Holocene Climate Variability in Antarctica Based on 11 Ice-Core Isotopic Records

Valérie Masson (1, 2) , Françoise Vimeux (1, 2) , Jean Jouzel (1, 2) , Vin Morgan (3) , Marc Delmotte (1, 4) , Philippe Ciais (1, 5) , Claus Hammer , Sigfus Johnsen (6) , Vladimir Ya. Lipenkov , E. Mosley-Thompson , Jean-Robert Petit (7) , Eric Steig , Michel Stievenard (1, 2, 8) , Rein Vaikmae

1 LSCE - Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette]
2 GLACCIOS - Glaces et Continents, Climats et Isotopes Stables
3 ACE-CRC - Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre
4 ICOS-RAMCES - ICOS-RAMCES
5 ICOS-ATC - ICOS-ATC
6 Geophysics and Water Resources
7 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
8 GEOTRAC - Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie

A comparison is made of the Holocene records obtained from water isotope measurements along 11 ice cores from coastal and central sites in east Antarctica (Vostok, Dome B, Plateau Remote, Komsomolskaia, Dome C, Taylor Dome, Dominion Range, D47, KM105, and Law Dome) and west Antarctica (Byrd), with temporal resolution from 20 to 50 yr. The long-term trends possibly reflect local ice sheet elevation fluctuations superimposed on common climatic fluctuations. All the records confirm the widespread Antarctic early Holocene optimum between 11,500 and 9000 yr; in the Ross Sea sector, a secondary optimum is identified between 7000 and 5000 yr, whereas all eastern Antarctic sites show a late optimum between 6000 and 3000 yr. Superimposed on the long time trend, all the records exhibit 9 aperiodic millennial-scale oscillations. Climatic optima show a reduced pacing between warm events (typically 800 yr), whereas cooler periods are associated with less-frequent warm events (pacing >1200 yr). A comparison is made of the Holocene records obtained from water isotope measurements along 11 ice cores from coastal and central sites in east Antarctica (Vostok, Dome B, Plateau Remote, Komsomolskaia, Dome C, Taylor Dome, Dominion Range, D47, KM105, and Law Dome) and west Antarctica (Byrd), with temporal resolution from 20 to 50 yr. The long-term trends possibly reflect local ice sheet elevation fluctuations superimposed on common climatic fluctuations. All the records confirm the widespread Antarctic early Holocene optimum between 11,500 and 9000 yr; in the Ross Sea sector, a secondary optimum is identified between 7000 and 5000 yr, whereas all eastern Antarctic sites show a late optimum between 6000 and 3000 yr. Superimposed on the long time trend, all the records exhibit 9 aperiodic millennial-scale oscillations. Climatic optima show a reduced pacing between warm events (typically 800 yr), whereas cooler periods are associated with less-frequent warm events (pacing >1200 yr).

Domaines: Océan, Atmosphère; Interfaces continentales, environnement

Valérie Masson, Françoise Vimeux, Jean Jouzel, Vin Morgan, Marc Delmotte, et al.. Holocene Climate Variability in Antarctica Based on 11 Ice-Core Isotopic Records. Quaternary Research, 2000, 54 (3), pp.348-358. ⟨10.1006/qres.2000.2172⟩. ⟨hal-02923892⟩