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Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal

Schenk, Frederik ; Väliranta, Minna ; Muschitiello, Francesco ; Tarasov, Lev ; Heikkilä, Maija ; Björck, Svante LU ; Brandefelt, Jenny ; Johansson, Arne V. ; Näslund, Jens Ove and Wohlfarth, Barbara LU (2018) In Nature Communications 9(1).
Abstract

The Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal interrupts the warming climate of the deglaciation with global climatic impacts. The sudden cooling is typically linked to an abrupt slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in response to meltwater discharges from ice sheets. However, inconsistencies regarding the YD-response of European summer temperatures have cast doubt whether the concept provides a sufficient explanation. Here we present results from a high-resolution global climate simulation together with a new July temperature compilation based on plant indicator species and show that European summers remain warm during the YD. Our climate simulation provides robust physical evidence that atmospheric blocking of... (More)

The Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal interrupts the warming climate of the deglaciation with global climatic impacts. The sudden cooling is typically linked to an abrupt slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in response to meltwater discharges from ice sheets. However, inconsistencies regarding the YD-response of European summer temperatures have cast doubt whether the concept provides a sufficient explanation. Here we present results from a high-resolution global climate simulation together with a new July temperature compilation based on plant indicator species and show that European summers remain warm during the YD. Our climate simulation provides robust physical evidence that atmospheric blocking of cold westerly winds over Fennoscandia is a key mechanism counteracting the cooling impact of an AMOC-slowdown during summer. Despite the persistence of short warm summers, the YD is dominated by a shift to a continental climate with extreme winter to spring cooling and short growing seasons.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature Communications
volume
9
issue
1
article number
1634
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85045988355
  • pmid:29691388
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
fef1917d-6990-4f64-a638-34d8717ae1c6
date added to LUP
2018-05-04 14:49:43
date last changed
2024-07-08 13:38:56
@article{fef1917d-6990-4f64-a638-34d8717ae1c6,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal interrupts the warming climate of the deglaciation with global climatic impacts. The sudden cooling is typically linked to an abrupt slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in response to meltwater discharges from ice sheets. However, inconsistencies regarding the YD-response of European summer temperatures have cast doubt whether the concept provides a sufficient explanation. Here we present results from a high-resolution global climate simulation together with a new July temperature compilation based on plant indicator species and show that European summers remain warm during the YD. Our climate simulation provides robust physical evidence that atmospheric blocking of cold westerly winds over Fennoscandia is a key mechanism counteracting the cooling impact of an AMOC-slowdown during summer. Despite the persistence of short warm summers, the YD is dominated by a shift to a continental climate with extreme winter to spring cooling and short growing seasons.</p>}},
  author       = {{Schenk, Frederik and Väliranta, Minna and Muschitiello, Francesco and Tarasov, Lev and Heikkilä, Maija and Björck, Svante and Brandefelt, Jenny and Johansson, Arne V. and Näslund, Jens Ove and Wohlfarth, Barbara}},
  issn         = {{2041-1723}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Communications}},
  title        = {{Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}