TY - JOUR
T1 - Ice age terminations
AU - Cheng, Hai
AU - Edwards, R. Lawrence
AU - Broecker, Wallace S.
AU - Denton, George H.
AU - Kong, Xinggong
AU - Wang, Yongjin
AU - Zhang, Rong
AU - Wang, Xianfeng
PY - 2009/10/9
Y1 - 2009/10/9
N2 - 230Th-dated oxygen isotope records of stalagmites from Sanbao Cave, China, characterize Asian Monsoon (AM) precipitation through the ends of the third- and fourthmost recent ice ages. As a result, AM records for the past four glacial terminations can now be precisely correlated with those from ice cores and marine sediments, establishing the timing and sequence of major events. In all four cases, observations are consistent with a classic Northern Hemisphere summer insolation intensity trigger for an initial retreat of northern ice sheets. Meltwater and icebergs entering the North Atlantic alter oceanic and atmospheric circulation and associated fluxes of heat and carbon, causing increases in atmospheric CO2 and Antarctic temperatures that drive the termination in the Southern Hemisphere. Increasing CO2 and summer insolation drive recession of northern ice sheets, with probable positive feedbacks between sea level and CO2.
AB - 230Th-dated oxygen isotope records of stalagmites from Sanbao Cave, China, characterize Asian Monsoon (AM) precipitation through the ends of the third- and fourthmost recent ice ages. As a result, AM records for the past four glacial terminations can now be precisely correlated with those from ice cores and marine sediments, establishing the timing and sequence of major events. In all four cases, observations are consistent with a classic Northern Hemisphere summer insolation intensity trigger for an initial retreat of northern ice sheets. Meltwater and icebergs entering the North Atlantic alter oceanic and atmospheric circulation and associated fluxes of heat and carbon, causing increases in atmospheric CO2 and Antarctic temperatures that drive the termination in the Southern Hemisphere. Increasing CO2 and summer insolation drive recession of northern ice sheets, with probable positive feedbacks between sea level and CO2.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.1177840
DO - 10.1126/science.1177840
M3 - Article
C2 - 19815769
AN - SCOPUS:70349869647
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 326
SP - 248
EP - 252
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5950
ER -