Dansgaard-Oeschger Stadials Research Articles

Disentangling orbital, sub-orbital, and tectonic signatures from lacustrine sediments developed upon a half-graben (Lake Ifrah Basin, Northwest Africa): Insights into lowest-rank T-R sequences in low accommodation basins

Lacustrine settings constitute a unique environment that preserves detailed expressions of allocyclic signals such as those of climate and tectonics. Possible decryption of these signatures stems from careful scrutiny of the sedimentation dynamics (temporary base-level variations), lake-level fluctuations (accommodation), and resulting strata bounding surfaces that are used to build a conventional sequence stratigraphic framework. However, due to discrepancies between marine, to which this approach has been initially dedicated, and lacustrine settings (especially regarding the physical scale), deciphering climate from tectonic forcing becomes unwieldy in such interior basins. The present work deals with this challenge and provides insights from a case study where lacustrine sedimentation occurs on a tectonically active half-graben within a key climate region (Lake Ifrah, Northwest Africa). We conducted conventional sedimentological and high-resolution sequence-stratigraphic analyses, integrated with palaeolimnological proxies (geochemical elements and ostracod species). Up to five facies models (accounting for lithological domination, wind-driven energy, and lake-level state) and three lowest rank T-R sequences, deposited since the Marine Isotope Stage-3 (MIS-3), have been identified. Periods with sustained high lake levels appear to be mainly precession-paced (as during MIS-3 and the Early Holocene), although the role of obliquity is shown to influence the hydrological budget as well. Furthermore, sedimentation dynamics are shown to respond to millennial timescale climate variability associated with North Atlantic cooling events (Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials, Heinrich Events) and, interestingly, to enhanced Saharan winds during the deglacial period. On the other hand, tectonism had a rather instantaneous effect on lake level and sedimentation. Two tectonic pulses marking instantaneous differential hanging-wall subsidence have triggered a sharp drop in relative lake level, hence conditioning a forced regression.We highlight the importance of the conventional high-resolution sequence stratigraphy in shaping our understanding of the cyclic interplay between orbital/sub-orbital and tectonic forcings, so as the resulting sedimentation dynamics and lake-level cycles in lacustrine settings. We stress the role of the forced regression concept and associated systems tract and bounding surfaces, as well as the importance of using ostracods and geochemical proxies to trace transgressions and cryptic surfaces with sequence-stratigraphic significance, such as the maximum flooding surface, in lacustrine settings.

Tropical South American Rainfall Response to Dansgaard-Oeschger Stadials of Marine Isotope Stage 5

Tropical precipitation patterns will most likely be altered by future climate change, with major socioeconomic consequences for human populations that are highly reliant on water availability for subsistence like populations in northeastern (NE) Brazil. Socioeconomic consequences may be particularly disruptive in the occurrence of abrupt climate change. Understanding the response of tropical precipitation to abrupt climate change is a crucial task for improving future projections and devising adaptation policies. Past abrupt climate change events such as the Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles may provide relevant insights regarding the dynamics of the climate system under this type of climate change. Here we present a paleoceanographic reconstruction off NE Brazil based on geochemical analyses (stable oxygen isotopes, Mg/Ca and Ba/Ca) performed in planktonic foraminifera, that focus on DO stadials of Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS5, 130–71 ka). Our new Ba/Ca record shows increases in fluvial discharge linked to enhanced continental precipitation over NE Brazil during DO stadials of MIS5. Tropical precipitation patterns were altered with enhanced rainfall in NE Brazil during DO stadials as a consequence of a southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which, in turn, was likely a response to changes in ocean heat transport and sea ice cover, as highlighted by recent climate model simulations. The results presented here provide useful information on how abrupt climate change can impact tropical rainfall, which is crucial for tropical societies in order to delineate strategies to cope with future climate change.

Orbital and Millennial Variations in Sea Ice in the Southwestern Okhotsk Sea Since the Last Interglacial Period and Their Implications

Sea ice in the Okhotsk Sea plays a significant role in global climate change. However, the history and mechanism of changes in sea ice spanning the last glacial cycle remain controversial. In this study, an 8.8 m core (LV55-40-1) was recovered from the southwestern Okhotsk Sea that contains a continuous sea ice record over the past ∼110 kyr. The sand fraction and dropstones were used as ice-rafted debris proxies to reconstruct the history of sea ice variations over the last ∼110 kyr and to determine the underlying causes on orbital and millennial timescales. Sea ice expansions occurred during MIS 5b, MIS 4, mid-MIS 3, and early MIS 1, which were controlled mainly by decreased autumn insolation on an orbital timescale. Superimposed on the orbital-scale changes, millennial-scale variations in sea ice were also observed, with 19 expansion events that coincided with cold Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials. Millennial scale sea ice variations were most likely controlled by both the Arctic oscillation and the East Asian summer monsoon. During periods of negative Arctic oscillation patterns, decreased air temperatures over the Okhotsk Sea caused more active sea ice formation. Such conditions could have been reinforced, by a reduced influence of warm advection at the surface of the Okhotsk Sea caused by decreased discharge from the Amur River that resulted from a weakened East Asian summer monsoon during cold stadials.

A Great Basin lake-level response to 38–34 ka Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations

Paleontological, geochemical, and geophysical data from pluvial Lake Chewaucan, Oregon, northwestern Great Basin provide a high-resolution paleoclimate record spanning the interval (38–34 ka) that includes the Mono Lake paleomagnetic excursion, Dansgaard–Oeschger Interstadials #8–#6, and the end of Heinrich Event 4. New climate proxies presented here from the BB3-I core, whose chronology was established in a recent publication focusing on its paleomagnetic record, consist of sediment grain-size, Corg/N, ostracode faunal counts, lipid molecular stratigraphy, and palynology. They build on previously publised proxies from this basin based on environmental magnetism and supporting lithological features found in outcrop and core. Results from granulometry, geochemical analysis and the presence of the ostracode Cytherissa lacustris consistently demonstrate the correspondence of low lake conditions and colder water temperatures during Dansgaard–Oeschger stadials during a time interval including the low magnetic intensity feature of the Mono Lake Excursion, a paleomagnetic event found both in the lake core of this study and the composite Greenland ice core record between Interstadials #7 and #6. Pollen data also support this finding, suggesting colder and drier continental montane woodland conditions during stadials versus warmer and wetter semi-arid woodland conditions during interstadials. This is further supported with lipid molecular stratigraphy, indicating a consistent tendency toward terrestrial-sourced vegetation, reflecting increased stream discharge into deeper lakes during interstadials versus dominance of aquatic vegetation during low-discharge, low lake stadials. These results suggesting wet interstadials confirm those of earlier studies at Summer Lake and for other lake records in the Great Basin for millennial-scale climate change during MIS 3 age.

Different precipitation patterns across tropical South America during Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials

Detailed knowledge about tropical South American precipitation patterns during Heinrich (H) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) stadials provides relevant insights into the possible evolution of Amazonian hydroclimate under future climate change. Sediment core GeoB16224-1 (ca. 7°N), raised from a site in the continental slope off French Guiana in western equatorial Atlantic under the influence of the Amazon River discharge, documents the impacts of H and DO stadials on both inorganic (i.e., Fe/Ca record) and organic (i.e., alkenone C37 concentration and C37/C38 ratio) geochemistry between 41 and 13 ka BP. Our results show millennial-scale covariations of increased Fe/Ca values with decreased C37 concentration and C37/C38 ratios during H and DO stadials. Comparing our high temporal resolution data with previously published records from ca. 17°N to 4°S, we are able to differentiate the influence of H and DO stadials upon tropical South American precipitation. We find that records under the influence of the South American summer monsoon (e.g., western Amazon) and the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) (e.g., northernmost South America) exhibit strong climate shifts during both H and DO stadials, but regions under the influence of the southern edge of the ITCZ (e.g., northeastern Brazil) experience a weaker reaction during DO stadials than during H stadials.

Millennial mode of variability of sea ice conditions in the Okhotsk Sea during the last glaciation (MIS 4–MIS 2)

Coarse fraction (CF) content, grain-size distribution, roundness of CF, gravels and pebbles, and examination of surface of pebbles were studied in core LV28-44-4, recovered from the eastern Okhotsk Sea (OS). The age model of the studied core was based on the AMS 14C data, tephrochronology, δ18O benthic foraminifera record, and correlation of peaks of productivity proxies with long-lasted Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) interstadials. The results show that sea ice was the main transport agent for CF (ice-rafted debris, IRD) in the eastern OS. Published mineralogical studies of clastic material of the OS indicated that the coast of western Kamchatka was the main source of IRD in the eastern OS. We found 19 peaks of IRD, which mostly coincided with DO stadials. The distribution of CF indicates a different pattern of IRD supply during MIS 4, 3, and 2. Comparison of IRD records in the eastern and central parts of the OS allow us to reconstruct millennial changes in ice and wind modes for MIS 4–MIS 2. Significant strengthening of northeastern and eastern winds during DOSs of MIS 3 and of northern and north-western winds during MIS 2 were observed.

Exploring the oxygen isotope fingerprint of Dansgaard-Oeschger variability and Heinrich events

We present the first transient simulations of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) performed with an oxygen isotope-enabled climate model. Our simulations span several Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles and three Heinrich stadials and are directly compared with oxygen isotope records from 13 sediment and 2 ice cores. Our results are consistent with a 30–50% weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials and a complete shutdown during Heinrich stadials. We find that the simulated δ18O anomalies differ significantly between Heinrich stadials and non-Heinrich stadials. This difference is mainly due to different responses in ocean circulation, and therefore climate, impacting oceanic δ18O, while the volume of 18O-depleted meltwater plays a secondary role.

Norwegian Sea warm pulses during Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials: Zooming in on these anomalies over the 35–41 ka cal BP interval and their impacts on proximal European ice-sheet dynamics

Abstract The last glacial millennial climatic events (i.e. Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich events) constitute outstanding case studies of coupled atmosphere-ocean-cryosphere interactions. Here, we investigate the evolution of sea-surface and subsurface conditions, in terms of temperature, salinity and sea ice cover, at very high-resolution (mean resolution between 55 and 155 years depending on proxies) during the 35–41 ka cal BP interval covering three Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles and including Heinrich event 4, in a new unpublished marine record, i.e. the MD99-2285 core (62.69°N; -3.57s°E). We use a large panel of complementary tools, which notably includes dinocyst-derived sea-ice cover duration quantifications. The high temporal resolution and multiproxy approach of this work allows us to identify the sequence of processes and to assess ocean-cryosphere interactions occurring during these periodic ice-sheet collapse events. Our results evidence a paradoxical hydrological scheme where (i) Greenland interstadials are marked by a homogeneous and cold upper water column, with intensive winter sea ice formation and summer sea ice melting, and (ii) Greenland and Heinrich stadials are characterized by a very warm and low saline surface layer with iceberg calving and reduced sea ice formation, separated by a strong halocline from a less warm and saltier subsurface layer. Our work also suggests that this stadial surface/subsurface warming started before massive iceberg release, in relation with warm Atlantic water advection. These findings thus support the theory that upper ocean warming might have triggered European ice-sheet destabilization. Besides, previous paleoceanographic studies conducted along the Atlantic inflow pathways close to the edge of European ice-sheets suggest that such a feature might have occurred in this whole area. Nonetheless, additional high resolution paleoreconstructions are required to confirm such a regional scheme.

Abrupt climate and vegetation variability of eastern Anatolia during the last glacial

Abstract. Detailed analyses of the Lake Van pollen, Ca / K ratio, and stable oxygen isotope record allow the identification of millennial-scale vegetation and environmental changes in eastern Anatolia throughout the last glacial (~ 111.5–11.7 ka BP). The climate of the last glacial was cold and dry, indicated by low arboreal pollen (AP) levels. The driest and coldest period corresponds to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (~ 28–14.5 ka BP), which was dominated by highest values of xerophytic steppe vegetation. Our high-resolution multi-proxy record shows rapid expansions and contractions of tree populations that reflect variability in temperature and moisture availability. These rapid vegetation and environmental changes can be related to the stadial-interstadial pattern of Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) events as recorded in the Greenland ice cores. Periods of reduced moisture availability were characterized by enhanced occurrence of xerophytic species and high terrigenous input from the Lake Van catchment area. Furthermore, the comparison with the marine realm reveals that the complex atmosphere–ocean interaction can be explained by the strength and position of the westerlies, which are responsible for the supply of humidity in eastern Anatolia. Influenced by the diverse topography of the Lake Van catchment, more pronounced DO interstadials (e.g., DO 19, 17–16, 14, 12 and 8) show the strongest expansion of temperate species within the last glacial. However, Heinrich events (HE), characterized by highest concentrations of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in marine sediments, cannot be separated from other DO stadials based on the vegetation composition in eastern Anatolia. In addition, this work is a first attempt to establish a continuous microscopic charcoal record for the last glacial in the Near East. It documents an immediate response to millennial-scale climate and environmental variability and enables us to shed light on the history of fire activity during the last glacial.

Sedimentary organic matter and carbonate variations in the Chukchi Borderland in association with ice sheet and ocean-atmosphere dynamics over the last 155 kyr

Abstract. Knowledge on past variability of sedimentary organic carbon in the Arctic Ocean is important to assess natural carbon cycling and transport processes related to global climate changes. However, the late Pleistocene oceanographic history of the Arctic is still poorly understood. In the present study we show sedimentary records of total organic carbon (TOC), CaCO3, benthic foraminiferal δ18O and the coarse grain size fraction from a piston core recovered from the northern Northwind Ridge in the far western Arctic Ocean, a region potentially sensitively responding to past variability in surface current regimes and sedimentary processes such as coastal erosion. An age model based on oxygen stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating and lithological constraints suggests that the piston core records paleoenvironmental changes of the last 155 kyr. TOC shows orbital-scale increases and decreases that can be respectively correlated to the waxing and waning of large ice sheets dominating the Eurasian Arctic, suggesting advection of fine suspended matter derived from glacial erosion to the Northwind Ridge by eastward flowing intermediate water and/or surface water and sea ice during cold episodes of the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. At millennial scales, increases in TOC might correlate to a suite of Dansgaard-Oeschger Stadials between 120 and 45 ka before present (BP) indicating a possible response to abrupt northern hemispheric temperature changes. Between 70 and 45 ka BP, closures and openings of the Bering Strait could have additionally influenced TOC variability. CaCO3 content tends to anti-correlate with TOC on both orbital and millennial time scales, which we interpret in terms of enhanced sediment advection from the carbonate-rich Canadian Arctic via an extended Beaufort Gyre during warm periods of the last two glacial-interglacial cycles and increased organic carbon advection from the Siberian Arctic during cold periods when the Beaufort Gyre contracted. We propose that this pattern may be related to orbital- and millennial-scale variations of dominant atmospheric surface pressure systems expressed in mode shifts of the Arctic Oscillation.

ENSO variability and teleconnections during glacial climates

Understanding the origin of sub-Milankovitch and millennial-scale abrupt climate change still poses a major challenge. An important role of communicating the orbital-scale forcing into abrupt climate change on millennial and centennial timescales has been hypothesized for the tropics in earlier studies based on the assumption of stationary teleconnections. This paper presents a modelling study for the Last Glacial Maximum and Marine Isotope Stage 3 using the comprehensive climate model CCSM3. Glacial boundary conditions and freshwater hosing at high latitudes of the North Atlantic are imposed to mimic a Heinrich stadial and Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials and interstadials. It is shown that glacial ENSO variability is strongly enhanced by a substantial slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The simulations also suggest that glacial boundary conditions induce major modifications to ENSO teleconnections and that the “blueprint” of modern ENSO teleconnections should only be applied with caution to glacial climate periods.

Millennial/centennial-scale thermocline ventilation changes in the Indian Ocean as reflected by aragonite preservation and geochemical variations in Arabian Sea sediments

The formation and temporal variability of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the Arabian Sea is a subject of intense research. We contribute to the discussion by studying modern seawater profiles of the Indian Ocean (salinity, O 2, pH, aragonite saturation, nitrate deficit, nutrients), which show that Subantarctic Mode and Antarctic Intermediate Waters (SAMW–AAIW) have a strong influence on the OMZ characteristics of the Arabian Sea. To obtain a better grasp of the range of possible OMZ variations, we studied a 50-kyr record in the NE Arabian Sea (core MD042876) from a site at 828 m water depth within the thermocline. In this core, aragonite is preserved during North Atlantic Heinrich events (HEs) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) stadials, while it is absent during DO interstadials and most of the Holocene. Considering the excellent correlation between aragonite content and Sr/Ca ratio, as well as the presence of fine-grained aragonitic needles and the isotopic composition (δ 13C) of carbonates in the fine fraction, we infer that essentially all aragonite originates as fine Sr-rich debris from shallow water. A comparison with other records from the NE Arabian Sea (Sr/Ca, δ 15N) indicates that aragonite variability in the cores is rather controlled by OMZ intensity variations as forcing mechanism while changes in aragonite supply seem to play a minor role. The strong correlation of aragonite content with changes in millennial-scale ventilation of the Indian Ocean, as well as a comparison with modern oceanographic conditions, supports the theory that OMZ intensity variations are controlled by changes in the formation of SAMW–AAIW, and are not only due to monsoonal changes. Thus, during HEs and DO stadials, the thermocline Arabian Sea experienced a strengthened influx of O 2-rich SAMW–AAIW. On the other hand, OMZ conditions during DO interstadials and the Holocene seem best explained by analogy with the present-day situation: low supply of O 2 combined with elevated O 2 demand controlled by monsoon-related productivity.

Paleolimnological response to millennial and centennial scale climate variability during MIS 3 and 2 as suggested by the diatom record in Les Echets, France

A 27 m long sediment sequence retrieved from the central part of the Les Echets basin in France has been analysed in sub-centennial resolution for biogenic silica and fossil diatom remains. The sequence corresponds to the later part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and to most of MIS 2. Distinct changes in diatom productivity, diversity and taxonomic composition between 36.2 and 31.7 kyr BP appear to relate to Dansgaard–Oeschger (DO) climate variability. Intervals characterized by low diversity, productivity and small-sized benthic diatom taxa are most likely a response to colder conditions in relation to DO stadials. In contrast, higher diversity, productivity and a high abundance of planktonic taxa indicate a response to warmer temperatures during DO interstadials. The time interval between 30.3 and 15.7 kyr BP is characterized by continuous low diatom productivity and a benthic dominated community with intermediate species richness, suggesting a transition to more stable conditions. Three time intervals with extremely low concentrations of diatom valves (46.1–36.2, 31.7–30.3 and 26.3–23.6 kyr BP) overlap with ages reported for Heinrich (H) events 4, 3, and 2. We speculate that the lake at Les Echets suffered from severe ecological stress as a response to H events. This is the first detailed study exemplifying the response of a lake, based on diatoms, to climate variability during late part of MIS 3 and most of MIS 2 in Europe.

Contourites of the Gulf of Cadiz: A high-resolution record of the paleocirculation of the Mediterranean outflow water during the last 50,000 years

The Mediterranean outflow water (MOW) paleocirculation during the last 50,000 years has been inferred from the grain-size distribution of contourite beds in core MD99-2341 from the Gulf of Cadiz (Southern Iberian Margin–Atlantic Ocean). Three main contourite facies are described. Their vertical succession defines two contourite sequences that reveal past variations of the MOW bottom-current velocity. A comparison of contourite sequences and the planktonic δ 18O record of core MD99-2341 with the δ 18O record from Greenland Ice Core GISP2 show a close correlation of sea-surface water conditions and deep-sea contouritic sedimentation in the Gulf of Cadiz with Northern Hemisphere climate variability on millennial timescales. A high MOW velocity prevailed during Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials, Heinrich events and the Younger Dryas cold climatic interval. The MOW velocity was comparatively low during the warm Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadials, Bølling-Allerød and the Early Holocene. Rapid sea-level fluctuations on the order of 35 m during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 are considered to have exerted limiting controls on the MOW volume transport and thus positively modulated the MOW behaviour during the last 50 kyr.

Mediterranean outflow strengthening during northern hemisphere coolings: A salt source for the glacial Atlantic?

High-resolution grain size and magnetic susceptibility records from the eastern Gulf of Cadiz (site MD99-2339; 1170 m water depth) reveal contourites formed by the Mediterranean Outflow (MOW) during the last 47 kyr BP. Oscillations in the MOW's intensity occurred in phase with Greenland temperature variations with a stronger outflow during northern hemisphere coolings such as Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials, Heinrich events, and the Younger Dryas. Benthic δ 13C data implies the Western Mediterranean Deep Water as one of the main sources feeding the outflow current, while differential changes in the properties of the Mediterranean source and entrained North Atlantic Central Water largely control the MOW's strength. Detailed studies for Heinrich events 1, 4 and 5 show that the flow strength peaked only when subtropical surface waters prevailed in the eastern Gulf of Cadiz, while incursions of icebergs and subpolar surface water were not favorable for the MOW's intensification. As the MOW was strong when the Atlantic's thermohaline circulation (THC) was weakened, the heat and salt injected by the MOW into the intermediate North Atlantic waters might have preconditioned the THC to switch from the stadial to the interstadial mode.

Response of precipitation over Greenland and the adjacent ocean to North Pacific warm spells during Dansgaard–Oeschger stadials

ABSTRACTPalaeoceanographic reconstructions from the North Atlantic indicate massive ice breakouts from East Greenland near the onset of cold Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) stadials. In contrast to these coolings in the North Atlantic area, a new sea‐surface temperature record reveals concomitant warm spells in the northern North Pacific. A sensitivity experiment with an atmospheric general circulation model is used to test the potential impact of sea‐surface warmings by 3.5 °C in the North Pacific, on top of otherwise cold stadial climate conditions, on the precipitation regime over the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The model predicts a maximum response over East Greenland and the Greenland Sea, where a 40% increase in net annual snow accumulation occurs. This remote effect of North Pacific warm spells on the East Greenland snow‐accumulation rate may play an important role in generating D–O cycles by rebuilding the ice lost during ice breakouts. In addition, the increased precipitation over the Greenland Sea may help to sustain the D–O stadial climate state.