Open AccessNonuniform response of the major surface currents in the Nordic Seas to insolation forcing: Implications for the Holocene climate variability
Author(s) -
Andersen C.,
Koç N.,
Jennings A.,
Andrews J. T.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/2002pa000873
Subject(s) - holocene , geology , northern hemisphere , holocene climatic optimum , oceanography , climatology , plateau (mathematics) , climate change , physical geography , geography , mathematics , mathematical analysis
High‐resolution sediment cores from the Vøring Plateau, the North Iceland shelf, and the East Greenland shelf have been studied to investigate the stability of major surface currents in the Nordic Seas during the Holocene. Results from diatom assemblages and reconstructed sea‐surface temperatures (SSTs) indicate a division of the Holocene into three periods: the Holocene Climate Optimum (9500–6500 calendar (cal) years BP), the Holocene Transition Period (6500–3000 cal years BP) and the Cool Late Holocene Period (3000–0 cal years BP). The overall climate development is in step with the decreasing insolation on the Northern Hemisphere, but regional differences occur regarding both timing and magnitude of SST changes. Sites under the direct influence of the Norwegian Atlantic Current and the Irminger Current indicate SST cooling of 4–5°C from early Holocene to present, compared to 2°C recorded under the East Greenland Current. Superimposed on the general Holocene cooling trend, there is a high‐frequency SST variability, which is in the order of 1–1.5°C for the Vøring Plateau and the East Greenland shelf and 2.5–3°C on the North Iceland shelf.