage 3.

Marine Radiocarbon Evidence for the Mechanism of Deglacial Atmospheric CO2 Rise

We reconstructed the radiocarbon activity of intermediate waters in the eastern North Pacific over the past 38,000 years. Radiocarbon activity paralleled that of the atmosphere, except during deglaciation, when intermediate-water values fell by more than 300 per mil. Such a large decrease requires a deglacial injection of very old waters from a deep-ocean carbon reservoir that was previously well isolated from the atmosphere. The timing of intermediate-water radiocarbon depletion closely matches that of atmospheric carbon dioxide rise and effectively traces the redistribution of carbon from the deep ocean to the atmosphere during deglaciation.

Changes in the atmospheric CH4 gradient between Greenland and Antarctica during the Last Glacial and the transition to the Holocene

Significant variations in the interpolar difference of atmospheric CH4 concentration over the Holocene period were observed by Chappellaz et al., [1997]. Here we extend this study to the Last Glacial and the transition to the Holocene. We observe a gradient of −3±4 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) during the Last Glacial Maximum. It increases to 26±10 ppbv during the Bolling/Allerod and remains at 26±9 ppbv during the Younger Dryas cold period. On average, we find an interpolar difference of 14±4 ppbv during the cold phases and of 37±10 ppbv during the warm periods of the Last Glacial. With a three-box model we derive from the measured gradients the contributions of methane from the Tropics and the mid-to-high latitudes of the northern hemisphere. The Tropics have been the largest source in all glacial epochs. The contribution by the northern latitudes have been very small during the last glacial maximum but surprisingly large during the earlier part of the glacial epoch. The model result suggests completely unexpected, that the higher atmospheric CH4 concentration during the warm Dansgaard/Oeschger events are caused by a higher source strength of the northern latitudes and not of the Tropics.

Oceanic processes as potential trigger and amplifying mechanisms for Heinrich events

] Marine sediments recorded a series of Heinrich events during the last glacial period, massive ice surges thatdeposited prominent layers of ice-rafted debris in the North Atlantic. Here we explore oceanic mechanisms thatcan potentially trigger and amplify the observed ice calving events. Simulations of abrupt glacial climate changewith a coupled ocean-atmosphere-sea ice model show a substantial regional sea level rise in the North Atlantic inresponse to a collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC). The increased heat uptake ofthe global ocean after the MOC collapse leads to an additional rise in global sea level. We hypothesize that thesesea level changes have the potential to destabilize Northern Hemisphere ice shelves and ice sheets and to triggerice surges. Sea level rise due to ice calving and subsurface ocean warming provides two positive feedbackmechanisms contributing to further destabilization of ice shelves and ice sheets.

Atmospheric CO2, CH4 and N2O records over the past 60 000 years based on the comparison of different polar ice cores

Abstract Analyses of air extracted from polar ice cores are the most straightforward method of reconstructing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and their variations for past climatic epochs. These measurements show that the concentration of the three most important greenhouse gases (other than water vapour) CO2, CH4 and N2O have steadily increased during the past 250 years due to anthropogenic activities (Prather and others, 2001; Prentice and others, 2001). Ice-core results also provided the first evidence of a substantial increase in the concentration of the three gases during the transition from the last glacial epoch to the Holocene (Raynaud and others, 1993). However, results from different cores are not always in agreement concerning details and small, short-term variations. the composition of the air enclosed in bubbles can be slightly changed by fractionation during the enclosure process, by chemical reactions and/or biological activity in the ice and by fractionation during the air extraction. We compile here several records with short-term variations or anomalies and discuss possible causes, taking into account improved analytical techniques and new results.

The EPICA deep ice cores: first results and perspectives

Abstract Two deep ice cores are being drilled in Antarctica in the frame of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). The Dome C ice core will provide more information about mechanisms of global climatic changes over several climatic cycles. The DML core, drilled at Kohnen station, will provide a detailed record over the last climatic cycle, which can be compared with Greenland records. The drilling at Dome C reached 3200 m depth during field season 2002/03, and the age of the ice at the bottom of the hole could be 900 000 years according to preliminary estimates. The depth at Kohnen station is 1564.6 m at present, corresponding to an age of about 55 000 years. Analyses along the top parts of both ice cores have provided interesting first results. A few selected results from these parts, mostly published already, are summarized. Only a few measurements are available from the deeper parts of both cores. Dielectric profiling and electrical conductivity measurements, performed in the field, provide continuous and high-resolution records concerning the acidity and the salt concentration of the ice. Continuous flow analyses and Fast Ion Chromatography also provide high-resolution records of several chemical compounds. These records give some clues as to the age scale of the EPICA Dome C ice core, but they also leave us with many open questions.

Extending The Ice Core Record Beyond Half A Million Years

Ice cores have been a crucial source of information about past changes in the climate and atmosphere. The Vostok ice core from Antarctica has provided key global change data sets extending 400,000 years in the past [Petit et al., 1999], while Japanese scientists drilling at Dome Fuji have obtained records extending to 330,000 years. Now, a new core being drilled by a consortium of European laboratories has surpassed these ages, and looks like its extending the ice core record several hundred thousand years into the past. Ice cores are unique: of all the paleo-records, they have the most direct linkage with the atmosphere. At some sites, the time resolution is sufficient to study extremely fast climate changes; and they have information about many forcing factors for climate (including greenhouse gas concentrations) displayed in the same cores as the resulting climate changes. Ice cores have already played a central role in informing the debate about global change, providing the only direct evidence of historical changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, the clearest evidence of past linkage between greenhouse gases and climate, and the first indication that very rapid climate changes (linked to changes in thermohaline circulation) occurred in recent Earth history Both European and U.S. ice core scientists scored major successes with the completion of cores to bedrock in central Greenland in the early 1990s (the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP), and the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2)) [Hammer et al., 1997]. To follow this up, the next challenge was to produce a series of equally definitive records from Antarctica. The European team turned their eyes to central Antarctica, and formed the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA). This is a consortium of laboratories from 10 European nations, under the auspices of the European Science Foundation (ESF), and funded by the European Union (EU) and national organizations. EPICA aims to drill two cores to bedrock, one at Concordia Station, Dome C (75°06’S, 123°24’E), the other at Kohnen Station in Dronning Maud Land (DML) (75°00’S, 00°04’E). The Dome C drilling aims to retrieve a record covering a time period that is as long as possible, while the DML drilling aims to retrieve a high-resolution record of one complete glacial-interglacial cycle at a site facing the Atlantic Ocean. The DML drilling made a successful start during the 2001-2002 austral summer, completing the drill installation, and penetrating to a depth of 450.94 m, which means the core has reached early Holocene ice. At Dome C, this was a major year of drilling, with the drill reaching 2864 m below the surface, just 400 m above the estimated depth of bedrock. This article describes the work at Dome C during the past season.