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www.clim-past-discuss.net/6/2117/2010/
doi:10.5194/cpd-6-2117-2010
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under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Rapid shifts in South American montane climates driven by pCO2 and ice volume changes over the last two glacial cycles
1University of Amsterdam, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2Universidad Distrital, Facultad del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Bogotá, Colombia
3University of Utrecht, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht, The Netherlands
4University of Leicester, Department of Geography, Leicester, UK
5University of Utrecht, Faculty of Science, Utrecht, The Netherlands
6University of Groningen, Centre for Isotope Research, Groningen, The Netherlands
7Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Sciencias, Depto. de Geosciencias, Bogotá, Colombia
8Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands
9Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Institute of Earth Sciences, Department of Paleoclimatology and Geomorphology, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
10Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogotá, Colombia
11Fundacion Tropenbos, Bogotá, Colombia
12Deltares, Subsurface and Groundwater Systems, Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Utrecht, The Netherlands
†deceased
Abstract. Tropical montane biome migration patterns in the northern Andes are found to be coupled to glacial-induced mean annual temperature (MAT) changes; however, the accuracy and resolution of current records are insufficient to fully explore their magnitude and rates of change. Here we present a ~60-year resolution pollen record over the past 284 000 years from Lake Fúquene (5° N) in Colombia. This record shows rapid and extreme MAT changes at 2540 m elevation of up to 10 ± 2 °C within a few hundred of years that concur with the ~100 and 41-kyr (obliquity) paced glacial cycles and North Atlantic abrupt climatic events as documented in ice cores and marine sediments. Using transient climate modelling experiments we demonstrate that insolation-controlled ice volume and greenhouse gasses are the major forcing agents causing the orbital MAT changes, but that the model simulations significantly underestimate changes in lapse rates and local hydrology and vegetation feedbacks within the studied region due to its low spatial resolution.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 3520 KB) Interactive Discussion (Closed, 6 Comments) Final Revised Paper (CP)
Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Groot, M. H. M., Bogotá, R. G., Lourens, L. J., Hooghiemstra, H., Vriend, M., Berrio, J. C., Tuenter, E., van der Plicht, J., van Geel, B., Ziegler, M., Weber, S. L., Betancourt, A., Contreras, L., Gaviria, S., Giraldo, C., González, N., Jansen, J. H. F., Konert, M., Ortega, D., Rangel, O., Sarmiento, G., Vandenberghe, J., van der Hammen, T., van der Linden, M., and Westerhoff, W.: Rapid shifts in South American montane climates driven by pCO2 and ice volume changes over the last two glacial cycles, Clim. Past Discuss., 6, 2117-2158, doi:10.5194/cpd-6-2117-2010, 2010. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
