Cryptotephrochronology of the Eemian and the last interglacial–glacial transition in the North East Atlantic

The Eemian interglacial and the onset of the subsequent glacial period serve as the most recent analogue for the natural operation of the climate system during the current interglacial. Pronounced climatic oscillations occurred during this period, but their nature and pattern are poorly understood due to dating limitations and unknown phase relationships between different regions and archives. Tephrochronology offers considerable potential for precise correlation of disparate palaeoclimatic archives preserving evidence of these rapid climatic transitions through the tracing of common isochronous tephra horizons. We outline the identification of three previously unknown cryptotephra horizons within a marine core from the Rockall Trough, North East Atlantic. This sequence preserves a high‐resolution record of this interval and shard size, geochemical heterogeneity and the co‐variance of shard concentrations with ice‐rafted debris data are utilized to demonstrate that primary airfall was the most likely transport and depositional pathway. The main geochemical populations of these horizons have similar transitional alkali major and trace element compositions, suggesting that they were derived from a common Icelandic source, potentially the Öræfajökull volcanic system. These tephra horizons represent additions to the North Atlantic event stratigraphy for this period and tentative correlations to Icelandic terrestrial deposits are proposed for two horizons.     

A continuous tephrostratigraphic record from the Labrador Sea spanning the last 65 ka

Volcanic ash preserved in marine sediment sequences is key for independent synchronization of palaeoclimate records within and across different climate archives. Here we present a continuous tephrostratigraphic record from the Labrador Sea, spanning the last 65–5 ka, an area and time period that has not been investigated in detail within the established North Atlantic tephra framework. We investigated marine sediment core GS16-204-22CC for increased tephra occurrences and geochemically analysed the major element composition of tephra shards to identify their source volcano(es). In total we observed eight tephra zones, of which five concentration peaks show isochronous features that can be used as independent tie-points in future studies. The main transport mechanism of tephra shards to the site was near-instantaneous deposition by drifting of sea ice along the East Greenland Current. Our results show that the Icelandic Veidivötn volcanic system was the dominant source of tephra material, especially between late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and early MIS 3. The Veidivötn system generated volcanic eruptions in cycles of ca. 3–5 ka. We speculate that the quantity of tephra delivered to the Labrador Sea was a result of variable Icelandic ice volume and/or changes in the transportation pathway towards the Labrador Sea.     

季节性海冰驱动的冰期北大西洋“电容器”效应

第四纪冰期的千年尺度气候突变事件——Dansgaard-Oeschger Event (D-O事件),一直是古气候学领域关注的重点。近年来,数值模拟的研究发现,北大西洋副极地地区年际-年代际气候变率的振幅在D-O事件中的冰阶冷期远大于间冰阶暖期,这一现象为理解该区域海温代理指标的气候学意义提供了重要参考价值,但其动力机制尚不清晰。本文利用海气耦合气候模型(COSMOS),通过模拟氧同位素(MIS)3阶段的一个典型D-O事件过程,探讨了冰阶冷期北大西洋气候变率的放大机制。结果显示,北大西洋副极地海域的季节性海冰通过调控海气间热量交换,影响当地气候变率的幅度。冰阶期,热带暖水向北输送导致海洋次表层逐渐升温,削弱了表层-次表层海水的密度层结,有利于次表层暖水上涌,促进海冰融化及海表温度升高。这将激发出海平面气压的负异常,引起气旋式风切变,并通过Ekman抽吸作用加速表层-次表层海水的垂直混合,进一步促进次表层暖水的上涌。这一正反馈机制造成海洋次表层热量的迅速释放,海表温度快速升高。当次表层热量释放结束后,海表将无暖水补充,导致海表温度下降,海冰增多。该过程激发的海表气压正异常(即反气旋式风切变)将抑制垂直混合发生,促进次表层热量积累,为下一次放热过程提供条件。在间冰阶暖期,随着北大西洋季节性海冰消失,海气间热交换不再受海冰变化影响,海洋次表层与大气间的热交换始终处于准平衡态,气候变率的振幅显著下降。本研究结果显示,北大西洋季节性海冰的存在可以调控海洋次表层热量积累-释放的过程,产生“电容器”效应,这对理解冰期年际-年代际气候变率放大现象有重要启示意义。     

Evolution and demise of the Last Interglacial warmth in the subpolar North Atlantic

Detailed faunal, isotopic, and lithic marine records provide new insight into the stability and climate progression of the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, which peaked approximately 125,000 years ago. In the eastern subpolar North Atlantic, at the latitude of Ireland, interglacial warmth of the ice volume minimum of substage 5e (MIS 5e) lasted 10,000 years (10 ka) and its demise occurred in two cooling steps. The first cooling step marked the end of the climatic optimum, which was 2–3 ka long. Minor ice rafting accompanied each cooling step; the second, larger, step encompassing cold events C26 and C25 was previously identified in the northwestern Atlantic. Approximately 4 °C of cooling occurred between peak interglacial warmth and C25, and the region experienced an additional temporary cooling of at least 1–2 °C during C24, a cooling event associated with widespread ice rafting in the North Atlantic. Beginning with C24, MIS 5 was characterized by oscillations of at least 1–2 °C superimposed on a generally cool baseline. The results of this study imply that the marine climatic optimum of the last interglacial was shorter than previously thought. The finding that the eastern subpolar North Atlantic cooled significantly before C24 reconciles terrestrial evidence for progressive climate deterioration at similar and lower latitudes with marine conditions. Our results also demonstrate a close association between modest ice rafting, cooling, and deep ocean circulation even during the peak of MIS 5e and in the earliest stages of ice growth.     

North Atlantic climate impact on early late‐glacial climate oscillations in the south‐eastern Alps inferred from a multi‐proxy lake sediment record

High‐resolution multi‐proxy analyses of a sediment core section from Lake Jeserzersee (Saissersee) in the piedmont lobe of the Würmian Drau glacier (Carinthia, Austria) reveal pronounced climatic oscillations during the early late glacial (ca. 18.5–16.0k cal a BP). Diatom‐inferred epilimnetic summer water temperatures show a close correspondence with temperature reconstructions from the adjacent Lake Längsee record and, on a hemispheric scale, with fluctuations of ice‐rafted debris in the North Atlantic. This suggests that North Atlantic climate triggered summer climate variability in the Alps during the early late glacial. The expansion of pine (mainly dwarf pine) between ca. 18.5 and 18.1k cal a BP indicates warming during the so‐called ‘Längsee oscillation’. The subsequent stepwise climate deterioration between ca. 18.1 and 17.6k cal a BP culminated in a tripartite cold period between ca. 17.6 and 16.9k cal a BP with diatom‐inferred summer water temperatures 8.5–10 °C below modern values and a shift from wet to dry conditions. This period probably coincides with a major Alpine glacier advance termed the Gschnitz stadial. A warmer interval between ca. 16.9 and 16.4k cal a BP separates this cold phase from a second, shorter and less pronounced cold phase between ca. 16.4 and 16.0k cal a BP, which is thought to correlate with the Clavadel/Senders glacier advance in the Alps. The following temperature increase, coupled with wet (probably snow‐rich) conditions, caused the expansion of birch during the transition period to the late glacial interstadial. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Atlantic ocean heat piracy and the bipolar climate see‐saw during Heinrich and Dansgaard–Oeschger events

The millennial‐scale asynchrony of Antarctic and Greenland climate records during the last glacial period implies that the global climate system acts as a bipolar see‐saw driven by either high‐latitudinal and/or near‐equatorial sea‐surface perturbations. Based on the results of recent modelling of generic Heinrich and Dansgaard–Oeschger scenarios, we discuss the possibility that oscillations of the deep‐ocean conveyor may have been sufficient to cause this bipolar see‐saw. The bipolar climate asynchrony in our scenarios is caused by the toggle between North Atlantic heat piracy and South Atlantic counter heat piracy. Ocean circulation has an enhanced sensitivity to the northern deep‐water source as the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) cannot enter the Southern Ocean at depths shallower than the bottom of the Drake Passage. Any shoaling of the NADW can, therefore, increase the northward incursion of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW), and trigger an interhemispheric climate oscillation. As hundreds of years are required to warm the respective high latitudes, the observed climate lead and lags between the two hemispheres can be explained entirely by the variability of the meridional overturning and by the corresponding change in the oceanic heat transport. Accordingly, it is entirely feasible for the global climate to work like a pendulum, which theoretically could be controlled by pushing at either of the deep‐water sources. Our model scenarios suggest that it is entirely feasible for the bipolar climate see‐saw to be controlled solely by variations in NADW formation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The tephrochronology of Iceland and the North Atlantic region during the Middle and Late Quaternary: a review

The tephrochronology of Iceland and the North Atlantic region is reviewed in order to construct a unified framework for the last 400 kyr BP. Nearly all of the tephra layers described are also characterised geochemically. A number of new tephra layers are analysed for the first time for their geochemical signature and a number of pre‐Holocene tephra layers have been given an informal denotation. The tephrostratigraphy of Ash Zone II is highlighted. Where possible the rhyolitic tephra layers found outside Iceland have been correlated to known Icelandic tephra layers or to the volcanic source area. The application of tephra fallout in various depositional environments is described and discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synchronism of Holocene East Asian monsoon variations and North Atlantic drift-ice tracers

Eighteen radiocarbon-dated eolian and paleosol profiles within a 1500-km-long belt along the arid to semi-arid transition zone of north-central China record variations in the extent and strength of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. Dated paleosols and peat layers represent intervals when the zone was dominated by a mild, moist summer monsoon climate that favored pedogenesis and peat accumulation. Brief intervals of enhanced eolian activity that resulted in the deposition of loess and eolian sand were times when strengthened winter monsoon conditions produced a colder, drier climate. The monsoon variations correlate closely with variations in North Atlantic drift-ice tracers that represent episodic advection of drift ice and cold polar surface water southward and eastward into warmer subpolar water. The correspondence of these records over the full span of Holocene time implies a close relationship between North Atlantic climate and the monsoon climate of central China.     

Synchronization of late-glacial vegetation changes at Crystal Lake, Illinois, USA with the North Atlantic Event Stratigraphy

Late-glacial (17–11 cal ka BP) pollen records from midwestern North America show similar vegetation trends; however, poor dating resolution, wide-interval pollen counts, and variable sedimentation rates have prevented the direct correlation with the North Atlantic Event Stratigraphy as represented in the Greenland ice-core records, thus preventing the understanding of the teleconnections and mechanisms of late-Quaternary events in the Northern Hemisphere. The widespread occurrence of late-glacial vegetation and climates with no modern analogs also hinders late-glacial climate reconstructions. A high-resolution pollen record with a well-controlled age model from Crystal Lake in northeastern Illinois reveals vegetation and climate conditions during the late-glacial and early Holocene intervals. Late-glacial Crystal Lake pollen assemblages, dominated by Picea mariana and Fraxinus nigra with lesser amounts of Abies and Larix, suggest relatively wet climate despite fluctuations between colder and warmer temperatures. Vegetation changes at Crystal Lake are coeval with millennial-scale trends in the NGRIP ice-core record, but major shifts in vegetation at Crystal Lake lag the NGRIP record by 300–400 yr. This lag may be due to the proximity of the Laurentide ice sheet, the ice sheet's inherent slowness in response to rapid climate changes, and its effect on frontal boundary conditions and lake-effect temperatures.     

Tephra stratigraphy on the North Icelandic shelf: extending tephrochronology into marine sediments off North Iceland

Tephra stratigraphical and tephrochronological studies of marine core MD99‐2275 on the North Icelandic shelf have revealed 58 new tephra horizons within the last 7050 cal. a BP, bringing the total number of identified tephra layers to 76. So far, over 100 tephra layers have been identified in the entire core spanning the last 15 000 years. The majority of the newly identified tephra layers are basaltic in composition and originate from the most active volcanic systems in Iceland, namely Grímsvötn, Veidivötn‐Bárdarbunga and Katla. A total of 40 tephra layer land–sea correlations have been made within this time period, of which 16 represent absolutely dated tephra markers. In addition, two tephra marker series are revealed in the marine sediments and in the terrestrial tephra stratigraphy, located between c. 2300–2600 and between 5700–5900 years. For the last 15 000 years, 21 tephra markers have been recognized. The marine tephra layer frequency (TLF) reveals two peaks, within the last 2000 years, and between 5000 and 7000 years ago. It shows the same general characteristics as the terrestrial TLF curve in Iceland, which indicates that marine sediments can yield important information about volcanism in Iceland. This is useful in time segments in which terrestrial records are poor or non‐existent. The study contributes to a high‐resolution tephrochronological framework on the North Icelandic shelf, with core MD99‐2275 representing a potential stratotype section in the area, and for the northern North Atlantic–Nordic Seas region, as well as being an important contribution to the Lateglacial–early Holocene volcanic history of Iceland.     

Identification of the Fugloyarbanki tephra in the NGRIP ice core: a key tie‐point for marine and ice‐core sequences during the last glacial period

A visible tephra horizon in the NGRIP ice core has been identified by geochemical analysis as the Fugloyarbanki Tephra, a widespread marker horizon in marine cores from the Faroe Islands area and the northern North Atlantic. An age of 26 740 ± 390 yr b2k (1σ uncertainty) is derived for this tephra according to the new Greenland Ice Core Chronology (GICC05) based on multi‐parameter counting of annual layers. Detection of this tephra for the first time within the NGRIP ice core provides a key tie‐point between marine and ice‐core records during the transition between MIS 3 and 2. Identification of this volcanic event within the Greenland records demonstrates the future potential of using tephrochronology to precisely correlate palaeoarchives in widely separated localities that span the last glacial period, as well as providing a potential method for examining the extent of the radiocarbon marine reservoir effect at this time. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene bipolar climate seesaw: possible subtle evidence from the deep North East Atlantic Ocean?

The occurrence of a millennial‐scale bipolar climate seesaw has been documented in detail for the last glacial period and Termination. There is, however, debate whether it occurs during interglacials and if it does what influence it could have on future climate. We present here new evidence from a North East Atlantic Ocean deep‐sea core which supports the hypothesis for a Holocene bipolar climate seesaw. BENGAL Site 13078#16, from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, is 4844 m deep and situated at the North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) interface. Planktic foraminiferal fragment accumulation rate data at this site is an indicator of coarse carbonate dissolution, which is highly sensitive to the incursion of under‐saturated AABW. Five dissolution peaks have been identified, which seem to occur approximately 500 a after each of the North Atlantic 'Bond' ice rafting pulses, suggesting a subsequent subtle shallowing of AABW. This indicates a possible lagged climatic link between North East Atlantic surface water conditions and AABW production in the Southern Ocean during the Holocene. This provides the first tentative evidence that there was a Holocene bipolar climate seesaw and that the deep ocean was involved. This study also suggests that extremely sensitive locations need to be sought as the Holocene bipolar climate seesaw seems to be very subtle compared with its glacial counterparts. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of precipitation over Greenland and the adjacent ocean to North Pacific warm spells during Dansgaard–Oeschger stadials

ABSTRACT Palaeoceanographic reconstructions from the North Atlantic indicate massive ice breakouts from East Greenland near the onset of cold Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) stadials. In contrast to these coolings in the North Atlantic area, a new sea-surface temperature record reveals concomitant warm spells in the northern North Pacific. A sensitivity experiment with an atmospheric general circulation model is used to test the potential impact of sea-surface warmings by 3.5 °C in the North Pacific, on top of otherwise cold stadial climate conditions, on the precipitation regime over the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The model predicts a maximum response over East Greenland and the Greenland Sea, where a 40% increase in net annual snow accumulation occurs. This remote effect of North Pacific warm spells on the East Greenland snow-accumulation rate may play an important role in generating D–O cycles by rebuilding the ice lost during ice breakouts. In addition, the increased precipitation over the Greenland Sea may help to sustain the D–O stadial climate state.     

Late‐glacial and Holocene palaeoceanography of the North Icelandic shelf

High‐resolution gravity cores and box cores from the North Icelandic shelf have been studied for palaeoceanographic history based on lithological and biostratigraphical foraminiferal data. Results from two outer shelf cores covering the last 13.6 k ¹⁴C yr BP are presented in this paper. The sediments accumulated in north–south trending basins on each side of the Kolbeinsey Ridge at water depths of ca. 400 m. Sedimentation rates up to 1.5 m kyr⁻¹ are observed during the Late‐glacial and Holocene. The Vedde and Saksunarvatn tephras are present in the cores as well as the Hekla 1104. A new tephra, KOL‐GS‐2, has been identified and dated to 13.4 k ¹⁴C yr BP, and another tephra, geochemically identical to the Borrobol Tephra, has been found at the same level. At present, the oceanographic Polar Front is located on the North Icelandic shelf, which experiences sharp oceanographic surface boundaries between the cold East Icelandic Current and the warmer Irminger Current. Past changes in sedimentological and biological processes in the study area are assumed to be related to fluctuations of the Polar Front. The area was deglaciated before ca. 14 kyr BP, but there is evidence of ice rafting up to the end of the GS‐1 (Greenland Stadial 1, Younger Dryas) period, increasing again towards the end of the Holocene. Foraminiferal studies show a relatively strong GS‐2 (pre‐13 kyr BP) palaeo‐Irminger Current, followed by severe cooling and then by unstable conditions during the remainder of the GI‐1 (Greenland Interstadial 1, Bølling–Allerød) and GS‐1 (Younger Dryas). Another cooling event occurred during the Preboreal before the Holocene current system was established at about 9 kyr BP. After a climatic optimum between 9 and 6 kyr BP the climate began to deteriorate and fluctuate. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary changes in surface water and deep water masses of the Nordic Seas and north-eastern North Atlantic: a review

Quantitative and semiquantitative proxy data based on more than 200 core-top samples and 100 deep-sea cores lead to important new insights about late Quaternary changes in paleo-oceanography, climate and microfaunal habitats in the north-eastern North Atlantic and Nordic Seas, insights resulting from a detailed investigation by the Kiel research project SFB 313/132 summarized in this paper. Planktonic foraminifera species provide reliable tracers of past sea surface temperatures and currents. The genus Beella in particular was found to trace subtropical water masses up to the far north. Benthic foraminifera species served as sensors of bottom currents and local flux rates of organic matter. New orders of time resolution are reached via stable isotope stratigraphy and accelerator mass spectrometry carbon-14 dating, allowing the identification of meltwater events lasting a few hundred years and shorter, a time range where, however, the yet unquantified role of bioturbation presents a growing problem. Based on this high-resolution stratigraphy a number of time slices (synoptic time intervals) are defined to reconstruct the incursion of Atlantic water masses, to map paleocurrent patterns within the Nordic Seas and the north-eastern North Atlantic and to test alternative circulation models — for example, for the last glacial maximum (LGM) and various meltwater episodes. These are clearly coeval with Dansgaard-Oeschger events found in Greenland ice cores, with the actual cause of the flickering climate as yet unknown. Likewise, there is ongoing controversy about the extent of past sea-ice cover and about possible changes from the present anti-estuarine to estuarine mode of deep water exchange between the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas during the LGM. South of Iceland, however, the history of deep water renewal over the last glacial cycle covering the last 30000 years was largely deciphered.     

Fingerprinting the 8.2 ka event climate response in a coupled climate model

Using results from coupled climate model simulations of the 8.2 ka climate event that produced a cold period over Greenland in agreement with the reconstructed cooling from ice cores, we investigate the typical pattern of climate anomalies (fingerprint) to provide a framework for the interpretation of global proxy data for the 8.2 ka climate event. For this purpose we developed an analysis method that isolates the forced temperature response and provides information on spatial variations in magnitude, timing and duration that characterise the detectable climate event in proxy archives. Our analysis shows that delays in the temperature response to the freshwater forcing are present, mostly in the order of decades (30 a over central Greenland). The North Atlantic Ocean initially cools in response to the freshwater perturbation, followed in certain parts by a warm response. This delay, occurring more than 200 a after the freshwater pulse, hints at an overshoot in the recovery from the freshwater perturbation. The South Atlantic and the Southern Ocean show a warm response reflecting the bipolar seesaw effect. The duration of the simulated event varies for different areas, and the highest probability of recording the event in proxy archives is in the North Atlantic Ocean area north of 40° N. Our results may facilitate the interpretation of proxy archives recording the 8.2 ka event, as they show that timing and duration cannot be assumed to correspond with the timing and duration of the event as recorded in Greenland ice cores. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differential North Atlantic control of winter hydroclimate in late Holocene varved sediments of Lake Kortejärvi,eastern Finland

Sediment microfacies, geochemical μ‐XRF and X‐ray density analyses were conducted on varved sediments from Lake Kortejärvi (eastern Finland) covering the last 2700 years. The varves comprise couplets of detrital and organic sub‐layers throughout the complete time‐span. Based on their microfacies and stratigraphical position within a varve as well as comparisons with local discharge and meteorological data, thicker detrital layers are interpreted to reflect intensified snow‐melt floods following more humid winters. Detailed comparisons with monthly to annually resolved North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices back to AD 1049 (901 a BP) suggest that multidecadal increases in snow‐melt layer thickness tend to be connected with a more positive phase of the NAO and, consequently, warmer winters. In contrast, distinct centennial intervals of thicker snow‐melt layers from −40 to 170, 280 to 460 and 1900 to 2300 a BP as well as around 2600 a BP do not consistently correspond to a particular NAO phase, but coincide with extended sea‐ice margins and a colder North Atlantic climate, causing intensified and southward shifted westerly cyclones. Our results point to a differential modification of North Atlantic winter hydroclimate working on varying time scales.     

Seasonal Dependence of the North Pacific and North Atlantic SST Predictability and Forecast Skill

In this paper, the decadal predictability and forecast skill of the Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTA) in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean were investigated by conducting three sets of perfect model forecast experiments using a global coupled general circulation model. The results show that the annual mean SSTA in the North Pacific is less predictable on decadal time scale, with the forecast skill notably weaker than that of the North Atlantic. By analyzing the predictability and forecast skill of seasonal mean SSTA, it is found that the decadal predictability and forecast skill of the winter mean (JFM) SSTA in the central and western North Pacific are significantly higher than those of other seasons, and the magnitude is comparable with that of the North Atlantic. The predictability and forecast skill of the North Atlantic SSTA also show seasonal variations. Further analysis indicates that the seasonal dependence of the SSTA decadal predictability and forecast skill in the North Pacific is due to the winter-to-winter reemergence mechanism of SSTA in the North Pacific, which results from the seasonal variation of the mixed layer depth of the North Pacific Ocean. While the seasonal dependence of the North Atlantic SSTA predictability and forecast skill might be related to seasonal variations of other processes, such as the Atlantic Decadal Oscillation. The results of this paper suggest that for decadal climate prediction, if the forecast skill of the seasonal mean is taken into account, we might obtain higher than annual mean forecast skill for some seasons.     

Decoupling of stalagmite-derived Asian summer monsoon records from North Atlantic temperature change during marine oxygen isotope stage 5d

The Asian monsoon is an important component of the global climate system. Seasonal variations in wind, rainfall, and temperature associated with the Asian monsoon systems affect a vast expanse of tropical and subtropical Asia. Speleothem-derived summer monsoon variation in East Asia was previously found to be closely associated with millennial-scale change in temperature in the North Atlantic region between 75 and 10 ka. New evidence recovered from East Asia, however, suggests that the teleconnection between summer monsoon in East Asia and temperature change in the North Atlantic region may have significantly reduced during 120 to ~ 110 ka, a period directly after the full last interglaciation and corresponding roughly to marine oxygen isotope stage 5d. This reduction may be due to the low ice volume in the North Hemisphere at that time, which makes the millennial-scale change in temperature in the North Atlantic region less effective in influencing the Asian summer monsoon. This is important for investigating the mechanisms controlling the Asian summer monsoon and the paleoclimatic teleconnection between East Asia and the North Atlantic region, and for predicting monsoon-associated precipitation in East Asia under a global-warming trend.     

Problems with identifying the ‘8200‐year cold event’ in terrestrial records of the Atlantic seaboard: a case study from Dooagh,Achill Island,Ireland

The Northern Hemisphere cooling event 8200 years ago is believed to represent the last known major freshwater pulse into the North Atlantic as a result of the final collapse of the North American Laurentide ice sheet. This pulse of water is generally believed to have occurred independently of orbital variations and provides an analogue for predicted increases in high‐latitude precipitation and ice melt as a result of anthropogenically driven future climate change. The precise timing, duration and magnitude of this event, however, are uncertain, with suggestions that the 100‐yr meltwater cooling formed part of a longer‐term cold period in the early Holocene. Here we undertook a multiproxy, high‐resolution investigation of a peat sequence at Dooagh, Achill Island, on the west coast of Ireland, to determine whether the 8200‐year cold event impacted upon the terrestrial vegetation immediately ‘downwind’ of the proposed changes in the North Atlantic. We find clear evidence for an oscillation in the early Holocene using various measures of pollen, indicating a disruption in the vegetation leading to a grassland‐dominated landscape, most probably driven by changes in precipitation rather than temperature. Radiocarbon dating was extremely problematic, however, with bulk peat samples systematically too young for the North Atlantic event, suggesting significant contamination from downward root penetration. The sustained disruption to vegetation over hundreds of years at Dooagh indicates the landscape was impacted by a long‐term cooling event in the early Holocene, and not the single century length 8200‐year meltwater event proposed in many other records in the North Atlantic region. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.