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Implications of Stratigraphic and Paleoclimatic Records of the Last Interglaciation from the Nordic Seas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Henning A. Bauch
Affiliation:
GEOMAR, Research Center for Marine Geosciences at Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany
Helmut Erlenkeuser
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Max-Eyth-Strasse 11, 24098, Kiel, Germany
Pieter M. Grootes
Affiliation:
Leibniz Laboratory, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Max-Eyth-Strasse 11, 24098, Kiel, Germany
Jean Jouzel
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Modélisation du Climat et de l'Environnement, DSM-Bat 522, CEN Saclay, 91191, Gif/Yvette Cédex, France

Abstract

Climatic reconstruction of glacial to interglacial episodes from oxygen isotopes in sediment cores from the Nordic seas is complicated by strong local meltwater contributions to the oxygen isotope changes. Combination of benthic and planktic foraminiferal isotope data with foraminiferal abundances and ice-rafted debris (IRD) allows separation of local and global effects and subdivision of the marine oxygen isotope events 6.2–5.4, which include the last interglaciation, into: (1) a meltwater phase after glacial stage 6, recorded by large amounts of IRD and low foraminiferal abundance, indicating surface water warming; (2) an IRD-free period with high deposition rates of subpolar foraminifera and other CaCO3 pelagic components, recognized here as the “full” interglaciation; and (3) a phase with the recurrence of IRD and the demise of subpolar species. Comparison of ice-core records and marine data implies that the global climate during the last full interglaciation and that during the postdeglacial Holocene were similar. The records show no significantly different variations in the proxy data. In contrast, the oxygen isotopes of planktic foraminifera and ice cores indicate significant differences during each of the deglacial transitions (Terminations I and II) that preceded these two interglaciations. These suggest that during Termination II the climatic evolution in the Nordic seas was less affected by abrupt changes in ocean–atmosphere circulation than during the last glacial to interglacial transition.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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