Radiocarbon in tree-rings reveals the solar 11-yr cycle over the last millennium

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Wacker ◽  
Nicolas Brehm ◽  
Alex Bayliss ◽  
Marcus Christl ◽  
Hans-Arno Synal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Tree Rings ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Cosmogenic Nuclides ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
General Level ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
The Past ◽  
Tree Ring Data

<p>The influence of solar variability on the Earth’s climate is a major subject of interest for understanding past and predicting future climate changes. While the observational record of solar activity (e.g. sunspots) covers only the last about 400 yr, cosmogenic nuclides stored in tree rings (<sup>14</sup>C) or ice cores (<sup>10</sup>Be, <sup>36</sup>Cl) are used as proxies for solar activity and allow solar reconstructions reaching much further back in time <sup>1-3</sup>. Major drawbacks of cosmogenic nuclide based solar reconstructions are the presence of weather-induced noise (e.g. <sup>10</sup>Be in ice cores) or the low temporal resolution of long precisely dated records (<sup>14</sup>C in tree rings). Here, we present a continuous, annually resolved <sup>14</sup>C record from precisely dated tree rings covering the past about 1’000 yr (969-1933 AD) comprising almost 1’300 highest-precision <sup>14</sup>C measurements. The annually resolved <sup>14</sup>C record adds significantly to the radiocarbon calibration curve<sup>4</sup>, which has hitherto been based mainly on decay counting measurements. A multi box carbon cycle model is used to extract annual <sup>14</sup>C production changes from the tree ring data. The resulting high-resolution record of <sup>14</sup>C production is then used to reconstruct the solar modulation parameter over the last millennium. The comparison of solar modulation with global temperature provides evidence that low solar activity could have caused the temperature reduction during the Little Ice Age. The <sup>14</sup>C record further reveals for the first time the presence of the eleven-year solar cycle over the past 1’000 yr. The amplitude of this so called Schwabe cycle is found to correlate with the general level of the solar modulation with high amplitudes during periods of strong solar modulation and vice versa.</p><p> </p><p><sup>1</sup> Bard, E., Raisbeck, G., Yiou, F. & Jouzel, J. (2000) Solar irradiance during the last 1200 years based on cosmogenic nuclides. Tellus Series B-Chemical and Physical Meteorology 52, 985-992.</p><p><sup>2</sup> Muscheler, R. et al. (2007) Solar activity during the last 1000 yr inferred from radionuclide records. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 82-97.</p><p><sup>3</sup> Usoskin, I.G. (2017) A history of solar activity over millennia, Living Rev. Sol. Phys. 14, 3.</p><p><sup>4</sup> Reimer, P. J. et al. (2013) Intcal13 and Marine13 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves 0-50,000 Years Cal Bp. Radiocarbon 55, 1869-1887.</p>

scholarly journals Variation of Radiocarbon Content in Tree Rings During the Maunder Minimum of Solar Activity

Radiocarbon ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Kocharov ◽  
A. N. Peristykh ◽  
P. G. Kereselidze ◽  
Z. N. Lomtatidze ◽  
R. Ya. Metskhvarishvili ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Tree Rings ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Maunder Minimum ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Annual Data ◽  
Polar Ice

We present here annual data on 14C abundance in tree rings during the Maunder minimum of solar activity (ad 1645–1715). We show that the solar modulation persisted during the minimum. We also compare these data with measurements of 10Be concentration in dated polar ice cores and with records of aurorae recurrence during this time interval.

scholarly journals Temperature variations over the past millennium on the Tibetan Plateau revealed by four ice cores

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 362-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tandong Yao ◽  
Keqin Duan ◽  
L.G. Thompson ◽  
Ninglian Wang ◽  
Lide Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractTemperature variation on the Tibetan Plateau over the last 1000 years has been inferred using a composite δ18O record from four ice cores. Data from a new ice core recovered from the Puruogangri ice field in the central Tibetan Plateau are combined with those from three other cores (Dunde, Guliya and Dasuopu) recovered previously. The ice-core δ18O composite record indicates that the temperature change on the whole Tibetan Plateau is similar to that in the Northern Hemisphere on multi-decadal timescales except that there is no decreasing trend from AD 1000 to the late 19th century. The δ18O composite record from the northern Tibetan Plateau, however, indicates a cooling trend from AD 1000 to the late 19th century, which is more consistent with the Northern Hemisphere temperature reconstruction. The δ18O composite record reveals the existence of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age (LIA) on the Tibetan Plateau. However, on the Tibetan Plateau the LIA is not the coldest period during the last millennium as in other regions in the Northern Hemisphere. The present study indicates that the 20th-century warming on the Tibetan Plateau is abrupt, and is warmer than at any time during the past 1000 years.

scholarly journals The Ross Sea Dipole – temperature, snow accumulation and sea ice variability in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica, over the past 2700 years

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy A. N. Bertler ◽  
Howard Conway ◽  
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen ◽  
Daniel B. Emanuelsson ◽  
Mai Winstrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Isotopic Enrichment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Western Ross Sea

Abstract. High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections. Here, we present data from a new, annually dated ice core record from the eastern Ross Sea, named the Roosevelt Island Climate Evolution (RICE) ice core. Comparison of this record with climate reanalysis data for the 1979–2012 interval shows that RICE reliably captures temperature and snow precipitation variability in the region. Trends over the past 2700 years in RICE are shown to be distinct from those in West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea captured by other ice cores. For most of this interval, the eastern Ross Sea was warming (or showing isotopic enrichment for other reasons), with increased snow accumulation and perhaps decreased sea ice concentration. However, West Antarctica cooled and the western Ross Sea showed no significant isotope temperature trend. This pattern here is referred to as the Ross Sea Dipole. Notably, during the Little Ice Age, West Antarctica and the western Ross Sea experienced colder than average temperatures, while the eastern Ross Sea underwent a period of warming or increased isotopic enrichment. From the 17th century onwards, this dipole relationship changed. All three regions show current warming, with snow accumulation declining in West Antarctica and the eastern Ross Sea but increasing in the western Ross Sea. We interpret this pattern as reflecting an increase in sea ice in the eastern Ross Sea with perhaps the establishment of a modern Roosevelt Island polynya as a local moisture source for RICE.

scholarly journals 10Be Concentrations in Antarctic Ice

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 200-200
Author(s):  
J. Beer ◽  
H. Oeschger ◽  
G. Bonani ◽  
M. Suter ◽  
W. Wölfli
Keyword(s):  
Production Rate ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Cosmogenic Isotope ◽  
Last Ice Age ◽  
Low Precipitation ◽  
Good Agreement

Measurements of the cosmogenic isotope 10Be (T½ = 1.5 Ma) on Greenland ice cores produced interesting results. Variations in the 10Be concentrations can be interpreted in terms of changes in the production rate and in atmospheric circulation and deposition. During the Holocene, good agreement between short-term variations in 10Be and 14C indicates that the production rate of both isotopes was changing, probably due to solar modulation.During the last ice age, periods with significantly higher 10Be concentrations are observed. The good anti-correlation between 10Be and δ18O suggests that these intervals correspond to periods of low precipitation rates.Work on Antarctic ice cores is in progress, but only relatively few 10Be data have been published yet. 10 Be results from Antarctic ice cores are presented and compared with data from Greenland.

scholarly journals Multiproxy records of climate variability for Kamchatka for the past 400 years

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1051-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Solomina ◽  
G. Wiles ◽  
T. Shiraiwa ◽  
R. D’Arrigo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Tree Rings ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
The Past ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Temperature And Precipitation ◽  
Ice Core Record ◽  
Decadal Variations

Abstract. Tree rings, ice cores and glacial geologic histories for the past several centuries offer an opportunity to characterize climate variability and to identify the key climate parameters forcing glacier expansions. A newly developed larch ring-width chronology is presented for Kamchatka that is sensitive to past summer temperature variability. This record provides the basis to compare with other proxy records of inferred temperature and precipitation change from ice core and glacier records, and to characterize climate for the region over the past 400 years. Individual low growth years in the larch record are associated with several known and proposed volcanic events that have been observed in other proxy records from the Northern Hemisphere. Comparison of the tree-rings with an ice core record of melt feature index for Kamchatka's Ushkovsky volcano confirms a 1–3 year dating accuracy for this ice core series over the late 18th to 20th centuries. Decadal variations of low summer temperatures (tree-ring record) and high annual precipitation (ice core record) are broadly consistent with intervals of positive mass balance measured and estimated at several glaciers, and with moraine building, provides a basis to interpret geologic glacier records.

The past 5000 years history of solar modulation of cosmic radiation from 10 Be and 14 C studies

1990 ◽  
Vol 330 (1615) ◽  
pp. 471-480 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Radiation ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Terrestrial Biomass

10 Be is produced in a similar way as 14 C by the interaction of cosmic radiation with the nuclei in the atmosphere. Assuming that the 10 Be and 14 C variation are proportional and considering the different behaviour in the Earth system, the 10 Be concentrations in ice cores can be compared with the 14 C variations in tree rings. A high correlation is found for the short-term variations ( 14 C-Suess-wiggles). They reflect with a high probability production rate variations. More problematic is the interpretation of the long-term trends of 14 C and 10 Be. Several explanations are discussed. The reconstructed CO 2 concentrations in ice cores indicate a rather constant value (280 ± 10 p.p.m. by volume) during the past few millenia. Measurements on the ice core from Byrd Station, Antarctica, during the period 9000 to 6000 years BP indicate a decrease that might be explained by the extraction of CO 2 from the atmosphere-ocean system to build the terrestrial biomass pool during the climatic optimum.

10 Be and 14 C in the Earth system

1987 ◽  
Vol 323 (1569) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Isotope Production ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
Climatic Effects ◽  
The Past ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Ocean Sediment

In a very short period of time, 10 Be data have significantly improved our knowledge in various fields of Earth and planetary sciences. Examples are: (a) solar modulation of isotope production, revealed in 10 Be ice-core profiles; (b)geomagnetic m odulation of isotope production, revealed in 10 Be ice-core (from the past 10 ka) and ocean-sediment profiles (geomagnetic reversals); (c) climatic effects reflected in 10 Be profiles in loess and polar ice cores ( 10 Be behaviour in atmosphere); (d) comparison of 10 Be and 14 C variations (tree rings) from carbon-cycle models and inform ation on ocean circulation history from 14 C m easurements on benthic and planktonic Foram inifera in ocean sediments. An overview on work in collaboration with the Zurich AMS facility (with Professor W. Wolfli) is given.

Fluctuations of atmospheric carbon-14 concentrations during the past century

1971 ◽  
Vol 321 (1544) ◽  
pp. 105-127 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
Solar Modulation ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Activity Maximum ◽  
Carbon 14 ◽  
The Past ◽  
Natural Carbon ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon

Variations in atmospheric carbon-14 concentrations during the past century have been studied through the analyses of wines, spirits and plant seeds. The results reveal that short-term fluctuations of carbon-14 concentrations have occurred which are negatively correlated with solar activity. Maximum correlation occurs with carbon-14 concentration minima preceding sunspot maxima by one year. The overall magnitude of the fluctuations, 3 % of the natural carbon-14 concentration, appears too large to be attributed to variations in the isotope production rate by solar modulation of the galactic cosmic ray flux. It is proposed that the fluctuations are the result of solar-sensitive mixing of stratospheric and tropospheric air masses through variations of the incident ultraviolet and corpuscular radiation over each solar cycle. Theoretical considerations require that stratospheric carbon-14 levels fluctuate in direct correlation with solar activity. These variations of natural carbon-14 activities in the troposphere represent a significant deviation from the basic assumption of the radiocarbon dating method and may introduce further uncertainty in the dating of ‘young’ materials. In addition, they endorse the universal use of the N. B. S. modern standard in carbon -14 assay. A long-term decrease in tropospheric carbon-14 concentrations was also observed and is attributed to a reduction in the mean production rate of carbon-14 through enhanced solar activity.

scholarly journals 9,400 years of cosmic radiation and solar activity from ice cores and tree rings

2012 ◽  
Vol 109 (16) ◽  
pp. 5967-5971 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Steinhilber ◽  
J. A. Abreu ◽  
J. Beer ◽  
I. Brunner ◽  
M. Christl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Tree Rings ◽  
Cosmic Radiation ◽  
Ice Cores

scholarly journals Climatic history of the northeastern United States during the past 3000 years

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Marlon ◽  
Neil Pederson ◽  
Connor Nolan ◽  
Simon Goring ◽  
Bryan Shuman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Warming Trend ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
The Past ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Cooling Trend

Abstract. Many ecosystem processes that influence Earth system feedbacks, including vegetation growth, water and nutrient cycling, and disturbance regimes, are strongly influenced by multi-decadal to millennial-scale variations in climate that cannot be captured by instrumental climate observations. Paleoclimate information is therefore essential for understanding contemporary ecosystems and their potential trajectories under a variety of future climate conditions. With the exception of fossil pollen records, there are a limited number of northeastern US (NE US) paleoclimate archives that can provide constraints on its temperature and hydroclimate history. Moreover, the records that do exist have not been considered together. Tree-ring data indicate that the 20th century was one of the wettest of the past 500 years in the eastern US (Pederson et al., 2014), and lake-level records suggest it was one of the wettest in the Holocene (Newby et al., 2014); how such results compare with other available data remains unclear, however. Here we conduct a systematic review, assessment, and comparison of paleotemperature and paleohydrological proxies from the NE US for the last 3000 years. Regional temperature reconstructions are consistent with the long-term cooling trend (1000 BCE–1700 CE) evident in hemispheric-scale reconstructions, but hydroclimate reconstructions reveal new information, including an abrupt transition from wet to dry conditions around 550–750 CE. NE US paleo data suggest that conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly were warmer and drier than during the Little Ice Age, and drier than today. There is some evidence for an acceleration over the past century of a longer-term wetting trend in the NE US, and coupled with the abrupt shift from a cooling trend to a warming trend from increased greenhouse gases, may have wide-ranging implications for species distributions, ecosystem dynamics, and extreme weather events. More work is needed to gather paleoclimate data in the NE US, make inter-proxy comparisons, and improve estimates of uncertainty in the reconstructions.

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