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The last termination in the central South Atlantic

Ljung, Karl LU orcid ; Holmgren, Sofia LU ; Kylander, Malin ; Sjolte, Jesper LU orcid ; Van der Putten, Nathalie LU ; Kageyama, Masa ; Porter, Charles T. and Björck, Svante LU (2015) In Quaternary Science Reviews 123. p.193-214
Abstract
Lake sediments and peat deposits from two basins on Nightingale Island (37 degrees S), in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, South Atlantic, have been analyzed. The studies were focused on the time period 16.2-10.0 cal ka BP, determined by 36 C-14 dates from the two sequences. A wide variety of proxies were used, including pollen and diatom analyzes, biogenic silica content, C and N analyzes, stable isotopes (C-13 and N-15), elemental concentrations and magnetic susceptibility measurements, to detect environmental changes that can be related to shifts of the circulation belts of the Southern Ocean. In addition, climate model simulations were carried out. We find that the sediments are underlain by a >2 cal ka BP long hiatus, possibly... (More)
Lake sediments and peat deposits from two basins on Nightingale Island (37 degrees S), in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, South Atlantic, have been analyzed. The studies were focused on the time period 16.2-10.0 cal ka BP, determined by 36 C-14 dates from the two sequences. A wide variety of proxies were used, including pollen and diatom analyzes, biogenic silica content, C and N analyzes, stable isotopes (C-13 and N-15), elemental concentrations and magnetic susceptibility measurements, to detect environmental changes that can be related to shifts of the circulation belts of the Southern Ocean. In addition, climate model simulations were carried out. We find that the sediments are underlain by a >2 cal ka BP long hiatus, possibly representing a dried-out lake bed. The climate simulations corroborate that the area might have been exposed to arid conditions as a consequence of the Heinrich I event in the north and a southward displacement of the ITCZ. The development on the island after 16.2 cal ka BP is determined by the position of the Subtropical Front (STF) and the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW). The period 16.2-14.75 cal ka BP was characterized by varying influence from SHW and with STF situated south of Tristan da Cunha, ending with a humidity peak and cooler conditions. The stable conditions 14.7-14.1 cal ka BP with cool and fairly arid conditions imply that STF and SHW were both north of the islands during the first part of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. The most unstable period, 14.1-12.7 cal ka BP, indicates incessant latitudinal shifts of the zonal circulation, perhaps related to climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere and bipolar seesaw mechanisms as the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) varied. At 12.7 cal ka BP the Holocene warming began with a gradually drier and warmer climate as a result of a dampened AMOC during the Younger Dryas cooling in the north with ITCZ, STF and SHW being displaced southwards. Peak warming seems to have occurred in the earliest part of the Holocene, but this period was also characterized by humidity shifts, possibly an effect of retraction and expansion phases of SHW during AMOC variations in the north. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bipolar see-saw climate pattern, front, Subtropical, Southern hemisphere zonal circulation, Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic, Last termination, Model simulation, Multiproxy study
in
Quaternary Science Reviews
volume
123
pages
193 - 214
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000359889700013
  • scopus:84938054754
ISSN
0277-3791
DOI
10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.003
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b8c11fd1-4b93-44a2-912b-83648ccd1b61 (old id 7972214)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:07:08
date last changed
2023-01-02 18:50:05
@article{b8c11fd1-4b93-44a2-912b-83648ccd1b61,
  abstract     = {{Lake sediments and peat deposits from two basins on Nightingale Island (37 degrees S), in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, South Atlantic, have been analyzed. The studies were focused on the time period 16.2-10.0 cal ka BP, determined by 36 C-14 dates from the two sequences. A wide variety of proxies were used, including pollen and diatom analyzes, biogenic silica content, C and N analyzes, stable isotopes (C-13 and N-15), elemental concentrations and magnetic susceptibility measurements, to detect environmental changes that can be related to shifts of the circulation belts of the Southern Ocean. In addition, climate model simulations were carried out. We find that the sediments are underlain by a >2 cal ka BP long hiatus, possibly representing a dried-out lake bed. The climate simulations corroborate that the area might have been exposed to arid conditions as a consequence of the Heinrich I event in the north and a southward displacement of the ITCZ. The development on the island after 16.2 cal ka BP is determined by the position of the Subtropical Front (STF) and the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW). The period 16.2-14.75 cal ka BP was characterized by varying influence from SHW and with STF situated south of Tristan da Cunha, ending with a humidity peak and cooler conditions. The stable conditions 14.7-14.1 cal ka BP with cool and fairly arid conditions imply that STF and SHW were both north of the islands during the first part of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. The most unstable period, 14.1-12.7 cal ka BP, indicates incessant latitudinal shifts of the zonal circulation, perhaps related to climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere and bipolar seesaw mechanisms as the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) varied. At 12.7 cal ka BP the Holocene warming began with a gradually drier and warmer climate as a result of a dampened AMOC during the Younger Dryas cooling in the north with ITCZ, STF and SHW being displaced southwards. Peak warming seems to have occurred in the earliest part of the Holocene, but this period was also characterized by humidity shifts, possibly an effect of retraction and expansion phases of SHW during AMOC variations in the north. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Ljung, Karl and Holmgren, Sofia and Kylander, Malin and Sjolte, Jesper and Van der Putten, Nathalie and Kageyama, Masa and Porter, Charles T. and Björck, Svante}},
  issn         = {{0277-3791}},
  keywords     = {{Bipolar see-saw climate pattern; front; Subtropical; Southern hemisphere zonal circulation; Tristan da Cunha; South Atlantic; Last termination; Model simulation; Multiproxy study}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{193--214}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Quaternary Science Reviews}},
  title        = {{The last termination in the central South Atlantic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.003}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.003}},
  volume       = {{123}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}