Near-synchronous interhemispheric termination of the last glacial maximum in mid-latitudes.
Isotopic records from polar ice cores imply globally asynchronous warming at the end of the last glaciation. However, 10Be exposure dates show that large-scale retreat of mid-latitude Last Glacial Maximum glaciers commenced at about the same time in both hemispheres. The timing of retreat is consistent with the onset of temperature and atmospheric CO2 increases in Antarctic ice cores. We suggest that a global trend of rising summer temperatures at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum was obscured in North Atlantic regions by hypercold winters associated with unusually extensive winter sea ice.
Schaefer
Joerg M
JM
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO), Palisades, NY 10964, USA. schaefer@ldeo.columbia.edu
Denton
George H
GH
Barrell
David J A
DJ
Ivy-Ochs
Susan
S
Kubik
Peter W
PW
Andersen
Bjorn G
BG
Phillips
Fred M
FM
Lowell
Thomas V
TV
Schlüchter
Christian
C