A 10Be-dated record of glacial retreat in Connemara, Ireland, after the Last Glacial Maximum and implications for North Atlantic climate

Abstract

<p>Late Pleistocene stadials were global events, associated with weakened Asian monsoons and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), shifts in atmospheric boundaries and precipitation belts, and warming of the Southern Hemisphere and tropics. In the Northern Hemisphere, stadials are traditionally viewed as dramatic cooling events centred on the North Atlantic, with their abrupt onset attributed to meltwater-induced suppression of the AMOC due to melting of large Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. As warmer temperatures are required for sustained meltwater input, however, there is an apparent inconsistency with this model of Northern Hemisphere stadial cooling. To investigate this inconsistency, we reconstructed the timing and nature of glacial fluctuations in Connemara, western Ireland, located within the in the North Atlantic basin, during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). Fifteen internally consistent cosmogenic beryllium-10 ages of erratic boulders indicate rapid and widespread deglaciation of the former Connemara ice centre at ~17.5 ka. The apparent abruptness of ice retreat, coupled with stratigraphic correlation with geomorphic features indicative of meltwater, suggest that HS1 deglaciation was driven by enhanced melting during the summer ablation season. This interpretation supports evidence for enhanced meltwater discharge and summertime warming elsewhere in Europe during HS1 but may conflict with the traditional view of stadials as severe cooling events.</p>