In:
Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 283, No. 5404 ( 1999-02-12), p. 971-975
Abstract:
Long, continuous, marine sediment records from the subpolar North Atlantic document the glacial modulation of regional climate instability throughout the past 0.5 million years. Whenever ice sheet size surpasses a critical threshold indicated by the benthic oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) value of 3.5 per mil during each of the past five glaciation cycles, indicators of iceberg discharge and sea-surface temperature display dramatically larger amplitudes of millennial-scale variability than when ice sheets are small. Sea-surface temperature oscillations of 1° to 2°C increase in size to approximately 4° to 6°C, and catastrophic iceberg discharges begin alternating repeatedly with brief quiescent intervals. The glacial growth associated with this amplification threshold represents a relatively small departure from the modern ice sheet configuration and sea level. Instability characterizes nearly all observed climate states, with the exception of a limited range of baseline conditions that includes the current Holocene interglacial.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0036-8075
,
1095-9203
DOI:
10.1126/science.283.5404.971
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
1999
detail.hit.zdb_id:
128410-1
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2066996-3
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2060783-0
SSG:
11
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