Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal
Abstract
The Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal interrupts the warming climate of the deglaciation with global climatic impacts. The sudden cooling is typically linked to an abrupt slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in response to meltwater discharges from ice sheets. However, inconsistencies regarding the YD-response of European summer temperatures have cast doubt whether the concept provides a sufficient explanation. Here we present results from a high-resolution global climate simulation together with a new July temperature compilation based on plant indicator species and show that European summers remain warm during the YD. Our climate simulation provides robust physical evidence that atmospheric blocking of cold westerly winds over Fennoscandia is a key mechanism counteracting the cooling impact of an AMOC-slowdown during summer. Despite the persistence of short warm summers, the YD is dominated by a shift to a continental climate with extreme winter to spring cooling and short growing seasons.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[2];
- Stockholm Univ. (Sweden); KTH Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)
- Univ. of Helsinki (Finland)
- Stockholm Univ. (Sweden); Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
- Memorial Univ. of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL (Canada)
- Stockholm Univ. (Sweden); Lund Univ. (Sweden)
- Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), Stockholm (Sweden)
- KTH Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden)
- Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), Stockholm (Sweden); Stockholm Univ. (Sweden)
- Stockholm Univ. (Sweden)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1565676
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-1723
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Citation Formats
Schenk, Frederik, Väliranta, Minna, Muschitiello, Francesco, Tarasov, Lev, Heikkilä, Maija, Björck, Svante, Brandefelt, Jenny, Johansson, Arne V., Näslund, Jens-Ove, and Wohlfarth, Barbara. Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal. United States: N. p., 2018.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5.
Schenk, Frederik, Väliranta, Minna, Muschitiello, Francesco, Tarasov, Lev, Heikkilä, Maija, Björck, Svante, Brandefelt, Jenny, Johansson, Arne V., Näslund, Jens-Ove, & Wohlfarth, Barbara. Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5
Schenk, Frederik, Väliranta, Minna, Muschitiello, Francesco, Tarasov, Lev, Heikkilä, Maija, Björck, Svante, Brandefelt, Jenny, Johansson, Arne V., Näslund, Jens-Ove, and Wohlfarth, Barbara. Tue .
"Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1565676.
@article{osti_1565676,
title = {Warm summers during the Younger Dryas cold reversal},
author = {Schenk, Frederik and Väliranta, Minna and Muschitiello, Francesco and Tarasov, Lev and Heikkilä, Maija and Björck, Svante and Brandefelt, Jenny and Johansson, Arne V. and Näslund, Jens-Ove and Wohlfarth, Barbara},
abstractNote = {The Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal interrupts the warming climate of the deglaciation with global climatic impacts. The sudden cooling is typically linked to an abrupt slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in response to meltwater discharges from ice sheets. However, inconsistencies regarding the YD-response of European summer temperatures have cast doubt whether the concept provides a sufficient explanation. Here we present results from a high-resolution global climate simulation together with a new July temperature compilation based on plant indicator species and show that European summers remain warm during the YD. Our climate simulation provides robust physical evidence that atmospheric blocking of cold westerly winds over Fennoscandia is a key mechanism counteracting the cooling impact of an AMOC-slowdown during summer. Despite the persistence of short warm summers, the YD is dominated by a shift to a continental climate with extreme winter to spring cooling and short growing seasons.},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-04071-5},
journal = {Nature Communications},
number = 1,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 24 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Tue Apr 24 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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