Gradual South-North Climate Transition in the Atlantic Realm Within the Younger Dryas

Haiwei Zhang; Hai Cheng; Christoph Spötl; Xu Zhang; Francisco W. Cruz; Ashish Sinha; Augusto S. Auler; Nicolás M. Stríkis; Xianfeng Wang; Gayatri Kathayat; Xianglei Li; Hanying Li; Carlos Pérez-Mejías; Yanjun Cai; Youfeng Ning; Richard Lawrence Edwards

doi:10.1029/2021GL092620

Gradual South-North Climate Transition in the Atlantic Realm Within the Younger Dryas

Haiwei Zhang^*, Hai Cheng^*, Christoph Spötl, Xu Zhang, Francisco W. Cruz, Ashish Sinha, Augusto S. Auler, Nicolás M. Stríkis, Xianfeng Wang, Gayatri Kathayat, Xianglei Li, Hanying Li, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Yanjun Cai, Youfeng Ning, Richard Lawrence Edwards

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The abrupt climate event Younger Dryas (YD) has been extensively studied; however, its structure is still poorly understood. Climate in northeastern Brazil is very sensitive to the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) associated with abrupt climate change in the Atlantic. Here, we report changes in the ITCZ position within the YD by using precise speleothem multiproxy records from northeastern Brazil. We provide evidence for a gradual northward migration of the ITCZ preceding poleward shifts of the westerlies and the polar front in northern high latitudes within the YD. This can be attributed to gradual increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration as a consequence of the weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We suggest that a persistent increase in atmospheric CO₂ might have triggered a resumption of the AMOC and reorganization of the atmosphere circulation in the Atlantic during the mid-YD.

Original language	English
Article number	e2021GL092620
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	48
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092620
Publication status	Published - Apr 28 2021
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Geophysics
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Keywords

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
interhemispheric Atlantic seesaw
northeast Brazil
speleothem
Younger Dryas

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1029/2021GL092620

Cite this

Zhang, H., Cheng, H., Spötl, C., Zhang, X., Cruz, F. W., Sinha, A., Auler, A. S., Stríkis, N. M., Wang, X., Kathayat, G., Li, X., Li, H., Pérez-Mejías, C., Cai, Y., Ning, Y., & Edwards, R. L. (2021). Gradual South-North Climate Transition in the Atlantic Realm Within the Younger Dryas. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(8), Article e2021GL092620. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092620

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abstract = "The abrupt climate event Younger Dryas (YD) has been extensively studied; however, its structure is still poorly understood. Climate in northeastern Brazil is very sensitive to the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) associated with abrupt climate change in the Atlantic. Here, we report changes in the ITCZ position within the YD by using precise speleothem multiproxy records from northeastern Brazil. We provide evidence for a gradual northward migration of the ITCZ preceding poleward shifts of the westerlies and the polar front in northern high latitudes within the YD. This can be attributed to gradual increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration as a consequence of the weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We suggest that a persistent increase in atmospheric CO2 might have triggered a resumption of the AMOC and reorganization of the atmosphere circulation in the Atlantic during the mid-YD.",

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AU - Zhang, Haiwei

AU - Cheng, Hai

AU - Spötl, Christoph

AU - Zhang, Xu

AU - Cruz, Francisco W.

AU - Sinha, Ashish

AU - Auler, Augusto S.

AU - Stríkis, Nicolás M.

AU - Wang, Xianfeng

AU - Kathayat, Gayatri

AU - Li, Xianglei

AU - Li, Hanying

AU - Pérez-Mejías, Carlos

AU - Cai, Yanjun

AU - Ning, Youfeng

AU - Edwards, Richard Lawrence

PY - 2021/4/28

Y1 - 2021/4/28

N2 - The abrupt climate event Younger Dryas (YD) has been extensively studied; however, its structure is still poorly understood. Climate in northeastern Brazil is very sensitive to the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) associated with abrupt climate change in the Atlantic. Here, we report changes in the ITCZ position within the YD by using precise speleothem multiproxy records from northeastern Brazil. We provide evidence for a gradual northward migration of the ITCZ preceding poleward shifts of the westerlies and the polar front in northern high latitudes within the YD. This can be attributed to gradual increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration as a consequence of the weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We suggest that a persistent increase in atmospheric CO2 might have triggered a resumption of the AMOC and reorganization of the atmosphere circulation in the Atlantic during the mid-YD.

AB - The abrupt climate event Younger Dryas (YD) has been extensively studied; however, its structure is still poorly understood. Climate in northeastern Brazil is very sensitive to the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) associated with abrupt climate change in the Atlantic. Here, we report changes in the ITCZ position within the YD by using precise speleothem multiproxy records from northeastern Brazil. We provide evidence for a gradual northward migration of the ITCZ preceding poleward shifts of the westerlies and the polar front in northern high latitudes within the YD. This can be attributed to gradual increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration as a consequence of the weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). We suggest that a persistent increase in atmospheric CO2 might have triggered a resumption of the AMOC and reorganization of the atmosphere circulation in the Atlantic during the mid-YD.

KW - Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

KW - interhemispheric Atlantic seesaw

KW - northeast Brazil

KW - speleothem

KW - Younger Dryas

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Gradual South-North Climate Transition in the Atlantic Realm Within the Younger Dryas

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

UN SDGs

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