Climate Events and Cycles During the Last Glacial–Interglacial Transition

Abstract

During the last glacial–interglacial transition, there were multiple intense climatic events such as the Bølling–Allerød warming and Younger Dryas cooling. These events show abrupt and rapid climatic changes. In this study, the climate events and cycles during this interval are examined through wavelet analysis of Arctic and Antarctic ice-core 18O and tropical marine 14C records. The results show that periods of ~1383–1402, ~1029–1043, ~726–736, ~441–497 and ~202–247 years are dominant in the Arctic region, whereas periods of ~1480, ~765, ~518, ~311, and ~207 years are prominent in the Antarctic TALDICE. In addition, cycles of ~1019, ~515, and ~209 years are distinct in the tropical region. Among these variations, the de Vries cycle of ~202–209 years, correlated with variations in solar activity, was detected globally. In particular, this cycle shows a strong signal in the Antarctic between about 13,000 and 10,500 yr before present (BP). In contrast, the Eddy cycle of ~1019–1043 years was prominent in Greenland and the tropical region, but was not detected in the Antarctic TALDICE records. Instead, these records showed that the Heinrich cycle of ~1480 year was very strong and significant throughout the last glacial–interglacial interval.

Keywords

• Climate events
• Bølling-Allerød
• Younger Dryas
• de Vries cycle
• Eddy cycle