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Holocene warming marked by abrupt onset of longer summers and reduced storm frequency around Greenland
Author(s) -
MAYEWSKI P. A.,
SNEED S. B.,
BIRKEL S. D.,
KURBATOV A. V.,
MAASCH K. A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.2684
Subject(s) - greenland ice sheet , abrupt climate change , ice core , climate change , paleoclimatology , storm , climatology , holocene , arctic , geology , groenlandia , interglacial , physical geography , oceanography , ice sheet , glacial period , global warming , effects of global warming , geography , paleontology
The abrupt climate shifts identified in Greenland ice cores transformed understanding of the climate system. Although primarily studied in the paleoclimate record, abrupt climate change induced by greenhouse gas rise poses a serious threat to modern humans and ecosystems. We present the first ultra‐high‐resolution view (hundreds of samples per year) of the abrupt onset (within 1 year) of the current interglacial (warm) climate retrieved from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) ice core archive. This abrupt onset is manifested by a marked reduction in storm event frequency and increase in the length of the summer season around Greenland. We apply this metric to the current rapid climatic amelioration in the Arctic as a precursor for future abrupt climate change events.