Climate of the Past Discussions www.clim-past-discuss.net 1814-9340 1814-9359 6 4 2010 10.5194/cpd-6-1473-2010 http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/6/1473/2010/ http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/6/1473/2010/cpd-6-1473-2010.html http://www.clim-past-discuss.net/6/1473/2010/cpd-6-1473-2010.pdf 1473 1501 2010-08-11 Rapid changes in ice core gas records – Part 2: Understanding the rapid rise in atmospheric CO₂ at the onset of the Bølling/Allerød P. Köhler peter.koehler@awi.de G. Knorr D. Buiron A. Lourantou J. Chappellaz Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), P.O. Box 120161, 27515 Bremerhaven, Germany School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement, (LGGE, CNRS, Université Joseph Fourier-Grenoble), 54b rue Molière, Domaine Universitaire BP 96, 38402 St. Martin d'Hères, France now at: Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat (LOCEAN), Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Université P. et M. Curie (UPMC), Paris, France During the last glacial/interglacial transition the Earth's climate underwent rapid changes around 14.6 kyr ago. Temperature proxies from ice cores revealed the onset of the Bølling/Allerød (B/A) warm period in the north and the start of the Antarctic Cold Reversal in the south. Furthermore, the B/A is accompanied by a rapid sea level rise of about 20 m during meltwater pulse (MWP) 1A, whose exact timing is matter of current debate. In situ measured CO₂ in the EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice core also revealed a remarkable jump of 10±1 ppmv in 230 yr at the same time. Allowing for the age distribution of CO₂ in firn we here show, that atmospheric CO₂ rose by 20–35 ppmv in less than 200 yr, which is a factor of 2–3.5 larger than the CO₂ signal recorded in situ in EDC. Based on the estimated airborne fraction of 0.17 of CO₂ we infer that 125 Pg of carbon need to be released to the atmosphere to produce such a peak. Most of the carbon might have been activated as consequence of continental shelf flooding during MWP-1A. This impact of rapid sea level rise on atmospheric CO₂ distinguishes the B/A from other Dansgaard/Oeschger events of the last 60 kyr, potentially defining the point of no return during the last deglaciation. Ahn,~J. and Brook,~E J.: Atmospheric \chemCO_2 and climate on millennial time scales during the last glacial period, Science, 322, 83–85, \doi10.1126/science.1160832, 2008. Ahn,~J., Wahlen,~M., Deck,~B L., Brook,~E J., Mayewski,~P A., Taylor,~K C., and White,~J W C.: A~record of atmospheric \chemCO_2 during the last 40 000 years from the Siple Dome, Antarctica ice core, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D13305, \doi10.1029/2003JD004415, 2004. Barker,~S., Diz,~P., Vantravers,~M J., Pike,~J., Knorr,~G., Hall,~I R., and Broecker,~W S.: Interhemispheric Atlantic seesaw response during the last deglaciation, Nature, 457, 1007–1102, \doi10.1038/nature07770, 2009. Boyle,~E A.: Cadmium and $\delta\chem^13C$ paleochemical ocean distributions during the stage 2 glacial maximum, Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 20, 245–287, 1992. Collatz,~G J., Berry,~J A., and Clark,~J S.: Effects of climate and atmospheric \chemCO_2 partial pressure on the global distribution of \chemC_4 grasses: present, past and future, Oecologia, 114, 441–454, 1998. Deschamps,~P., Durand,~N., Bard,~E., Hamelin,~B., Camoin,~G., Thomas,~A., Henderson,~G., and Yokoyama,~Y.: Synchroneity of Meltwater Pulse 1A and the Bolling onset: New evidence from the IODP Tahiti Sea-Level Expedition, Geophys. Res. Abstr., 11, EGU22009–10233, 2009. EPICA-community-members: One-to-one coupling of glacial climate variability in Greenland and Antarctica, Nature, 444, 195–198, \doi10.1038/nature05301, 2006. Fischer,~H., Behrens,~M., Bock,~M., Richter,~U., Schmitt,~J., Loulergue,~L., Chappellaz,~J., Spahni,~R., Blunier,~T., Leuenberger,~M., and Stocker,~T F.: Changing boreal methane sources and constant biomass burning during the last termination, Nature, 452, 864–867, \doi10.1038/nature06825, 2008. Goujon,~C., Barnola,~J.-M., and Ritz,~C.: Modeling the densification of polar firn including heat diffusion: Application to close-off characteristics and gas isotopic fractionation for Antarctica and Greenland sites, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 4792, \doi10.1029/2002JD003319, 2003. Hanebuth,~T., Stattegger,~K., and Grootes,~P M.: Rapid flooding of the Sunda Shelf: a~late-glacial sea-level record, Science, 288, 1033–1035, \doi10.1126/science.288.5468.1033, 2000. Joos,~F. and Spahni,~R.: Rates of change in natural and anthropogenic radiative forcing over the past 20 000 years, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 105, 1425–1430, \doi10.1073/pnas.0707386105, 2008. Keeling,~R F., Piper,~S., Bollenbacher,~A., and Walker,~J.: Atmospheric \chemCO_2 records from sites in the SIO air sampling network, in: Trends: A~Compendium of Data on Global Change, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory,~US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., USA, 2009. Kienast,~M., Hanebuth,~T., Pelejero,~C., and Steinke,~S.: Synchroneity of meltwater pulse 1a and the Bølling warming: New evidence from the South China Sea, Geology, 31, 67–70, 2003. Köhler,~P.: Rapid changes in ice core gas records – Part 1: On the accuracy of methane synchronisation of ice cores, Clim. Past Discuss., 6, 1453–1471, doi:10.5194/cpd-6-1453-2010, 2010. Köhler,~P. and Fischer,~H.: Simulating changes in the terrestrial biosphere during the last glacial/interglacial transition, Global Planet. Change, 43, 33–55, \doi10.1016/j.gloplacha.2004.02.005, 2004. Köhler,~P., Fischer,~H., Munhoven,~G., and Zeebe,~R E.: Quantitative interpretation of atmospheric carbon records over the last glacial termination, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 19, GB4020, \doi10.1029/2004GB002345, 2005a. Köhler,~P., Joos,~F., Gerber,~S., and Knutti,~R.: Simulated changes in vegetation distribution, land carbon storage, and atmospheric \chemCO_2 in response to a~collapse of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation, Clim. Dynam., 25, 689–708, \doi10.1007/s00382-005-0058-8, 2005b. Köhler,~P., Bintanja,~R., Fischer,~H., Joos,~F., Knutti,~R., Lohmann,~G., and Masson-Delmotte,~V.: What caused Earth's temperature variations during the last 800 000 years? Data-based evidences on radiative forcing and constraints on climate sensitivity, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 29, 129–145, \doi10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.09.026, 2010a. Köhler,~P., Fischer,~H., and Schmitt,~J.: Atmospheric $\delta\chem^13CO_2$ and its relation to \chem\textitpCO_2 and deep ocean $\delta\chem^13C$ during the late Pleistocene, Paleoceanography, 25, PA1213, \doi10.1029/2008PA001703, 2010b. Kroopnick,~P M.: The distribution of \chem^13C of $\sum \chemCO_2$ in the world oceans, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 32, 57–84, 1985. Le Quéré,~C., Raupach,~M R., Canadell,~J G., Marland,~G., Bopp,~L., Ciais,~P., Conway,~T J., Doney,~S C., Feely,~R A., Foster,~P., Friedlingstein,~P., Gurney,~K., Houghton,~R A., House,~J I., Huntingford,~C., Levy,~P E., Lomas,~M R., Majku,~J., Metz,~N., Ometto,~J P., Peters,~G P., Prentice,~I C., Randerson,~J T., Running,~S W., Sarmiento,~J L., Schuster,~U., Sitch,~S., Takahashi,~T., Viovy,~N., van~der Werf,~G R., and Woodward,~F I.: Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide, Nat. Geosci., 2, 831–836, \doi10.1038/ngeo689, 2009. Lemieux-Dudon,~B., Blayo,~E., Petit,~J.-R., Waelbroeck,~C., Svensson,~A., Ritz,~C., Barnola,~J.-M., Narcisi,~B M., and Parrenin,~F.: Consistent dating for Antarctic and Greenland ice cores, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 29, 8–20, \doi10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.010, 2010. Lenton,~T M., Held,~H., Kriegler,~E., Hall,~J W., Lucht,~W., Rahmstorf,~S., and Schellnhuber,~H J.: Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 105, 1786–1793, \doi10.1073/pnas.0705414, 105, 2008. Lloyd,~J. and Farquhar,~G D.: \chem^13C discrimination during \chemCO_2 assimilation by the terrestrial biosphere, Oecologia, 99, 201–215, 1994. Lourantou,~A., Lavrič,~J V., Köhler,~P., Barnola,~J.-M., Michel,~E., Paillard,~D., Raynaud,~D., and Chappellaz,~J.: Constraint of the \chemCO_2 rise by new atmospheric carbon isotopic measurements during the last deglaciation, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 24, GB2015, \doi10.1029/2009GB003545, 2010. Monnin,~E., Indermühle,~A., Dällenbach,~A., Flückiger,~J., Stauffer,~B., Stocker,~T F., Raynaud,~D., and Barnola,~J.-M.: Atmospheric \chemCO_2 concentrations over the last glacial termination, Science, 291, 112–114, 2001. NorthGRIP-members: High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the last interglacial period, Nature, 431, 147–151, 2004. Peltier,~W R.: On the hemispheric origin of meltwater pulse 1a, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 24, 1655–1671, 2005. Peltier,~W R. and Fairbanks,~R G.: Global glacial ice volume and Last Glacial Maximum duration from an extended Barbados sea level record, Quaternary Sci. Rev,, 25, 3322–3337, \doi10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.04.010, 2007. Sabine,~C L., Feely,~R A., Gruber,~N., Key,~R M., Lee,~K., Bullister,~J L., Wanninkhof,~R., Wong,~C S., Wallace,~D W R., Tilbrook,~B., Millero,~F J., Peng,~T.-H., Kozyr,~A., Ono,~T., and Rios,~A F.: The oceanic sink for anthropogenic \chemCO_2, Science, 305, 367–371, 2004a. Sabine,~C L., Heimann,~M., Artaxo,~P., Bakker,~D C E., Arthur,~C.-T., Field,~C B., Gruber,~N., Le Quéré,~C., Prinn,~R G., Richey,~J E., Lankao,~P R., Sathaye,~J A., and Valentini,~R.: Current status and past trends of the global carbon cycle, in: The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate, and the Natural World, edited by: Field,~C B. and Raupach,~M R., Island Press, Washington, Covelo, London, 17–44, 2004b. Schmittner,~A. and Galbraith,~E D.: Glacial greenhouse-gas fluctuations controlled by ocean circulation changes, Nature, 456, 373–376, \doi10.1038/nature07531, 2008. Scholze,~M., Kaplan,~J O., Knorr,~W., and Heimann,~M.: Climate and interannual variability of the atmosphere-biosphere \chem^13CO_2 flux, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1097, \doi10.1029/2002GL015631, 2003. Siddall,~M., Rohling,~E J., Thompson,~W G., and Waelbroeck,~C.: Marine isotope stage 3 sea level fluctuations: data synthesis and new outlook, Rev. Geophys., 46, RG4003, \doi10.1029/2007RG000226, 2008. Siegenthaler,~U. and Münnich,~K O.: \chem^13C/\chem^12C fractionation during \chemCO_2 transfer from air to sea, in: Carbon Cycle Modelling, edited by: Bolin,~B., vol 16 of SCOPE, Wiley and Sons, Chichester, NY, 249–257, 1981. Smith,~H J., Fischer,~H., Wahlen,~M., Mastroianni,~D., and Deck,~B.: Dual modes of the carbon cycle since the Last Glacial Maximum, Nature, 400, 248–250, 1999. Smith,~W H. and Sandwell,~D T.: Global sea floor topography from satellite altimetry and ship depth soundings, Science, 277, 1956–1962, \doi10.1126/science.277.5334.1956, 1997. Spahni,~R., Chappellaz,~J., Stocker,~T F., Loulergue,~L., Hausammann,~G., Kawamura,~K., Flückiger,~J., Schwander,~J., Raynaud,~D., Masson-Delmotte,~V., and Jouzel,~J.: Atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide of the late Pleistocene from Antarctic ice cores, Science, 310, 1317–1321, \doi10.1126/science.1120132, 2005. Stanford,~J D., Rohling,~E J., Hunter,~S E., Roberts,~A P., Rasmussen,~S O., Bard,~E., McManus,~J., and Fairbanks,~R G.: Timing of meltwater pulse 1a and climate responses to meltwater injections, Paleoceanography, 21, PA4103, \doi10.1029/2006PA001340, 2006. Steffensen,~J P., Andersen,~K K., Bigler,~M., Clausen,~H B., Dahl-Jensen,~D., Fischer,~H., Goto-Azuma,~K., Hansson,~M., Johnsen,~S J., Jouzel,~J., Masson-Delmotte,~V., Popp,~T., Rasmussen,~S O., Rothlisberger,~R., Ruth,~U., Stauffer,~B., Siggaard-Andersen,~M.-L., Sveinbjörnsdóttir,~A E., Svensson,~A., and White,~J W C.: High-resolution Greenland ice core data show abrupt climate change happens in few years, Science, 321, 680–684, \doi10.1126/science.1157707, 2008. Stenni,~B., Masson-Delmotte,~V., Johnsen,~S., Jouzel,~J., Longinelli,~A., Monnin,~E., Röthlisberger,~R., and Selmo,~E.: An oceanic cold reversal during the last deglaciation, Science, 293, 2074–2077, 2001. Thompson,~W G. and Goldstein,~S L.: A~radiometric calibration of the SPECMAP timescale, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 25, 3207–3206, \doi10.1016/j.quascirev.2006.02.007, 2007. Zeng, N.: Quasi-100 ky glacial-interglacial cycles triggered by subglacial burial carbon release, Clim. Past, 3, 135–153, doi:10.5194/cp-3-135-2007, 2007.