scholarly journals Impact of the Last Glacial Cycle on Late-Holocene temperature and energy reconstructions from terrestrial borehole temperatures in North America

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 2355-2396
Author(s):  
H. Beltrami ◽  
G. S. Matharoo ◽  
L. Tarasov ◽  
V. Rath ◽  
J. E. Smerdon
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
North America ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Temperature Profiles ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Steady State Temperature ◽  
Borehole Temperatures ◽  
Borehole Temperature ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Reconstructions of past climatic changes from borehole temperature profiles are important independent estimates of temperature histories over the last millennium. There remain, however, multiple uncertainties in the interpretation of these data as climatic indicators and as estimates of the changes in heat content of the continental subsurface due to long-term climatic change. One of these uncertainties is associated with the often ignored impact of the last glacial cycle on the subsurface energy content, and on the estimate of the background quasi steady-state signal associated with the diffusion of accretionary energy from the Earth's interior. Here we provide the first estimate of the impact of the development of the Laurentide ice sheet on the estimates of energy and temperature reconstructions from measurements of terrestrial borehole temperatures in North America. We use basal temperature values from the data-calibrated Memorial University of Newfoundland Glacial Systems Model to quantify the extent of the perturbation to estimated steady-state temperature profiles and to derive spatial maps of the expected impacts on measured profiles over North America. Furthermore, we present quantitative estimates of the potential effects of temperature changes during the last glacial cycle on the borehole reconstructions over the last millennium for North America. The range of these possible impacts are estimated using synthetic basal temperatures for a period covering 120 ka to the present day that include the basal temperature history uncertainties from an ensemble of results from the calibrated numerical model. For all the locations, we find that within the depth ranges that are typical for available boreholes (≈600 m), the induced perturbations to the steady-state temperature profile are on the order of 10 mW m−2, decreasing with greater depths. Results indicate that site-specific heat content estimates over North America can differ by as much as 50%, if the energy contribution of the last glacial cycle in those areas of North America that experienced glaciation is not taken into account when estimating recent subsurface energy change from borehole temperature data.

scholarly journals Numerical studies on the Impact of the Last Glacial Cycle on recent borehole temperature profiles: implications for terrestrial energy balance

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1693-1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Beltrami ◽  
G. S. Matharoo ◽  
L. Tarasov ◽  
V. Rath ◽  
J. E. Smerdon
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
North America ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Temperature Profiles ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Steady State Temperature ◽  
Borehole Temperature ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Reconstructions of past climatic changes from borehole temperature profiles are important independent estimates of temperature histories over the last millennium. There remain, however, multiple uncertainties in the interpretation of these data as climatic indicators and as estimates of the changes in the heat content of the continental subsurface due to long-term climatic change. One of these uncertainties is associated with the often ignored impact of the last glacial cycle (LGC) on the subsurface energy content, and on the estimate of the background quasi steady-state signal associated with the diffusion of accretionary energy from the Earth's interior. Here, we provide the first estimate of the impact of the development of the Laurentide ice sheet on the estimates of energy and temperature reconstructions from measurements of terrestrial borehole temperatures in North America. We use basal temperature values from the data-calibrated Memorial University of Newfoundland glacial systems model (MUN-GSM) to quantify the extent of the perturbation to estimated steady-state temperature profiles, and to derive spatial maps of the expected impacts on measured profiles over North America. Furthermore, we present quantitative estimates of the potential effects of temperature changes during the last glacial cycle on the borehole reconstructions over the last millennium for North America. The range of these possible impacts is estimated using synthetic basal temperatures for a period covering 120 ka to the present day that include the basal temperature history uncertainties from an ensemble of results from the calibrated numerical model. For all the locations, we find that within the depth ranges that are typical for available boreholes (≈600 m), the induced perturbations to the steady-state temperature profile are on the order of 10 mW m−2, decreasing with greater depths. Results indicate that site-specific heat content estimates over North America can differ by as much as 50%, if the energy contribution of the last glacial cycle in those areas of North America that experienced glaciation is not taken into account when estimating recent subsurface energy changes from borehole temperature data.

Millennial-scale variations in western Sierra Nevada precipitation during the last glacial cycle MIS 4/3 transition

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 236-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Oster ◽  
Isabel P. Montañez ◽  
Regina Mertz-Kraus ◽  
Warren D. Sharp ◽  
Greg M. Stock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Western Slope ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Climatic Response ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Mis 3 ◽  
Heinrich Event ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractDansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles had far-reaching effects on Northern Hemisphere and tropical climate systems during the last glacial period, yet the climatic response to D–O cycles in western North America is controversial, especially prior to 55 ka. We document changes in precipitation along the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada during early Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages (MIS) 3 and 4 (55–67 ka) from a U-series dated speleothem record from McLean's Cave. The timing of our multi-proxy geochemical dataset is coeval with D–O interstadials (15–18) and stadials, including Heinrich Event 6. The McLean's Cave stalagmite indicates warmer and drier conditions during Greenland interstadials (GISs 15–18), signified by elevated δ18O, δ13C, reflectance, and trace element concentrations, and less radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr. Our record extends evidence of a strong linkage between high-latitude warming and reduced precipitation in western North America to early MIS 3 and MIS 4. This record shows that the linkage persists in diverse global climate states, and documents the nature of the climatic response in central California to Heinrich Event 6.

Modeling North American Freshwater Runoff through the Last Glacial Cycle

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn J. Marshall ◽  
Garry K.C. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

The Northern Hemisphere ice sheets decayed rapidly during deglacial phases of the ice-age cycle, producing meltwater fluxes that may have been of sufficient magnitude to perturb oceanic circulation. The continental record of ice-sheet history is more obscured during the growth and advance of the last great ice sheets, ca. 120,000–20,000 yr B.P., but ice cores tell of high-amplitude, millennial-scale climate fluctuations that prevailed throughout this period. These climatic excursions would have provoked significant fluctuation of ice-sheet margins and runoff variability whenever ice sheets extended to mid-latitudes, giving a complex pattern of freshwater delivery to the oceans. A model of continental surface hydrology is coupled with an ice-dynamics model simulating the last glacial cycle in North America. Meltwater discharged from ice sheets is either channeled down continental drainage pathways or stored temporarily in large systems of proglacial lakes that border the retreating ice-sheet margin. The coupled treatment provides quantitative estimates of the spatial and temporal patterns of freshwater flux to the continental margins. Results imply an intensified surface hydrological environment when ice sheets are present, despite a net decrease in precipitation during glacial periods. Diminished continental evaporation and high levels of meltwater production combine to give mid-latitude runoff values that are highly variable through the glacial cycle, but are two to three times in excess of modern river fluxes; drainage to the North Atlantic via the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Mississippi River catchments averages 0.356 Sv for the period 60,000–10,000 yr B.P., compared to 0.122 Sv for the past 10,000 yr. High-amplitude meltwater pulses to the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic, and North Pacific occur throughout the glacial period, with ice-sheet geometry controlling intricate patterns of freshwater routing variability. Runoff from North America is staged in the final deglaciation, with a stepped sequence of pulses through the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Arctic, and Hudson Strait drainages.

Effects of glaciation on karst hydrology and sedimentology during the Last Glacial Cycle: The case of Granito cave, Central Pyrenees (Spain)

CATENA ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 206 ◽  
pp. 105252
Author(s):  
Miguel Bartolomé ◽  
Carlos Sancho ◽  
Gerardo Benito ◽  
Alicia Medialdea ◽  
Mikel Calle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Karst Hydrology ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Central Pyrenees ◽  
The Last Glacial

scholarly journals Drivers of river reactivation in North Africa during the last glacial cycle

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-103
Author(s):  
Cécile L. Blanchet ◽  
Anne H. Osborne ◽  
Rik Tjallingii ◽  
Werner Ehrmann ◽  
Tobias Friedrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

scholarly journals Carbon burial in deep-sea sediment and implications for oceanic inventories of carbon and alkalinity over the last glacial cycle

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1819-1850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Cartapanis ◽  
Eric D. Galbraith ◽  
Daniele Bianchi ◽  
Samuel L. Jaccard
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Active Carbon ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Carbon Burial ◽  
Order Constraint ◽  
The Last Glacial ◽  
Carbon Inventory

Abstract. Although it has long been assumed that the glacial–interglacial cycles of atmospheric CO2 occurred due to increased storage of CO2 in the ocean, with no change in the size of the “active” carbon inventory, there are signs that the geological CO2 supply rate to the active pool varied significantly. The resulting changes of the carbon inventory cannot be assessed without constraining the rate of carbon removal from the system, which largely occurs in marine sediments. The oceanic supply of alkalinity is also removed by the burial of calcium carbonate in marine sediments, which plays a major role in air–sea partitioning of the active carbon inventory. Here, we present the first global reconstruction of carbon and alkalinity burial in deep-sea sediments over the last glacial cycle. Although subject to large uncertainties, the reconstruction provides a first-order constraint on the effects of changes in deep-sea burial fluxes on global carbon and alkalinity inventories over the last glacial cycle. The results suggest that reduced burial of carbonate in the Atlantic Ocean was not entirely compensated by the increased burial in the Pacific basin during the last glacial period, which would have caused a gradual buildup of alkalinity in the ocean. We also consider the magnitude of possible changes in the larger but poorly constrained rates of burial on continental shelves, and show that these could have been significantly larger than the deep-sea burial changes. The burial-driven inventory variations are sufficiently large to have significantly altered the δ13C of the ocean–atmosphere carbon and changed the average dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and alkalinity concentrations of the ocean by more than 100 µM, confirming that carbon burial fluxes were a dynamic, interactive component of the glacial cycles that significantly modified the size of the active carbon pool. Our results also suggest that geological sources and sinks were significantly unbalanced during the late Holocene, leading to a slow net removal flux on the order of 0.1 PgC yr−1 prior to the rapid input of carbon during the industrial period.

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