bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Three exceptionally strong East-Asian summer monsoon events during glacial times in the past 470 kyr
Authors: Rousseau D.-D. , Wu N. , Pei Y. , Li F.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Chinese loess sequences are interpreted as a reliable record of the past variation of the East Asian monsoon regime through the alternation of loess and paleosols units, dominated by the winter and summer monsoon, respectively. Different proxies have been used to describe this system, mostly geophysical, geochemical or sedimentological. Terrestrial mollusks are also a reliable proxy of past environmental conditions and are often preserved in large numbers in loess deposits. The analysis of the mollusk remains in the Luochuan sequence, comprising L5 loess to S0 soil, i.e. the last 500 ka, shows that for almost all identified species, the abundance is higher at the base of the interval (L5 to L4) than in the younger deposits. Using the present ecological requirements of the identified mollusk species in the Luochuan sequence allows the definition of two main mollusk groups varying during the last 500 kyr. The cold-aridiphilous individuals indicate the so-called Asian winter monsoon regime and predominantly occur during glacials, when dust is deposited. The thermal-humidiphilous mollusks are prevalent during interglacial or interstadial conditions of the Asian summer monsoon, when soil formation takes place. In the sequence, three events with exceptionally high abundance of the Asian summer monsoon indicators are recorded during the L5, L4 and L2 glacial intervals, i.e., at about 470, 360 and 170 kyr, respectively. The L5 and L4 events appear to be the strongest (high counts). Similar variations have also been identified in the Xifeng sequence, distant enough from Luochuan, but also in Lake Baikal further North, to suggest that this phenomenon is regional rather than local. The indicators of the summer monsoon within the glacial intervals imply a strengthened East-Asian monsoon interpreted as corresponding to marine isotope stages 12, 10 and 6, respectively. The L5 and L2 summer monsoons are coeval with Mediterranean sapropels S12 and S6, which characterize a strong African summer monsoon with relatively low surface water salinity in the Indian Ocean. Changes in the precipitation regime could correspond to a response to a particular astronomical configuration (low obliquity, low precession, summer solstice at perihelion) leading to an increased summer insolation gradient between the tropics and the high latitudes and resulting in enhanced atmospheric water transport from the tropics to the African and Asian continents. However, other climate drivers such as reorganization of marine and atmospheric circulations, tectonic, and the extent of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheet are also discussed.
Strong asymmetry of hemispheric climates during MIS-13 inferred from correlating China loess and Antarctica ice records
Authors: Guo Z. T. , Berger A. , Yin Q. Z. , Qin L.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. We correlate the China loess and Antarctica ice records to address the inter-hemispheric climate link over the past 800 ka. The results show a broad coupling between Asian and Antarctic climates at the glacial-interglacial scale. However, a number of decoupled aspects are revealed, among which marine isotope stage (MIS) 13 exhibits a strong anomaly compared with the other interglacials. It is characterized by unusually positive benthic oxygen (δ18O) and carbon isotope (δ13C) values in the world oceans, cooler Antarctic temperature, lower summer sea surface temperature in the South Atlantic, lower CO2 and CH4 concentrations, but by extremely strong Asian, Indian and African summer monsoons, weakest Asian winter monsoon, and lowest Asian dust and iron fluxes. Pervasive warm conditions were also evidenced by the records from northern high-latitude regions. These consistently indicate a warmer Northern Hemisphere and a cooler Southern Hemisphere, and hence a strong asymmetry of hemispheric climates during MIS-13. Similar anomalies of lesser extents also occurred during MIS-11 and MIS-5e. Thus, MIS-13 provides a case that the Northern Hemisphere experienced a substantial warming under relatively low concentrations of greenhouse gases. It suggests that the global climate system possesses a natural variability that is not predictable from the simple response of northern summer insolation and atmospheric CO2 changes. During MIS-13, both hemispheres responded in different ways leading to anomalous continental, marine and atmospheric conditions at the global scale. The correlations also suggest that the marine δ18O record is not always a reliable indicator of the northern ice-volume changes, and that the asymmetry of hemispheric climates is one of the prominent factors controlling the strength of Asian, Indian and African monsoon circulations, most likely through modulating the position of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and land-sea thermal contrasts.
Mechanisms and time scales of glacial inception simulated with an Earth system model of intermediate complexity
Authors: Calov R. , Ganopolski A. , Kubatzki C. , Claussen M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. We investigate glacial inception and glacial thresholds in the climate-cryosphere system utilising the Earth system model of intermediate complexity CLIMBER-2, which includes modules for atmosphere, terrestrial vegetation, ocean and interactive ice sheets. The latter are described by the three-dimensional polythermal ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS. A bifurcation which represents glacial inception is analysed with two different model setups: one setup with dynamical ice-sheet model and another setup without it. The respective glacial thresholds differ in terms of maximum boreal summer insolation at 65° N (hereafter referred as Milankovitch forcing (MF)). The glacial threshold of the configuration without ice-sheet dynamics corresponds to a much lower value of MF compared to the full model. If MF attains values only slightly below the aforementioned threshold there is fast transient response. Depending on the value of MF relative to the glacial threshold, the transient response time of inland-ice volume in the model configuration with ice-sheet dynamics ranges from 10 000 to 100 000 years. Due to these long response times, a glacial threshold obtained in an equilibrium simulation is not directly applicable to the transient response of the climate-cryosphere system to time-dependent orbital forcing. It is demonstrated that in transient simulations just crossing of the glacial threshold does not imply large-scale glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere. We found that in transient simulations MF has to drop well below the glacial threshold determined in an equilibrium simulation to initiate glacial inception. Finally, we show that the asynchronous coupling between climate and inland-ice components allows one sufficient realistic simulation of glacial inception and, at the same time, a considerable reduction of computational costs.
Mid-Pliocene shifts in ocean overturning circulation and the onset of Quaternary-style climates
Authors: Sarnthein M. , Bartoli G. , Prange M. , Schmittner A. , Schneider B. , Weinelt M. , Andersen N. , Garbe-Schönberg D.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A major tipping point of Earth's history occurred during the mid-Pliocene: the onset of major Northern-Hemisphere Glaciation (NHG) and of pronounced, Quaternary-style cycles of glacial-to-interglacial climates, that contrast with more uniform climates over most of the preceding Cenozoic and continue until today (Zachos et al., 2001). The severe deterioration of climate occurred in three steps between 3.2 Ma (warm MIS K3) and 2.7 Ma (glacial MIS G6/4) (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005). Various models (sensu Driscoll and Haug, 1998) and paleoceanographic records (intercalibrated using orbital age control) suggest clear linkages between the onset of NHG and the three steps in the final closure of the Central American Seaways (CAS), deduced from rising salinity differences between Caribbean and the East Pacific. Each closing event led to an enhanced North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and this strengthened the poleward transport of salt and heat (warmings of +2–3°C) (Bartoli et al., 2005). Also, the closing resulted in a slight rise in the poleward atmospheric moisture transport to northwestern Eurasia (Lunt et al., 2007), which probably led to an enhanced precipitation and fluvial run-off, lower sea surface salinity (SSS), and an increased sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, hence promoting albedo and the build-up of continental ice sheets. Most important, new evidence shows that the closing of the CAS led to greater steric height of the North Pacific and thus doubled the low-saline Arctic Throughflow from the Bering Strait to the East Greenland Current (EGC). Accordingly, Labrador Sea IODP Site 1307 displays an abrupt but irreversible EGC cooling of 6°C and freshening by ~2 psu from 3.25/3.16–3.00 Ma, right after the first but still reversible attempt of closing the CAS.
Investigating the evolution of major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial-interglacial cycle
Authors: Bonelli S. , Charbit S. , Kageyama M. , Woillez M.-N. , Ramstein G. , Dumas C. , Quiquet A.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A 2.5-dimensional climate model of intermediate complexity, CLIMBER-2, fully coupled with the GREMLINS 3-D thermo-mechanical ice sheet model is used to simulate the evolution of major Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial-interglacial cycle and to investigate the ice sheets responses to both insolation and atmospheric CO2 concentration. This model reproduces the main phases of advance and retreat of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets during the last glacial cycle, although the amplitude of these variations is less pronounced than those based on sea level reconstructions. At the last glacial maximum, the simulated ice volume is 52.5×1015 m3 and the spatial distribution of both the American and Eurasian ice complexes is in reasonable agreement with observations, with the exception of the marine parts of these former ice sheets. A set of sensitivity studies has also been performed to assess the sensitivity of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets to both insolation and atmospheric CO2. Our results suggest that the decrease of summer insolation is the main factor responsible for the early build up of the North American ice sheet around 120 kyr BP, in agreement with benthic foraminifera δ18O signals. In contrast, low insolation and low atmospheric CO2 concentration are both necessary to trigger a long-lasting glaciation over Eurasia.
Relationship between Holocene climate variations over southern Greenland and eastern Baffin Island and synoptic circulation pattern
Authors: Fréchette B. , de Vernal A.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Lake pollen records from southwest Greenland and eastern Baffin Island show strong regionalism in climate trends of the last 7000 cal years. July surface air temperature reconstructions from pollen indicate larger amplitude cooling in southwest Greenland (>3.0°C) than in eastern Baffin Island (<1.0°C). This west-east gradient in climate change is consistent with August sea-surface temperature reconstructions from dinocyst records that indicate decreasing temperature and/or strength of the North Atlantic Current to the east during the Holocene while the eastern Canadian margins under the Labrador Current influence display slight warming. Complementary to air and sea-surface temperature records, the lake pollen data led to reconstruct increased cloudiness in southern Greenland, which points to increasing cyclonic activity since 7000 cal years BP west of Greenland. Together, the terrestrial and marine records of the northwest North Atlantic therefore suggest a shift from a dominant NAO+ during the early-mid Holocene to dominant NAO- in the late Holocene.
Sources of Holocene variability of oxygen isotopes in paleoclimate archives
Authors: LeGrande A. N. , Schmidt G. A.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Variability in water isotopes has been captured in numerous archives and used to infer past climate changes. Here we examine water isotope variability over the course of the Holocene using the water-isotope enabled, coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model, GISS ModelE-R. Eight Holocene time slices, ~1000 years apart are simulated and driven by estimated changes in orbital configuration, greenhouse gases, and ice sheet extent. We find that simulated water isotope archives match well with those seen in ice cores, ocean sediment cores, and speleothems. The climate changes associated with the water isotope changes, however, are more complex than simple modern spatial slope interpretations might suggest. In particular, water isotope variability in Asian speleothems is linked to alterations in landward water vapor transport, not local precipitation, and ice sheet changes over North America lead to the masking of temperature signals in Summit, Greenland. Salinity-seawater isotope variability is complicated by inter-ocean basin exchanges of water vapor. Water isotopes do reflect variability in the hydrology, but are better interpreted in terms of regional hydrological cycle changes rather than as indicators of local climate.
Changes in atmospheric variability in a glacial climate and the impacts on proxy data: a model intercomparison
Authors: Pausata F. S. R. , Li C. , Wettstein J. J. , Nisancioglu K. H. , Battisti D. S.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Using four different climate models, we investigate sea level pressure variability in the extratropical North Atlantic in the preindustrial climate (1750 AD) and at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 kyrs before present) in order to understand how changes in atmospheric circulation can affect signals recorded in climate proxies. In general, the models exhibit a significant reduction in interannual variance of sea level pressure at the LGM compared to pre-industrial simulations and this reduction is concentrated in winter. For the preindustrial climate, all models feature a similar leading mode of sea level pressure variability that resembles the leading mode of variability in the instrumental record: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). In contrast, the leading mode of sea level pressure variability at the LGM is model dependent, but in each model different from that in the preindustrial climate. In each model, the leading (NAO-like) mode of variability explains a smaller fraction of the variance and also less absolute variance at the LGM than in the preindustrial climate. The models show that the relationship between atmospheric variability and surface climate (temperature and precipitation) variability change in different climates. Results are model-specific, but indicate that proxy signals at the LGM may be misinterpreted if changes in the spatial pattern and seasonality of surface climate variability are not taken into account.
Rapid climatic variability in the west Mediterranean during the last 25 000 years from high resolution pollen data
Authors: Combourieu Nebout N. , Peyron O. , Dormoy I. , Desprat S. , Beaudouin C. , Kotthoff U. , Marret F.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. High-temporal resolution pollen record from the Alboran Sea ODP Site 976, pollen-based quantitative climate reconstruction and biomisation show that changes of Mediterranean vegetation have been clearly modulated by short and long term variability during the last 25 000 years. The reliability of the quantitative climate reconstruction from marine pollen spectra has been tested using 22 marine core-top samples from the Mediterranean. The ODP Site 976 pollen record and climatic reconstruction confirm that Mediterranean environments have a rapid response to the climatic fluctuations during the last Termination. The western Mediterranean vegetation response appears nearly synchronous with North Atlantic variability during the last deglaciation as well as during the Holocene. High-resolution analyses of the ODP Site 976 pollen record show a cooling trend during the Bölling/Allerød period. In addition, this period is marked by two warm episodes bracketing a cooling event that represent the Bölling-Older Dryas-Allerød succession. During the Holocene, recurrent declines of the forest cover over the Alboran Sea borderlands indicate climate events that correlate well with several events of increased Mediterranean dryness observed on the continent and with Mediterranean Sea cooling episodes detected by alkenone-based sea surface temperature reconstructions. These events clearly reflect the response of the Mediterranean vegetation to the North Atlantic Holocene cold events.
High resolution climate and vegetation simulations of the Late Pliocene, a model-data comparison over western Europe and the Mediterranean region
Authors: Jost A. , Fauquette S. , Kageyama M. , Krinner G. , Ramstein G. , Suc J.-P. , Violette S.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Here we perform a detailed comparison between climate model results and climate reconstructions in western Europe and the Mediterranean area for the mid-Piacenzian warm interval (ca 3 Myr ago) of the Late Pliocene epoch. This region is particularly well suited for such a comparison as several quantitative climate estimates from local pollen records are available. They show evidence for temperatures significantly warmer than today over the whole area, mean annual precipitation higher in northwestern Europe and equivalent to modern values in its southwestern part. To improve our comparison, we have performed high resolution simulations of the mid-Piacenzian climate using the LMDz atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) with a stretched grid which allows a finer resolution over Europe. In a first step, we applied the PRISM2 (Pliocene Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping) boundary conditions except that we used modern terrestrial vegetation. Second, we simulated the vegetation for this period by forcing the ORCHIDEE (Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems) dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) with the climatic outputs from the AGCM. We then supplied this simulated terrestrial vegetation cover as an additional boundary condition in a second AGCM run. This gives us the opportunity to investigate the model's sensitivity to the simulated vegetation changes in a global warming context. Model results and data show a great consistency for mean annual temperatures, indicating increases by up to 4°C in the study area, and some disparities, in particular in the northern Mediterranean sector, as regards winter and summer temperatures. Similar continental mean annual precipitation and moisture patterns are predicted by the model, which broadly underestimates the wetter conditions indicated by the data in northwestern Europe. The biogeophysical effects due to the changes in vegetation simulated by ORCHIDEE are weak, both in terms of the hydrological cycle and of the temperatures, at the regional scale of the European and Mediterranean mid-latitudes. In particular, they do not contribute to improve the model-data comparison. Their main influence concerns seasonal temperatures, with a decrease of the temperatures of the warmest month, and an overall reduction of the intensity of the continental hydrological cycle.
Pollen-based biome reconstructions for Latin America at 0, 6000 and 18 000 radiocarbon years ago
Authors: Marchant R. , Cleef A. , Harrison S. P. , Hooghiemstra H. , Markgraf V. , van Boxel J. , Ager T. , Almeida L. , Anderson R. , Baied C. , Behling H. , Berrio J. C. , Burbridge R. , Björck S. , Byrne R. , Bush M. , Duivenvoorden J. , Flenley J. , De Oliveira P. , van Geel B. , Graf K. , Gosling W. D. , Harbele S. , van der Hammen T. , Hansen B. , Horn S. , Kuhry P. , Ledru M.-P. , Mayle F. , Leyden B. , Lozano-García S. , Melief A. M. , Moreno P. , Moar N. T. , Prieto A. , van Reenen G. , Salgado-Labouriau M. , Schäbitz F. , Schreve-Brinkman E. J. , Wille M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The biomisation method is used to reconstruct Latin American vegetation at 6000±500 and 18 000±1000 radiocarbon years before present (14C yr BP) from pollen data. Tests using modern pollen data from 381 samples derived from 287 locations broadly reproduce potential natural vegetation. The strong temperature gradient associated with the Andes is recorded by a transition from high altitude cool grass/shrubland and cool mixed forest to mid-altitude cool temperate rain forest, to tropical dry, seasonal and rain forest at low altitudes. Reconstructed biomes from a number of sites do not match the potential vegetation due to local factors such as human impact, methodological artefacts and mechanisms of pollen representivity of the parent vegetation. At 6000±500 14C yr BP 255 samples are analysed from 127 sites. Differences between the modern and the 6000±500 14C yr BP reconstruction are comparatively small; change relative to the modern reconstruction are mainly to biomes characteristic of drier climate in the north of the region with a slight more mesic shift in the south. Cool temperate rain forest remains dominant in western South America. In northwestern South America a number of sites record transitions from tropical seasonal forest to tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest to tropical seasonal forest. Sites in Central America show a change in biome assignment, but to more mesic vegetation, indicative of greater plant available moisture, e.g. on the Yucatán peninsula sites record warm evergreen forest, replacing tropical dry forest and warm mixed forest presently recorded. At 18 000±1000 14C yr BP 61 samples from 34 sites record vegetation reflecting a generally cool and dry environment. Cool grass/shrubland is prevalent in southeast Brazil whereas Amazonian sites record tropical dry forest, warm temperate rain forest and tropical seasonal forest. Southernmost South America is dominated by cool grass/shrubland, a single site retains cool temperate rain forest indicating that forest was present at some locations at the LGM. Some sites in Central Mexico and lowland Colombia remain unchanged in the biome assignments of warm mixed forest and tropical dry forest respectively, although the affinities that these sites have to different biomes do change between 18 000±1000 14C yr BP and present. The "unresponsive" nature of these sites results from their location and the impact of local edaphic influence.
Pliocene three-dimensional global ocean temperature reconstruction
Authors: Dowsett H. J. , Robinson M. M. , Foley K. M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The thermal structure of the mid-Piacenzian ocean is obtained by combining the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping Project (PRISM3) multiproxy sea-surface temperature (SST) reconstruction with bottom water temperature estimates from 27 locations produced using Mg/Ca paleothermometry based upon the ostracod genus Krithe. Deep water temperature estimates are skewed toward the Atlantic Basin (63% of the locations) and represent depths from 1000 m to 4500 m. This reconstruction, meant to serve as a validation data set as well as an initialization for coupled numerical climate models, assumes a Pliocene water mass framework similar to that which exists today, with several important modifications. The area of formation of present day North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) was expanded and extended further north toward the Arctic Ocean during the mid-Piacenzian relative to today. This, combined with a deeper Greenland-Scotland Ridge, allowed a greater volume of warmer NADW to enter the Atlantic Ocean. In the Southern Ocean, the Polar Front Zone was expanded relative to present day, but shifted closer to the Antarctic continent. This, combined with at least seasonal reduction in sea ice extent, resulted in decreased Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) production (relative to present day) as well as possible changes in the depth of intermediate waters. The reconstructed mid-Piacenzian three-dimensional ocean was warmer overall than today, and the hypothesized aerial extent of water masses appears to fit the limited stable isotopic data available for this time period.
Effects of orbital forcing on atmosphere and ocean heat transports in Holocene and Eemian climate simulations with a comprehensive Earth system model
Authors: Fischer N. , Jungclaus J. H.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Orbital forcing does not only exert direct insolation effects, but also alters climate indirectly through feedback mechanisms that modify atmosphere and ocean dynamics and meridional heat and moisture transfers. We investigate the regional effects of these changes by detailed analysis of atmosphere and ocean circulation and heat transports in a coupled atmosphere-ocean-sea ice-biosphere general circulation model (ECHAM5/JSBACH/MPI-OM). We perform long term quasi equilibrium simulations under pre-industrial, mid-Holocene (6000 years before present – yBP), and Eemian (125 000 yBP) orbital boundary conditions. Compared to pre-industrial climate, Eemian and Holocene temperatures show generally warmer conditions at higher and cooler conditions at lower latitudes. Changes in sea-ice cover, ocean heat transports, and atmospheric circulation patterns lead to pronounced regional heterogeneity. Over Europe, the warming is most pronounced over the north-eastern part in accordance with recent reconstructions for the Holocene. We attribute this warming to enhanced ocean circulation in the Nordic Seas and enhanced ocean-atmosphere heat flux over the Barents Shelf in conduction with retreat of sea ice and intensified winter storm tracks over northern Europe.
Holocene trends in the foraminifer record from the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Andersson C. , Pausata F. S. R. , Jansen E. , Risebrobakken B. , Telford R. J.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The early to mid-Holocene thermal optimum is a well-known feature in a wide variety of paleoclimate archives from the Northern Hemisphere. Reconstructed summer temperature anomalies from across northern Europe show a clear maximum around 6000 years before present (6 ka). For the marine realm, Holocene trends in sea-surface temperature reconstructions for the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea do not exhibit a consistent pattern of early to mid-Holocene warmth. Sea-surface temperature records based on alkenones and diatoms generally show the existence of a warm early to mid-Holocene optimum. In contrast, several foraminifer and radiolarian based temperature records from the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea show a cool mid-Holocene anomaly and a trend towards warmer temperatures in the late Holocene. In this paper, we revisit the foraminifer record from the Vøring Plateau in the Norwegian Sea. We also compare this record with published foraminifer based temperature reconstructions from the North Atlantic and with modelled (CCSM3) upper ocean temperatures. Model results indicate that while the seasonal summer warming of the sea-surface was stronger during the mid-Holocene, sub-surface depths experienced a cooling. This hydrographic setting can explain the discrepancies between the Holocene trends exhibited by phytoplankton and zooplankton based temperature proxy records.
Limitations of red noise in analysing Dansgaard-Oeschger events
Authors: Braun H. , Ditlevsen P. , Kurths J. , Mudelsee M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. During the last glacial period, climate records from the North Atlantic region exhibit a pronounced spectral component corresponding to a period of about 1470 years, which has attracted much attention. This spectral peak is closely related to the recurrence pattern of Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events. In previous studies a red noise random process, more precisely a first-order autoregressive (AR1) process, was used to evaluate the statistical significance of this peak, with a reported significance of more than 99%. Here we use a simple mechanistic two-state model of DO events, which itself was derived from a much more sophisticated ocean-atmosphere model of intermediate complexity, to numerically evaluate the spectral properties of random (i.e., solely noise-driven) events. This way we find that the power spectral density of random DO events differs fundamentally from a simple red noise random process. These results question the applicability of linear spectral analysis for estimating the statistical significance of highly non-linear processes such as DO events. More precisely, to enhance our scientific understanding about the trigger of DO events, we must not consider simple "straw men" as, for example, the AR1 random process, but rather test against realistic alternative descriptions.
Dendroclimatology in Fennoscandia – from past accomplishments to future potential
Authors: Linderholm H. W. , Björklund J. A. , Seftigen K. , Gunnarson B. E. , Grudd H. , Jeong J.-H. , Drobyshev I. , Liu Y.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Fennoscandia has a strong tradition in dendrochronology, and its large tracts of boreal forest make the region well suited for the development of tree-ring chronologies that extend back several thousands of years. Two of the world's longest continuous (most tree-ring chronologies are annually resolved) tree-ring width chronologies are found in northern Fennoscandia, with records from Torneträsk and Finnish Lapland covering the last ca. 7500 yr. In addition, several chronologies between coastal Norway and the interior of Finland extend back several centuries. Tree-ring data from Fennoscandia have provided important information on regional climate variability during the mid to late Holocene and have played major roles in the reconstruction of hemispheric and global temperatures. Tree-ring data from the region have also been used to reconstruct large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, regional precipitation and drought. Such information is imperative when trying to reach better understanding of natural climate change and variability and its forcing mechanisms, and placing recent climate change within a long-term context.
Quantifying the effect of vegetation dynamics on the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum
Authors: Jahn A. , Claussen M. , Ganopolski A. , Brovkin V.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The importance of the biogeophysical atmosphere-vegetation feedback in comparison with the radiative effect of lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations and the presence of ice sheets at the last glacial maximum (LGM) is investigated with the climate system model CLIMBER-2. Equilibrium experiments reveal that most of the global cooling at the LGM (−5.1°C) relative to present-day conditions is caused by the introduction of ice sheets into the model (−3.0°C, 59%), followed by the effect of lower atmospheric CO2 levels at the LGM (−1.5°C, 29%). The biogeophysical effects of changes in vegetation cover are found to cool the LGM climate by 0.6°C (12%). They are most pronounced in the northern high latitudes, where the taiga-tundra feedback causes annually averaged temperature changes of up to −2°C, while the radiative effect of lower atmospheric CO2 in this region only produces a cooling of 1.5°C. Hence, in this region, the temperature changes caused by vegetation dynamics at the LGM exceed the cooling due to lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
Mid-Holocene climate change in Europe: a data-model comparison
Authors: Brewer S. , Guiot J. , Torre F.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. We present here a comparison between the outputs of a set of 25 climate models run for the mid-Holocene period (6 ka BP) with a set of palaeo-climate reconstructions from over 400 fossil pollen sequences distributed across the European continent. Three climate parameters were available (moisture availability, temperature of the coldest month and growing degree days), which were then grouped together using cluster analysis to provide regions of homogenous climate change. Each model was then investigated to see if it reproduced 1) the same directions of change and 2) the correct location of these regions. A fuzzy logic distance was used to compare the output of the model with the data, which allowed uncertainties from both the model and data to be taken into account. The initial comparison showed that the models were only capable of reproducing regions of little climate change, as the data-based reconstructions have a much larger range of changes due to their local nature. A correction for the model standard deviation was then applied to allow the comparison to proceed, and this second test shows that the majority of models simulate all the observed patterns of climatic change, although most do not simulate the observed magnitude of change. The models were then compared by distance to data, and by the amount of correction required. The majority of the models are grouped together both in distance and correction, suggesting that they are becoming more consistent. A test against a set of zero anomalies (no climate change) shows that, whilst the models are unable to reproduce the exact patterns of change, they all produce the correct direction of change for the mid-Holocene.
Orbital and freshwater forcing during the last interglacial: analysis of climate and vegetation response patterns
Authors: Lohmann G.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Large-scale atmospheric patterns are examined on orbital timescales using the ECHO-G which explicitly resolves the atmosphere – ocean – sea ice dynamics. It is shown that in contrast to boreal summer where the climate mainly follows the local radiative forcing, the boreal winter climate is strongly determined by modulation of the atmospheric circulation. We find that during a positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation the convection in the tropical Pacific is below normal. The atmospheric circulation patterns induce non-uniform temperature anomalies, much stronger in amplitude than by the direct solar insolation. Together with the direct solar insolation this provides for a temperature drop over the Northern Hemisphere continents for 115 000 years before present, large areas over northern Asia and Alaska become a desert, and the grass land expanded to the north. The spatial pattern of temperature and vegetation changes differs from a more hemisphere-wide cooling, i.e. induced by oceanic freshwater in the northern North Atlantic. The signatures of different forcing mechanisms are important for the interpretation of proxy data as well as for the understanding of underlying mechanisms at the end of the last interglacial.
Simulated northern hemispheric storm tracks of the Eemian interglacial and the last glacial inception
Authors: Kaspar F. , Spangehl T. , Cubasch U.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Climate simulations of the Eemian interglacial and the last glacial inception have been performed by forcing a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model with insolation patterns of these periods. The parameters of the Earth's orbit have been set to conditions of 125 000 and 115 000 years before present (yr BP). Compared to today, these dates represent periods with enhanced and weakened seasonality of insolation on the northern hemisphere. Here we analyze the simulated change in winter storm tracks. The change in the orbital configuration has a strong impact on the meridional temperature gradients and therefore on strength and location of the storm tracks. The North Atlantic storm track is strenghtened, shifted northward and extends further to the east in the simulation for the Eemian at 125 kyr BP. As one consequence, the northern parts of Europe experience an increase in winter precipitation. The frequency of winter storm days increases over large parts of the North Atlantic. Opposite but weaker changes in storm track activity are simulated for 115 kyr BP.
Simulations of the last interglacial and the subsequent glacial inception with the Planet Simulator
Authors: Donat M. , Kaspar F.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The Planet Simulator was used to perform equilibrium simulations of the Eemian interglacial at 125 kyBP and the glacial inception at 115 kyBP. Additionally, an accelerated transient simulation of that interval was performed. During this period the changes of Earth's orbital parameters led to a reduction of summer insolation in the northern latitudes. The model has been run in different configurations in order to evaluate the influence of the individual sub-models. The strongest reaction on the insolation change was observed when the atmosphere was coupled with all available sub-systems: a mixed-layer ocean and a sea-ice model as well as a vegetation model. In the simulations representing the interglacial, the near-surface temperature in northern latitudes is higher compared to the preindustrial reference run and almost no perennial snow cover occurs. In the run for the glacial inception, wide areas in mid and high northern latitudes show negative temperature anomalies and wide areas are covered by snow or ice. The transient simulation shows that snow volume starts to increase after summer insolation has fallen below a critical value. The main reason for the beginning glaciation is the locally reduced (summer) temperature as a consequence of reduced summer insolation. Therefore, a larger fraction of precipitation falls as snow and less snow can melt. That mechanism is amplified by the snow-albedo-feedback.
Biogeochemical records of past global iron connections
Authors: An Z. S. , Cao J. J. , Anderson K. K. , Kawahata H. , Arimoto R.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. Paleorecords of dust deposition can be used to evaluate global iron connections under conditions different from those today. Dust production and deposition has co-varied with ocean paleoproductivity, pCO2, and climate over glacial-interglacial cycles, and in this paper we review the current understanding and highlight research needs with respect to paleorecords of global iron connections. These records, which include data from terrestrial (loess) deposits, marine sediments, and ice cores, suggest that average eolian deposition rates were approximately 2–20 times higher during glacial periods than during interglacials. Enhanced dust fluxes to the oceans during glacial times, particularly to the main high-nutrient/low-chlorophyll (HNLC) areas of the open ocean (i.e., the Pacific subarctic, the equatorial Pacific, and the Southern Ocean), may have "fertilized" marine biota, thereby enhancing ocean productivity (1–2 fold) and driving atmospheric CO2 lower. Current models yield variable results, however, with glacial-interglacial changes in dust fluxes changing atmospheric pCO2 by the equivalent of 5 to >50% of the total glacial-interglacial change of 80–100 ppm. Positive correlations among Asian dust, ocean productivity and atmospheric CO2 in last 130 kyr, 1200 yr and 50 yr indicate that eolian iron has played an important role in global biogeochemical cycles of the past. A simple calculation suggests that one-tenth to one-third of the global change in CO2 due to dust-supplied Fe could be ascribed to variations in the dust supply flux from Asia and its associated effects on productivity in the Pacific Ocean.
Quasi-100 ky glacial-interglacial cycles triggered by subglacial burial carbon release
Authors: Zeng N.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A new mechanism is proposed in which climate, carbon cycle and icesheets interact with each other to produce a feedback that can produce quasi-100 ky glacial-interglacial cycles. A key process is the burial and preservation of organic carbon by icesheets. The switch from glacial maximum to deglaciation is triggered by the ejection of glacial burial carbon when icesheets grow to sufficiently large size and subglacial transport becomes significant. Glacial inception is initiated by CO2 drawdown due to a ''rebound'' from a high but transient interglacial CO2 value as the land-originated CO2 invades into deep ocean via thermohaline circulation and CaCO3 compensation. Also important for glacial inception is the CO2 uptake by vegetation regrowth in the previously ice-covered boreal regions. When tested using a fully coupled Earth system model with comprehensive carbon cycle components and semi-empirical physical climate components, it produced self-sustaining glacial-interglacial cycles of duration about 93 ky, CO2 change of 90 ppmv, temperature change of 6°C under certain parameter regimes. Since the 100 ky cycles can not be easily explained by the weak Milankovitch astronomical forcing alone, this carbon-climate mechanism provides a strong feedback that could interact with external forcings to produce the major observed Quaternary climatic variations.
Detecting human impacts on the flora, fauna, and summer monsoon of Pleistocene Australia
Authors: Miller G. H. , Magee J. W. , Fogel M. L. , Gagan M. K.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. All of Australia's largest mammalian vertebrates became extinct 50 to 45 ka (thousand years ago), shortly after human colonization. Between 60 and 40 ka Australian climate was similar to present and not changing rapidly. Consequently, attention has turned toward plausible human mechanisms for the extinction, with proponents for over-hunting, ecosystem change, and introduced disease. To differentiate between these options we utilize isotopic tracers of diet preserved in eggshells of two large, flightless birds to track the status of ecosystems before and after human colonization. δ13C preserved in their eggshells monitor a bird's dietary intake in the weeks to months before egg-laying. More than 500 dated eggshells from central Australia of the Australian emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), an opportunistic, dominantly herbivorous feeder, provide a continuous 140 kyr dietary δ 13C reconstruction. More than 350 dated eggshells from the same region of the heavier, extinct, giant bird Genyornis newtoni define its dietary intake from 140 ka until its extinction about 50 ka. Additional dietary records for both species were developed from two distant regions. Dromaius eggshell dietary δ13C reveals an unprecedented reduction in the bird's food resources about 50 ka, coeval in all three regions, suggesting conversion at that time of a tree/shrub savannah with occasionally rich grasslands to the modern desert scrub. We speculate that ecosystem collapse across the arid and semi-arid zones is a consequence of systematic burning by early humans. Genyornis diet everywhere is more restricted than in co-existing Dromaius, implying a more specialized feeding strategy. These data suggest that generalist feeders, such as Dromaius, were able to adapt to a changed vegetation regime, whereas more specialized feeders, such as Genyornis, became extinct. The altered vegetation may have also impacted Australian climate. Changes in the strength of climate feedbacks linked to vegetation and soil type (moisture recycling, surface roughness, albedo) may have weakened the penetration of monsoon moisture into the continental interior under the new ecosystem. Climate modeling suggests such a shift may have reduced monsoon rain in the interior by as much as 50%.
Effect of vegetation on the Late Miocene ocean circulation
Authors: Lohmann G. , Butzin M. , Micheels A. , Bickert T. , Mosbrugger V.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A weak and shallow thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean is related to an open Central American gateway and exchange with fresh Pacific waters. We estimate the effect of vegetation on the ocean general circulation using the atmospheric circulation model simulations for the Late Miocene climate. Caused by an increase in net evaporation in the Miocene North Atlantic, the North Atlantic water becomes more saline which enhances the overturning circulation and thus the northward heat transport. This effect reveals a potentially important feedback between the ocean circulation, the hydrological cycle and the land surface cover for Cenozoic climate evolution.
Numerical reconstructions of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets through the last glacial-interglacial cycle
Authors: Charbit S. , Ritz C. , Philippon G. , Peyaud V. , Kageyama M.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. A 3-dimensional thermo-mechanical ice-sheet model is used to simulate the evolution of the Northern hemisphere ice sheets through the last glacial-interglacial cycle. The ice-sheet model is forced by the results from six different atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). Two climate snapshots simulations performed for the last glacial maximum (LGM) and for the present-day periods are interpolated through time using a glacial index calibrated against the GRIP δ18O record to reconstruct the climate evolution over the period under study. Since it is driven by the timing of the GRIP signal, the temporal evolution of the ice volume and the ice-covered area is approximately the same from one simulation to the other. However, both ice volume curves and spatial distributions of the ice sheets present some major differences from one AGCM to the other. The origin of these differences, which are most visible in the maximum amplitude of the ice volume, is analyzed in terms of differences in climate forcing. The analysis of the results allows an evaluation of the ability of GCMs to simulate climates consistent with the reconstructions of past ice sheets to be evaluated. Although some models properly reproduce the advance or retreat of ice sheets in some specific areas, none of them is able to reproduce both North American or Eurasian ice complexes in full agreement with observed sea-level variations and geological data. These deviations can be attributed to shortcomings in the climate forcing and in the LGM ice-sheet reconstruction used as a boundary condition for GCM runs, but also to missing processes in the ice-sheet model itself.
The modern and glacial overturning circulation in the Atlantic ocean in PMIP coupled model simulations
Authors: Weber S. L. , Drijfhout S. S. , Abe-Ouchi A. , Crucifix M. , Eby M. , Ganopolski A. , Murakami S. , Otto-Bliesner B. , Peltier W. R.
Published: April 2010

Abstract. The simulation of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) provides an important benchmark for models used to predict future climatic changes. This study analyses the THC response to LGM forcings and boundary conditions in nine PMIP simulations, including both GCMs and Earth system Models of Intermediate Complexity. It is examined whether the mechanism put forward in the literature for a glacial THC reduction in one model also plays a dominant role in other models. In five models the THC reduces during the LGM (by 5–40%), whereas four models show an increase (by 10–40%). In all models but one a reduced (enhanced) THC goes with a stronger (weaker) reversed deep overturning cell associated with the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). It is found that a major controlling factor for the THC response is the density contrast between AABW and North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) during the LGM as compared to the modern climate. More saline AABW is consistently found in all simulations, while all models but one show less cooling of AABW as compared to NADW. In five out of nine models a reduced (enhanced) THC during the LGM is associated with more (less) dense AABW at its source region, which in turn is determined by the balance between the opposing effects of salinity and temperature on the density of AABW versus that of NADW. The response in net evaporation over the Atlantic basin is relatively small in most models, so that changes in the freshwater budget are dominated by ocean transports. In only two models is the THC response during the LGM directly related to the response in net evaporation.