scholarly journals Holocene climatic variability indicated by a multi-proxy record from southern Africa’s highest wetland

The Holocene ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 638-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M Fitchett ◽  
Anson W Mackay ◽  
Stefan W Grab ◽  
Marion K Bamford
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Proxy Record ◽  
Lower Altitude ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Climate Patterns ◽  
Second Period ◽  
8.2 Kyr Event

The eastern Lesotho Highlands experience climate patterns distinct from those of surrounding lower altitude regions, representing a niche environment with a unique biodiversity, leading to well-adapted but restricted vegetation. This study explores changes in the Holocene composition of diatoms and pollen at southern Africa’s highest altitude wetland (Mafadi: 3390 m a.s.l.). The palaeoenvironmental record for Mafadi Wetland indicates fluctuations between cold, wet conditions, prevalent between ~8140 and 7580 cal. yr BP and between ~5500 and 1100 cal. yr BP, and warmer, drier periods between ~7520 and 6680 cal. yr BP and between ~6160 and 5700 cal. yr BP. Marked climatic variability is noted from ~1100 cal. yr BP with colder conditions at ~150 kyr BP. Notably, the first of these cold periods occurs soon after the Northern Hemisphere 8.2 kyr event, while a second period of notably cold conditions occurs around 1100 cal. yr BP. Variability exists between the moisture reconstructions presented in this study and those from adjacent lower altitude sites, which is hypothesised to reflect variations in the strength and extent of the Westerlies throughout the Holocene.

The sensitivity of Neotoma to climate change and biodiversity loss over the late Quaternary

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Catalina P. Tomé ◽  
S. Kathleen Lyons ◽  
Seth D. Newsome ◽  
Felisa A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Bone Collagen ◽  
Cam Plants ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Terminal Pleistocene

Abstract The late Quaternary in North America was marked by highly variable climate and considerable biodiversity loss including a megafaunal extinction event at the terminal Pleistocene. Here, we focus on changes in body size and diet in Neotoma (woodrats) in response to these ecological perturbations using the fossil record from the Edwards Plateau (Texas) across the past 20,000 years. Body mass was estimated using measurements of fossil teeth and diet was quantified using stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen from fossil bone collagen. Prior to ca. 7000 cal yr BP, maximum mass was positively correlated to precipitation and negatively correlated to temperature. Independently, mass was negatively correlated to community composition, becoming more similar to modern over time. Neotoma diet in the Pleistocene was primarily sourced from C3 plants, but became progressively more reliant on C4 (and potentially CAM) plants through the Holocene. Decreasing population mass and higher C4/CAM consumption was associated with a transition from a mesic to xeric landscape. Our results suggest that Neotoma responded to climatic variability during the terminal Pleistocene through changes in body size, while changes in resource availability during the Holocene likely led to shifts in the relative abundance of different Neotoma species in the community.

scholarly journals Mid-Holocene Northern Hemisphere warming driven by Arctic amplification

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaax8203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyo-Seok Park ◽  
Seong-Joong Kim ◽  
Andrew L. Stewart ◽  
Seok-Woo Son ◽  
Kyong-Hwan Seo
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Amplification ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Holocene Thermal Maximum ◽  
Thermal Maximum

The Holocene thermal maximum was characterized by strong summer solar heating that substantially increased the summertime temperature relative to preindustrial climate. However, the summer warming was compensated by weaker winter insolation, and the annual mean temperature of the Holocene thermal maximum remains ambiguous. Using multimodel mid-Holocene simulations, we show that the annual mean Northern Hemisphere temperature is strongly correlated with the degree of Arctic amplification and sea ice loss. Additional model experiments show that the summer Arctic sea ice loss persists into winter and increases the mid- and high-latitude temperatures. These results are evaluated against four proxy datasets to verify that the annual mean northern high-latitude temperature during the mid-Holocene was warmer than the preindustrial climate, because of the seasonally rectified temperature increase driven by the Arctic amplification. This study offers a resolution to the “Holocene temperature conundrum”, a well-known discrepancy between paleo-proxies and climate model simulations of Holocene thermal maximum.

scholarly journals The movements of Alpine glaciers throughout the last 10,000 years as sensitive proxies of temperature and climate changes

2020 ◽  
Vol 232 ◽  
pp. 02002
Author(s):  
Walter Kutschera ◽  
Gernot Patzelt ◽  
Joerg M. Schaefer ◽  
Christian Schlüchter ◽  
Peter Steier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Cosmogenic Isotopes ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Surface Exposure Dating ◽  
Exposure Dating ◽  
Alpine Glaciers

A brief review of the movements of Alpine glaciers throughout the Holocene in the Northern Hemisphere (European Alps) and in the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand Southern Alps) is presented. It is mainly based on glacier studies where 14C dating, dendrochronology and surface exposure dating with cosmogenic isotopes is used to establish the chronology of advances and retreats of glaciers. An attempt is made to draw some general conclusions on the temperature and climate differences between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

High resolution CO2 record of the great Plio-Pleistocene glaciations using boron isotopes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Brown ◽  
Thomas Chalk ◽  
Paul Wilson ◽  
Eelco Rohling ◽  
Gavin Foster
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Boron Isotope ◽  
Ocean Drilling Program ◽  
Proxy Record ◽  
Ocean Drilling ◽  
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program ◽  
Great Transition ◽  
Adequate Test

<p>The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (iNHG) at 3.4-2.5 million years ago (Ma) represents the last great transition in Cenozoic climate state with the development of large scale ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere that waxed and waned with changes in insolation. Declining atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> levels are widely suggested to have been the main cause of iNHG but the CO<sub>2</sub> proxy record is too poorly resolved to provide an adequate test of this hypothesis. The boron isotope-pH proxy, in particular, has shown promise when it comes to accurately estimating past CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations and is very good at reconstructing relative changes in CO<sub>2</sub> on orbital timescales. Here we present a new orbitally resolved record of atmospheric CO<sub>2 </sub>(1 sample per 3 kyr) change from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site 999 (12.74˚N, -78.74 ˚E) spanning ~2.6–2.4 Ma based on the boron isotope (δ<sup>11</sup>B) composition of planktic foraminiferal calcite, <em>Globingerinoides ruber</em> (senso stricto, white).  We find that δ<sup>11</sup>B values of <em>G. ruber</em> show clear glacial-interglacial cycles with a magnitude that is similar to those of the Mid-Pleistocene at the same site and elsewhere.  This new high-resolution view of CO<sub>2</sub> during the first large glacial events of the Pleistocene confirms the importance of CO<sub>2</sub> in amplifying orbital forcing of climate and offers new insights into the mechanistic drivers of natural CO<sub>2</sub> change. </p>

Monsoon dynamics in past and future climates: the Holocene is not an analogue of future projections

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta D'Agostino ◽  
Juergen Bader ◽  
Josephine Brown ◽  
Simona Bordoni ◽  
David Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Dynamic Responses ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Warming ◽  
The Relationship

<p><span>In recent decades the paleo-modelling community has sought to identify past warm climates that could provide analogues for greenhouse induced warming. In spite of some similarities in temperature distributions (e.g. Pliocene, Eocene, Cretaceous and summertime Northern Hemisphere mid-Holocene), however, it is unlikely that any past epoch can provide detailed insight into future warming, especially in terms of changes in the hydrological cycle. Reviewing recent work, we show that changes in the atmospheric circulation can dramatically alter the relationship between temperature and precipitation, weakening the possibility for useful climate analogs as envisioned in the literature. We present results of moisture budget decomposition from mid-Holocene and Representative Pathways Scenario RCP8.5, two climates in which monsoons are stronger and wider than the pre-Industrial era. We find that Northern Hemisphere monsoons are much stronger and wider during the Holocene than what projected for the end of the 21st century. This is because the thermodynamic (i.e. moisture changes) and dynamic responses (i.e. mean-flow changes) reinforce each other in the mid-Holocene while they partially cancel out in the future climate. Therefore, the Holocene does not represent an analogue of the future given the opposite dynamical responses in the two climates. Consistent with other studies, our work highlights that changes in atmospheric circulation are the major source of uncertainty for future projection of hydrological cycle, especially at regional scales.</span></p>

scholarly journals AMO Forcing of Multidecadal Pacific ITCZ Variability

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (14) ◽  
pp. 5749-5764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron F. Z. Levine ◽  
Dargan M. W. Frierson ◽  
Michael J. McPhaden
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Intertropical Convergence Zone ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
Proxy Record ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Impact

The Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) has been shown to play a major role in the multidecadal variability of the Northern Hemisphere, impacting temperature and precipitation, including intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)-driven precipitation across Africa and South America. Studies into the location of the intertropical convergence zone have suggested that it resides in the warmer hemisphere, with the poleward branch of the Hadley cell acting to transport energy from the warmer hemisphere to the cooler one. Given the impact of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation on Northern Hemisphere temperatures, we expect the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation to have an impact on the location of the intertropical convergence zone. We find that the positive phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation warms the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in a northward shift of the intertropical convergence zone, which is evident in the Pacific climate proxy record. Using a coupled climate model, we further find that the shift in the intertropical convergence zone is consistent with the surface energy imbalance generated by the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. In this model, the Pacific changes are driven in large part by the warming of the tropical Atlantic and not the extratropical Atlantic.

Observed Trends and Teleconnections of the Siberian High: A Recently Declining Center of Action

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1411-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fotis Panagiotopoulos ◽  
Maria Shahgedanova ◽  
Abdelwaheb Hannachi ◽  
David B. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Source Area ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Siberian High ◽  
Teleconnection Indices ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract This study investigates variability in the intensity of the wintertime Siberian high (SH) by defining a robust SH index (SHI) and correlating it with selected meteorological fields and teleconnection indices. A dramatic trend of –2.5 hPa decade−1 has been found in the SHI between 1978 and 2001 with unprecedented (since 1871) low values of the SHI. The weakening of the SH has been confirmed by analyzing different historical gridded analyses and individual station observations of sea level pressure (SLP) and excluding possible effects from the conversion of surface pressure to SLP. SHI correlation maps with various meteorological fields show that SH impacts on circulation and temperature patterns extend far outside the SH source area extending from the Arctic to the tropical Pacific. Advection of warm air from eastern Europe has been identified as the main mechanism causing milder than normal conditions over the Kara and Laptev Seas in association with a strong SH. Despite the strong impacts of the variability in the SH on climatic variability across the Northern Hemisphere, correlations between the SHI and the main teleconnection indices of the Northern Hemisphere are weak. Regression analysis has shown that teleconnection indices are not able to reproduce the interannual variability and trends in the SH. The inclusion of regional surface temperature in the regression model provides closer agreement between the original and reconstructed SHI.

scholarly journals Holocene deglaciation and climate history of the northern Antarctic Peninsula region: a discussion of correlations between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 110-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hjort ◽  
Svante Björck ◽  
Ólafur Ingólfsson ◽  
Per Möller
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Ice Melting ◽  
Climate History ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Holocene Climatic Optimum ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic Optimum ◽  
Insolation Maximum

The chronology of post-Last Glaciol Maximum deglaciation in the northern Antarctic Peninsula region is discussed. It is concluded that, contrary to what was earlier believed, the deglaciation process here was largely out-of-phase with that in the Northern Hemisphere. Although, for global eustatic reasons, the marine-based glaciers may have retreated simultaneously with ice-melting in the Northern Hemisphere, the land-based glaciers retreated only slowly during the first halfoftlie Holocene, about 9000-5000 BP. This may have been due either to increased precipitation counterweighing ablation or to delayed warming. A distinct but rather brief Glaciol readvancc took place around 5000 BP, probably caused by a period of renewed cooling. It was followed by the Holocene climatic optimum, about 4000-3000 BP. This warm “hypsithermal” period thus came much later than its equivalent in the Northern Hemisphere, but it roughly coincided with the Milankovitchcan Holocene insolation maximum for these southern latitudes.

scholarly journals Glacier response to North Atlantic climate variability during the Holocene

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 2009-2036 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Balascio ◽  
W. J. D'Andrea ◽  
R. S. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Past ◽  
Summer Insolation ◽  
Geochemical Parameters

Abstract. Small glaciers and ice caps respond rapidly to climate variations and records of their past extent provide information on the natural envelope of past climate variability. Millennial-scale trends in Holocene glacier size are well documented and correspond with changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. However, there is only sparse and fragmentary evidence for higher frequency variations in glacier size because in many Northern Hemisphere regions glacier advances of the past few hundred years were the most extensive and destroyed the geomorphic evidence of ice growth and retreat during the past several thousand years. Thus, most glacier records have been of limited use for investigating centennial scale climate forcing and feedback mechanisms. Here we report a continuous record of glacier activity for the last 9.5 ka from southeast Greenland, derived from high-resolution measurements on a proglacial lake sediment sequence. Physical and geochemical parameters show that the glaciers responded to previously documented Northern Hemisphere climatic excursions, including the "8.2 ka" cooling event, the Holocene Thermal Maximum, Neoglacial cooling, and 20th Century warming. In addition, the sediments indicate centennial-scale oscillations in glacier size during the late Holocene. Beginning at 4.1 ka, a series of abrupt glacier advances occurred, each lasting ~100 years and followed by a period of retreat, that were superimposed on a gradual trend toward larger glacier size. Thus, while declining summer insolation caused long-term cooling and glacier expansions during the late Holocene, climate system dynamics resulted in repeated episodes of glacier expansion and retreat on multi-decadal to centennial timescales. These episodes coincided with ice rafting events in the North Atlantic Ocean and periods of regional ice cap expansion, which confirms their regional significance and indicates that considerable glacier activity on these timescales is a normal feature of the cryosphere. The data provide a longer-term perspective on the rate of 20th century glacier retreat and indicate that recent anthropogenic-driven warming has already impacted the regional cryosphere in a manner outside the natural range of Holocene variability.

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