Timing of deglaciation from an oxygen isotope curve for Atlantic deep-sea sediments

Abstract

The exact timing of deglaciation is an important issue in the context of climatic feedback involving the deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2 seen in ice cores1–4. We have produced evidence, from box cores taken in the equatorial Atlantic, that the last deglaciation occurred in two major steps which were separated by a brief pause5. Here we propose that this pause is equivalent to the period of glacial readvance known as ‘Younger Dryas’, which lasted from about 11 to 10 kyr BP. If our correlation is correct, then the initiation of deglaciation occurred after 14 kyr BP, which disagrees with most other deep-sea timescales.