Enhanced ice sheet melting driven by volcanic eruptions during the last deglaciation

Muschitiello, Francesco; Pausata, Francesco S. R.; Lea, James M.; Mair, D.; Wohlfarth, Barbara

doi:10.1038/s41467-017-01273-1

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Although direct evidence that a meltwater pulse occurred along this route immediately preceding the YD's onset is limited, some sediment core evidence suggesting that floods through the St Lawrence Valley coincided with the YD initiation does exist (Levac et al, 2015;Rayburn et al, 2011). A northward meltwater flow path along the MacKenzie Valley to the Arctic Ocean is also possible (Murton et al, 2010;Not and Hillaire-Marcel, 2012;Tarasov and Peltier, 2005). This is supported by both geological and modelling evidence, which suggests that a freshwater pulse into the Arctic Ocean could have weakened AMOC by > 30 %, considerably more that the < 15 % resulting from a similar pulse injected into the North Atlantic (Condron and Winsor, 2012).…”

Section: Compatibility With Other Hypothesessupporting

confidence: 62%

“…Earlier research also briefly considered this spike based on absolute dating (Brauer et al, 1999b), but because of the concept that the LSE preceded the YD boundary by ∼ 200 years, concluded that an earlier sulfate spike most likely represented the LSE. Utilising the GICC05modelext chronology as well as recent layer counts within the MFM sediment (Lane et al, 2013a), we suggest that the sulfate spike at 12.867 ka BP represents the LSE, and that the earlier one tentatively identified by Brauer et al (1999b) may represent a small eruption of the Icelandic volcano Hekla, consistent with the interpretation of Muschitiello et al (2017). Although the coincidence between our identified sulfate spike, the date of the LSE, and the onset of North Atlantic cooling associated with the YD is compelling, detailed tephrochronological analyses are required to definitively ascribe this sulfate spike to the LSE.…”

Section: J U L Baldini Et Al: Evaluating the Link Between The Sulsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…The size of the sulfate spike is not necessarily proportional to the size of the eruption, and the sulfate spike at 13.03 ka BP is likely related to the small eruption of Hekla (Iceland) (Muschitiello et al, 2017), which deposited sulfate in the nearby Greenland ice but was climatologically insignificant. Similarly, the spike at 12.6 ka BP may also reflect the influence of a small but proximal unknown eruption.…”

Section: Response To Other Late Quaternary Eruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly

2018

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Abstract. The Younger Dryas is considered the archetypal millennial-scale climate change event, and identifying its cause is fundamental for thoroughly understanding climate systematics during deglaciations. However, the mechanisms responsible for its initiation remain elusive, and both of the most researched triggers (a meltwater pulse or a bolide impact) are controversial. Here, we consider the problem from a different perspective and explore a hypothesis that Younger Dryas climate shifts were catalysed by the unusually sulfurrich 12.880 ± 0.040 ka BP eruption of the Laacher See volcano (Germany). We use the most recent chronology for the GISP2 ice core ion dataset from the Greenland ice sheet to identify a large volcanic sulfur spike coincident with both the Laacher See eruption and the onset of Younger Dryasrelated cooling in Greenland (i.e. the most recent abrupt Greenland millennial-scale cooling event, the Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1). Previously published lake sediment and stalagmite records confirm that the eruption's timing was indistinguishable from the onset of cooling across the North Atlantic but that it preceded westerly wind repositioning over central Europe by ∼ 200 years. We suggest that the initial short-lived volcanic sulfate aerosol cooling was amplified by ocean circulation shifts and/or sea ice expansion, gradually cooling the North Atlantic region and incrementally shifting the midlatitude westerlies to the south. The aerosol-related cooling probably only lasted 1-3 years, and the majority of Younger Dryas-related cooling may have been due to the seaice-ocean circulation positive feedback, which was particularly effective during the intermediate ice volume conditions characteristic of ∼ 13 ka BP. We conclude that the large and sulfur-rich Laacher See eruption should be considered a viable trigger for the Younger Dryas. However, future studies should prioritise climate modelling of high-latitude volcanism during deglacial boundary conditions in order to test the hypothesis proposed here.

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Section: Compatibility With Other Hypothesessupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: J U L Baldini Et Al: Evaluating the Link Between The Sulsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Response To Other Late Quaternary Eruptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly

2018

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“…We calculate the summer (JJA) surface energy and mass balance of DIC high-elevation area using the model described and calibrated for DIC by Morris and others (2014), a version of which has also been applied to palaeo ice masses (Muschitiello and others, 2017). Broadly, the model consists of four modules: surface energy balance; SMB; subsurface percolation and refreezing and vertical temperature flux, operating on a 1-D fixed vertical 1 cm grid.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meltwater percolation, impermeable layer formation and runoff buffering on Devon Ice Cap, Canada

2019

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The retention of meltwater in the accumulation area of the Greenland ice sheet and other Arctic ice masses buffers their contribution to sea level change. However, sustained warming also results in impermeable ice layers or ‘ice slabs’ that seal the underlying pore space. Here, we use a 1-D, physically based, high-resolution model to simulate the surface mass balance (SMB), percolation, refreezing, ice layer formation and runoff from across the high-elevation area of Devon Ice Cap, Canada, from 2001 to 2016. We vary the thickness of the ‘impermeable’ ice layer at which underlying firn becomes inaccessible to meltwater. Thick near-surface ice layers are established by an initial deep percolation, the formation of decimetre ice layers and the infilling of interleaving pore space. The cumulative SMB increases by 48% by varying impermeable layer thickness between 0.01 and 5 m. Within this range we identify narrower range (0.25–1 m) that can simulate both the temporal variability in SMB and the observed near-surface density structure. Across this range, cumulative SMB variation is limited to 6% and 45–49% of mass retention takes place within the annually replenished snowpack. Our results indicate cooler summers after intense mid-2000s warming have led to a partial replenishment of pore space.

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“…Note that owing to the close proximity to the source region the local forcing would be exerted through both the radiative impacts of gas and particulate aerosols and the reduction in ice surface albedo produced by repeated extensive tephra deposition. With respect to the latter factor, recent estimations have shown the significance of volcanic ash deposition onto snow/ice even from mid-sized eruptions at high-latitudes to alter surface reflectivity and enhance glacier melting (e.g., Dadic et al, 2013;Young et al, 2014;Muschitiello et al, 2017). Given the continuous sustained explosive activity of the Antarctic volcanoes with related large production of tephra and consequent dispersal over the Plateau due to favourable atmospheric conditions (e.g., Scarchilli et al, 2011), we believe that the potential role of forcing caused by locally-derived ash deposits should not be neglected in Antarctic palaeoclimate reconstructions.…”

Section: Identification Of Tephra Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple sources for tephra from AD 1259 volcanic signal in Antarctic ice cores

Narcisi

Petit

Delmonte

et al. 2019

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Strong volcanic signals simultaneously recorded in polar ice sheets are commonly assigned to major low-latitude eruptions that dispersed large quantities of aerosols in the global atmosphere with the potential of inducing climate perturbations. Parent eruptions responsible for specific events are typically deduced from matching to a known volcanic eruption having coincidental date. However, more robust source linkage can be achieved only through geochemical characterisation of the airborne volcanic glass products (tephra) sometimes preserved in the polar strata. We analysed fine-grained tephra particles extracted from layers of the AD 1259 major bipolar volcanic signal in four East Antarctic ice cores drilled in different widely-spaced locations of the Plateau. The very large database of glassshard geochemistry combined with grain size analyses consistently indicate that the material was sourced from multiple distinct eruptions. These are the AD 1257 mega-eruption of Samalas volcano in Indonesia, recently proposed to be the single event responsible for the polar signal, as well as a newly-identified Antarctic eruption occurred in AD 1259. Finally, a further eruption that took place somewhere outside Antarctica has contributed to tephra deposition. Our high-resolution, multiple-site approach was critical to reveal spatial heterogeneity of tephra at the continental scale. Evidence from ice-core tephra indicates recurrent explosive activity at the Antarctic volcanoes and could have implications for improved reconstruction of post-volcanic effects on climate from proxy polar records. Research Data Related to this Submission There are no linked research data sets for this submission. The following reason is given: Microprobe single-grain data are given as Supplementary Material along with details of analytical conditions

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Enhanced ice sheet melting driven by volcanic eruptions during the last deglaciation

Cited by 15 publications

References 72 publications

Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly

Evaluating the link between the sulfur-rich Laacher See volcanic eruption and the Younger Dryas climate anomaly

Meltwater percolation, impermeable layer formation and runoff buffering on Devon Ice Cap, Canada

Multiple sources for tephra from AD 1259 volcanic signal in Antarctic ice cores

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