Jean Lynch-Stieglitz

Transient Simulation of Last Deglaciation with a New Mechanism for Bølling-Allerød Warming

Model Behavior The initial pulse of warming during the last deglaciation, which defined the start of an interval called the Bølling-Allerød, occurred abruptly about 14,500 years ago. To date, the most detailed simulations used models of intermediate complexity, not with more sophisticated Coupled Global Climate Models (CGCMs) that can synchronously couple both oceanic and the atmospheric components. Overcoming practical and technical challenges, Liu et al. (p. 310; see the Perspective by Timmermann and Menviel) performed such a simulation using CCSM3, a state-of-the-art ocean-atmosphere CGCM. In contrast to previous studies, which indicated that the Bølling-Allerød was triggered by a nonlinear bifurcation between modes of deep ocean circulation in the Atlantic, the results suggest that the event was a transient response caused by the cessation of meltwater input into the surface ocean in the North Atlantic region. A coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulates the warming of the last deglaciation. We conducted the first synchronously coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulation from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Bølling-Allerød (BA) warming. Our model reproduces several major features of the deglacial climate evolution, suggesting a good agreement in climate sensitivity between the model and observations. In particular, our model simulates the abrupt BA warming as a transient response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) to a sudden termination of freshwater discharge to the North Atlantic before the BA. In contrast to previous mechanisms that invoke AMOC multiple equilibrium and Southern Hemisphere climate forcing, we propose that the BA transition is caused by the superposition of climatic responses to the transient CO2 forcing, the AMOC recovery from Heinrich Event 1, and an AMOC overshoot.

Climate connections between the hemisphere revealed by deep sea sediment core/ice core correlations

Abstract Correlation of Southern Ocean deep sea sediment core records with ice core records of polar climate delineates with unprecedented detail the relationship between high latitude climate and the oceans thermohaline circulation over the last 80,000 years. Our observations suggest that, while North Atlantic Deep Water variability manifests itself clearly in Southern Ocean nutrient proxy records over periods as short as 500 yr, this deep water variability did not promote a direct link between climate variability in the high latitudes of the two hemispheres on millennial timescales. In particular, the proxy records indicate that, on average, northern hemisphere climate fluctuations lagged those of the southern hemisphere by 1500 yr.

Mid-Holocene El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) attenuation revealed by individual foraminifera in eastern tropical Pacific sediments

Holocene reconstructions of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) provide valuable perspective on its recent evolution and can be important for assessing its future. Optimal assessment of past ENSO variability requires observations from its center of action in the eastern equatorial Pacific, but these are limited due to paucity of high-resolution paleoceanographic archives (e.g., corals). Here we use a new approach to quantify past ENSO variance based on the oxygen isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of individual foraminifera ( Globigerinoides ruber ) from deep-sea sediments in the ENSO source region. Individual G. ruber foraminifera behave as monthly recorders of sea-surface conditions, including ENSO extremes, circumventing the lack of annual resolution in the sediments. Intrapopulation δ 18 O distributions derived with this method from a core near the Galapagos Islands reveal mid-Holocene reductions in variance of 50%, requiring drastic attenuation of the ENSO amplitude. Furthermore, Mg/Ca thermometry indicates that mid- Holocene background conditions were accompanied by a stronger zonal temperature gradient that coincided with a northward- displaced Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The results suggest that the position of the ITCZ is an important factor in the low-frequency modulation of ENSO and could influence its future evolution.

Weaker Gulf Stream in the Florida Straits during the Last Glacial Maximum

As it passes through the Florida Straits, the Gulf Stream consists of two main components: the western boundary flow of the wind-driven subtropical gyre and the northward-flowing surface and intermediate waters which are part of the ‘global conveyor belt’, compensating for the deep water that is exported from the North Atlantic Ocean. The mean flow through the Straits is largely in geostrophic balance and is thus reflected in the contrast in seawater density across the Straits. Here we use oxygen-isotope ratios of benthic foraminifera which lived along the ocean margins on the boundaries of the Florida Current during the Last Glacial Maximum to determine the density structure in the water and thereby reconstruct transport through the Straits using the geostrophic method—a technique which has been used successfully for estimating present-day flow. Our data suggest that during the Last Glacial Maximum, the density contrast across the Florida Straits was reduced, with the geostrophic flow, referenced to the bottom of the channel, at only about two-thirds of the modern value. If the wind-driven western boundary flow was not lower during the Last Glacial Maximum than today, these results indicate a significantly weaker conveyor-belt component of the Gulf Stream compared to present-day values. Whereas previous studies based on tracers suggested that deep waters of North Atlantic origin were not widespread during glacial times, indicating either a relatively weak or a shallow overturning cell, our results provide evidence that the overturning cell was indeed weaker during glacial times.

Global climate evolution during the last deglaciation

Deciphering the evolution of global climate from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum approximately 19 ka to the early Holocene 11 ka presents an outstanding opportunity for understanding the transient response of Earth’s climate system to external and internal forcings. During this interval of global warming, the decay of ice sheets caused global mean sea level to rise by approximately 80 m; terrestrial and marine ecosystems experienced large disturbances and range shifts; perturbations to the carbon cycle resulted in a net release of the greenhouse gases CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere; and changes in atmosphere and ocean circulation affected the global distribution and fluxes of water and heat. Here we summarize a major effort by the paleoclimate research community to characterize these changes through the development of well-dated, high-resolution records of the deep and intermediate ocean as well as surface climate. Our synthesis indicates that the superposition of two modes explains much of the variability in regional and global climate during the last deglaciation, with a strong association between the first mode and variations in greenhouse gases, and between the second mode and variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Gulf Stream density structure and transport during the past millennium.

The Gulf Stream transports approximately 31 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s-1) of water and 1.3 × 1015 W of heat into the North Atlantic ocean. The possibility of abrupt changes in Gulf Stream heat transport is one of the key uncertainties in predictions of climate change for the coming centuries. Given the limited length of the instrumental record, our knowledge of Gulf Stream behaviour on long timescales must rely heavily on information from geologic archives. Here we use foraminifera from a suite of high-resolution sediment cores in the Florida Straits to show that the cross-current density gradient and vertical current shear of the Gulf Stream were systematically lower during the Little Ice Age (ad  ∼1200 to 1850). We also estimate that Little Ice Age volume transport was ten per cent weaker than today’s. The timing of reduced flow is consistent with temperature minima in several palaeoclimate records, implying that diminished oceanic heat transport may have contributed to Little Ice Age cooling in the North Atlantic. The interval of low flow also coincides with anomalously high Gulf Stream surface salinity, suggesting a tight linkage between the Atlantic Ocean circulation and hydrologic cycle during the past millennium.

A geostrophic transport estimate for the Florida Current from the oxygen isotope composition of benthic foraminifera

We present a new method for the quantitative reconstruction of upper ocean flows for during times in the past. For the warm (T>5°C) surface ocean, density can be accurately reconstructed from calcite precipitated in equilibrium with seawater, as both of these properties increase with decreasing temperature and increasing salinity. Vertical density profiles can be reconstructed from the oxygen isotopic composition of benthic foraminifera. The net volume transport between two vertical density profiles can be calculated using the geostrophic method. Using benthic foraminifera from surface sediment samples from either side of the Florida Straits (Florida Keys and Little Bahama Bank), we reconstruct two vertical density profiles and calculate a volume transport of 32 Sv using this method. This agrees well with estimates from physical oceanographic methods of 30–32 Sv for the mean annual volume transport. We explore the sensitivity of this technique to various changes in the relationship between temperature and salinity as well as salinity and the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater.

Glacial‐interglacial dynamics of the eastern equatorial Pacific cold tongue‐Intertropical Convergence Zone system reconstructed from oxygen isotope records

record mean late Holocene (LH)-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) d 18 O amplitudes ranging between 1.0 and 1.3%. We estimate that mean sea surface temperatures (SST) in this region during the LGM were on average 1.5 ± 0.5� C lower than the LH. Larger d 18 O amplitudes are observed in sites north of the equator, indicating a spatial pattern of reduced meridional SST gradient across the equator during the LGM. This result is supported by comparison of Mg/Ca SST reconstructions from two sites straddling the equator. We interpret the reduction of this gradient during the LGM as evidence for a less intense cold tongue-Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) frontal system, a more southerly position of the ITCZ, and weaker southeast equatorial trades in the EEP. INDEXTERMS: 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 3339 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Ocean/atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504); 3344 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Paleoclimatology; 4231 Oceanography: General: Equatorial oceanography; 4267 Oceanography: General: Paleoceanography; KEYWORDS: cold tongue, ITCZ, oxygen isotopes, tropical Pacific

Similar glacial and Holocene deep water circulation inferred from southeast Pacific benthic foraminiferal carbon isotope composition

We present Holocene and last glacial maximum (LGM) oxygen and carbon isotope measurements on Planulina wuellerstorfi in six southeast Pacific cores. Sedimentation rates are low in this part of the ocean, and measurements were made on individual foraminiferal shells in order to identify the Holocene and glacial individuals on the basis of their extreme δ18O. The new δ13C data were combined with previous P. wuellerstorfi data for interpretation of global thermohaline circulation. Data from the Southern Ocean were examined closely for regional coherency and a few anomalous δ13C values suspected of having productivity overprint were removed. The resulting global δ13C distributions and gradients indicate that the deep water circulation was similar during the Holocene and LGM. This interpretation brings δ13C data to a better agreement with Cd/Ca data and marks a sharp contrast with a widely held view based on δ13C measurements that the glacial Southern Ocean was the terminus of the thermohaline circulation. The proposed presence of glacial North Atlantic Deep Water does not necessarily contradict the postulated presence of Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water.

How strong is the Harvardton‐Bear Constraint?

We compare the sensitivity of the partial pressure of CO 2 in the warm surface ocean and atmosphere to the influence of the oceans cold water outcrops in a wide spectrum of models. While in simple box models the cold ocean dominates, in three-dimensional ocean general circulation models, this influence is considerably smaller, suggesting that exchange processes between the warm and cold regime in the real ocean are extremely important in determining the distribution of chemical properties.