HOLIVAR2006 Abstracts
The 8.2 kyr event from Greenland ice cores.
Elizabeth R.Thomas1, Eric W. Wolff1, Robert Mulvaney1, Jorgen P. Steffensen2, Sigfus J. Johnsen2, Carol Arrowsmith3, James W.C. White4,5, Bruce Vaughn4 and Trevor Popp4
1British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge. CB3 0ET, UK
2Department of Geophysics, The Niels Bohr Institute for Astronomy, Physics and Geophysics, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej. 30, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
3NERC Isotope Geosciences Lab., British Geological Survey, Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
4Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), Boulder, Colorado, USA
5Department of geological Sciences and Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
Contact: Liz Thomas (lith@bas.ac.uk)
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We present a collection of high-resolution chemistry and stable isotope records from the plateau of the Greenland ice cap during the cold event 8200 years ago. Using a composite of 4 records, the cold event is observed as a 155-year period during which decadal-mean isotopic values were below average, within which there is a central event of 67 years during which values were consistently more than one standard deviation below the average for the preceding period. Four cores in north, south, and central Greenland show differences at decadal and shorter time scales; it is not yet clear if this represents significant spatial differences in response. The results show clear evidence for colder temperatures and a decrease in snow accumulation rate. However, the changes in chemical concentrations are smaller than previously reported; they suggest only small changes in atmospheric circulation for this event, and give only weak evidence for effects outside the North Atlantic region.
Liz is a palaeoclimatologist at the British Antarctic Survey. She is currently completing a PhD on the high-resolution analysis of rapid climate change events from Greenland ice cores. The project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council's RAPID climate change programme.