The last deglaciation: timing the bipolar seesaw

By Joel Pedro, T. Ommen, S. Rasmussen, V. Morgan, J. Chappellaz, A. Moy, V. Masson‐Delmotte, M. Delmotte. 2011

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Precise information on the relative timing of north-south climate variations is a key to resolving ques- tions concerning the mechanisms that force and couple cli- mate changes between the hemispheres. We present a new composite record made from five well-resolved Antarctic ice core records that robustly represents the timing of re- gional Antarctic climate change during the last deglacia- tion. Using fast variations in global methane gas concen- trations as time markers, the Antarctic composite is directly compared to Greenland ice core records, allowing a de- tailed mapping of the inter-hemispheric sequence of climate changes. Consistent with prior studies the synchronized records show that warming (and cooling) trends in Antarc- tica closely match cold (and warm) periods in Greenland on millennial timescales. For the first time, we also identify a sub-millennial component to the inter-hemispheric coupling. Within the Antarctic Cold Reversal the strongest Antarctic cooling occurs during the pronounced northern warmth of the Bolling. Warming then resumes in Antarctica, potentially as early as the Intra-Allerod Cold Period, but with dating uncer- tainty that could place it as late as the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial. There is little-to-no time lag between climate transitions in Greenland and opposing changes in Antarctica. Our results lend support to fast acting inter-hemispheric cou- pling mechanisms, including recently proposed bipolar at- mospheric teleconnections and/or rapid bipolar ocean tele- connections.

Subfields: Atmospheric Science, Paleontology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/cafbc10b40eb2536aa71b64ced307b9000d8f477

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