The impact of the North Atlantic Ocean on the Younger Dryas climate in northwestern and central Europe

✍ Scribed by René F. B. Isarin; Hans Renssen; Jef Vandenberghe

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 201 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0267-8179
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(1998090)13:5<447::aid-jqs402>3.0.co;2-b

✦ Synopsis

The main results of multiproxy climate reconstructions for the Younger Dryas and experiments carried out with an atmospheric general circulation model are discussed. Quantitative temperature inferences for northwestern and central Europe show that winter conditions were remarkably extreme, with values of 20-30°C below that of today. Annual temperature ranges with a continental signature (30-34°C) were reconstructed for the entire study area. Compared with today, the greatest cooling was experienced in the seaboard area. The comparison of the climate reconstructions and simulation experiments indicates that sea-ice in the North Atlantic Ocean played a decisive role in the climate of the study area by cooling the surface air temperatures and by controlling the position of the storm track. Surface air circulation was westerly even during Younger Dryas winters. A slight northward shift of the mean Atlantic seaice margin during winter may explain the proposed subdivision of the Younger Drays into a phase of maximum cold and humidity succeeded by a less cold and relatively dry phase.