Reconstruction of the last interglacial period from the NEEM ice core

Temperatures in the Arctic were high during the last interglacial period (LIG, 130-115 ka BP; Dahl-Jensen 2006; NorthGRIP Project members 2004; Turney et al. 2010) and mean global sea level was 6 to 7.5 m above the present level (Dutton and Lambeck 2012; Kopp et al. 2009). This strong warming must have caused the Greenland ice sheet and the Arctic ice caps and glaciers to retreat, and thus contributed to the global sea-level rise. Models of the Greenland ice sheet arrive at very different predictions of the volume and shape of the ice sheet during the LIG. The predicted mass loss varies between 0.5 and 5 m (e.g. Alley et al. 2005; Cuffey et al. 2000; Robinson et al. 2011). Here, we present results from the NEEM ice core that provide new constraints on surface temperature and elevation changes during the LIG in Greenland.