Blanchonreefdrowning
Blanchonreefdrowning
Blanchonreefdrowning
net/publication/230892012
Reef drowning during the last deglaciation: Evidence for catastrophic sea-level
rise and ice-sheet collapse
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ICE-SHEET–OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE
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The correlation between CREs and
ocean-atmosphere reorganization (Fig. 4)
implies that ice-sheet collapse had a signif-
icant impact on climate. This is best illus-
trated by covariant trends in ice-sheet and
ocean records. Abrupt changes occurred in
all records at ;14.5 ka (Fig. 4): glacial air
masses over Greenland were suddenly (,10
yr) replaced by warmer, moister, and less
dusty conditions (Alley et al., 1993; Dans-
gaard et al., 1993; Mayewski et al., 1993), the
sea-ice– covered North Atlantic was invaded
by warm-water masses (Koç et al., 1993; Leh-
man and Keigwin, 1992), and deep waters
overturned in response to North Atlantic
deep-water formation (Charles and Fair-
banks, 1992). Although temperature and
snow-accumulation trends show gradual de-
terioration (Dansgaard et al., 1993; Alley
et al., 1993), these conditions persisted until
the next major reorganization at 12.9 ka—
the onset of the Younger Dryas—when
ocean-atmosphere circulation abruptly re-
verted to former glacial-type patterns (Leh-
Figure 4. Rate of sea-level rise, differentiated from curve in Figure 3, correlated with Northern man and Keigwin, 1992; Taylor et al., 1993).
Hemisphere insolation and ocean-atmosphere changes during last deglaciation. Ice-core
records of dust (Mayewski et al., 1993), snow (Alley et al., 1993), and temperature (Dansgaard Finally, at ;11.5 ka, the Younger Dryas was
et al., 1993) are dated by layer counting with an estimated accuracy of 3%. With these errors terminated by an abrupt (,3 yr) reorgani-
considered, CREs in sea-level record are synchronous with atmospheric-reorganization events zation in ocean-atmosphere circulation that
recorded in ice cores. Note how Heinrich layers immediately precede oceanic reorganization heralded the start of present interglacial
events that correlate with CREs and atmospheric reorganizations.
conditions (Alley et al., 1993; Koç et al.,
1993).
1992). These Heinrich (H) layers, as they affected by bioturbation, and this is con- On the basis of the coincident timing of
are called, record the massive discharge of firmed by numerous date reversals in the CREs, we propose that this covariant pat-
icebergs into the North Atlantic resulting best dated cores (e.g., DSOP 609 in Bond tern of dramatic ocean-atmosphere reorga-
from the collapse of the Laurentide ice et al., 1992). Nevertheless, the youngest date nization resulted from atmospheric thresh-
sheet (Bond et al., 1992), which, according in the H-1 age range correlates with CRE 1. old changes induced by a rapid decrease in
to some estimates, may have taken place in More reliable temporal evidence of ice- the elevation (collapse) of the Laurentide
,100 yr (Broecker et al., 1992). Such rapid sheet collapse has been identified from ice sheet. In this view, the first collapse
purges of ice into the North Atlantic would dated terrestrial and submerged diamictons event—marked by CRE 1 at 14.2 ka—low-
cause CREs that drowned the fast-growing on the north shore of the Hudson Strait ered the ice-sheet surface sufficiently to
Acropora reefs in the Caribbean. (Miller and Kaufman, 1990; Kaufman et al., change tropospheric boundary conditions,
To link ice-sheet collapse and CREs, we 1993). These, together with ice-direction weakening the ridge in the upper westerlies
matched deglacial ocean-volume changes, and source indicators, show that a major ice over the ice sheet and causing the split po-
recorded by the Caribbean sea-level curve, stream from the Labrador dome (the single lar-front jet stream to unite and rapidly re-
with patterns of climatic and oceanic change largest center of the Laurentide ice sheet) treat northward (COHMAP, 1988). This re-
recorded in ice and deep-ocean cores underwent surge-and-retreat events consist- treat facilitated the expansion of subtropical
(Fig. 4). This matching shows that episodes ent with collapse at ;14 and 11.5 ka— dates air masses and westerly winds; this, in turn,
of ice-sheet collapse, marked by H-1 and that match closely with CREs 1 and 2. caused retreat of North Atlantic sea ice and
H-0 layers in core V23-81 (Bond et al., Although ice-sheet collapse provides a allowed the warm western-boundary current
1993), correlate closely with CREs 1 and 2 compelling explanation for CREs 1 and 2, a to flow unrestricted into the northeast At-
and with reorganization of the ocean-atmo- link between CRE 3 at 7.6 ka and Northern lantic, reactivating deep-water formation. In
sphere system. A survey of 14C dates for Hemisphere ice-sheet instability is improb- addition to abrupt circum-Atlantic warming,
H-1, however, shows that calendar ages able because of the small volume of ice re- this rapid influx of subtropical water caused
range from 14.5 ka (Broecker et al., 1992) to maining at that time. Corrected 14C dates on a dramatic increase in evaporation rates and
16.9 ka (Bond et al., 1992; Andrews et al., marine cores from the shelves adjacent to delivered large amounts of moisture to Lau-
1994). For an event that is considered to be the Antarctic ice sheet, however, show that rentide margins. Snow accumulation rates
almost instantaneous (Bond et al., 1992), significant changes in marine-ice extent took doubled (Alley et al., 1993), and over the
such poor resolution indicates that dates are place between 7 and 8 ka (Herron and next few thousand years, the ice sheet began