European climate optimum and enhanced Greenland melt during the Last Interglacial | Zendy

Marı́a Fernanda Sánchez Goñi | Zendy; Pepijn Bakker | Zendy; Stéphanie Desprat | Zendy; Anders E. Carlson | Zendy; Cédric J. Van Meerbeeck | Zendy; Odile Peyron | Zendy; Filipa Naughton | Zendy; William J. Fletcher | Zendy; Frédérique Eynaud | Zendy; Linda Rossignol | Zendy; H. Renssen | Zendy

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European climate optimum and enhanced Greenland melt during the Last Interglacial

Author(s) -

Marı́a Fernanda Sánchez Goñi,

Pepijn Bakker,

Stéphanie Desprat,

Anders E. Carlson,

Cédric J. Van Meerbeeck,

Odile Peyron,

Filipa Naughton,

William J. Fletcher,

Frédérique Eynaud,

Linda Rossignol,

H. Renssen

Publication year - 2012

Publication title -

geology

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 2.609

H-Index - 215

eISSN - 1943-2682

pISSN - 0091-7613

DOI - 10.1130/g32908.1

Subject(s) - interglacial , section (typography) , archaeology , history , library science , art history , humanities , art , computer science , pleistocene , operating system

The Last Interglacial climatic optimum, ca. 128 ka, is the most recent climate interval signifi cantly warmer than present, providing an analogue (albeit imperfect) for ongoing global warming and the effects of Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) melting on climate over the coming millennium. While some climate models predict an Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) strengthening in response to GIS melting, others simulate weakening, leading to cooling in Europe. Here, we present evidence from new proxy-based paleoclimate and ocean circulation reconstructions that show that the strongest warming in western Europe coincided with maximum GIS meltwater runoff and a weaker AMOC early in the Last Interglacial. By performing a series of climate model sensitivity experiments, including enhanced GIS melting, we were able to simulate this confi guration of the Last Interglacial climate system and infer information on AMOC slowdown and related climate effects. These experiments suggest that GIS melt inhibited deep convection off the southern coast of Greenland, cooling local climate and reducing AMOC by ~24% of its present strength. However, GIS melt did not perturb overturning in the Nordic Seas, leaving heat transport to, and thereby temperatures in, Europe unaffected.

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