Climate variability features of the last interglacial in the East Antarctic EPICA Dome C ice core


Contact
Manfred.Mudelsee [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Whereas millennial to submillennial climate variability has been identified during the current interglacial period, past interglacial variability features remain poorly explored because of lacking data at sufficient temporal resolutions. Here we present new deuterium data from the EPICA Dome C ice core, documenting at decadal resolution temperature changes occurring over the East Antarctic plateau during the warmer-than-today last interglacial. Expanding previous evidence of instabilities during the last interglacial, multicentennial subevents are identified and labeled for the first time in a past interglacial context. A variance analysis further reveals two major climatic features. First, an increase in variability is detected prior to the glacial inception, as already observed at the end of Marine Isotopic Stage 11 in the same core. Second, the overall variance level is systematically higher during the last interglacial than during the current one, suggesting that a warmer East Antarctic climate may also be more variable.



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Primary Division
Programs
Primary Topic
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
37399
DOI 10.1002/2014GL059561.

Cite as
Pol, K. , Masson-Delmotte, V. , Cattani, O. , Debret, M. , Falourd, S. , Jouzel, J. , Landais, A. , Minster, B. , Mudelsee, M. , Schulz, M. and Stenni, B. (2014): Climate variability features of the last interglacial in the East Antarctic EPICA Dome C ice core , Geophysical Research Letters, 41 , pp. 4004-4012 . doi: 10.1002/2014GL059561.


Share
Add to AnyAdd to TwitterAdd to FacebookAdd to LinkedinAdd to PinterestAdd to Email


Citation

Geographical region

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item