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A mechanism for reconciling the synchronisation of Heinrich events and Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles

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Schannwell, Clemens, Mikolajewicz, Uwe, Kapsch, Marie-Luise, Ziemen, Florian·2024·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-47141-7PMC PMC10997585
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Abstract

The evolution of the northern hemispheric climate during the last glacial period was beset by quasi-episodic iceberg discharge events from the Laurentide ice sheet, known as Heinrich events (HEs). The paleo record places most HEs into the cold stadial of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle. However, not every Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle is associated with a HE, revealing a complex interplay between the two modes of glacial variability. Here, using a coupled ice sheet-solid earth model, we introduce a mechanism that explains the synchronicity of HEs and Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. Unlike earlier studies, our mechanism does not require a trigger during the stadial. Instead, the atmospheric warming signal during the interstadial of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle causes enhanced ice stream thickening that leads to the HE during the late interstadial. We demonstrate that this mechanism reproduces the key HE characteristics and provides an explanation for synchronous HEs from different regions of the Laurentide ice sheet.

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  • At least 25 D-O cycles were identified based on δ18O of NGRIP.

    “at least 25 D- O cycles were identified based on δ 18 O of NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core) (Held etal., 2024; NGRIP members, 2004; Schannwell etal., 2024).”

    From Microbial mediation and climatic control on dolomite precipitation in a hypersaline lake: Insights from Salinas Lake, southern Iberia (2026) · cites this paper as Schannwell et al., 2024

    The Introduction (page unavailable) discusses Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles and ice-core temperature reconstructions, but does not say that at least 25 cycles were identified from NGRIP δ18O. The Methods section’s counts of 38 and 82 cycles refer to simulations, not an identification in the ice-core record. Searches for NGRIP, δ18O, and 25 cycles found no passage establishing the claim. (LLM, conf=0.72)

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References 36 · Cited by 6

Research works printed but not linked: 32

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Authors
Schannwell, C., Mikolajewicz, U., Kapsch, M.-L., & Ziemen, F.
Affiliations
  • Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (DE)
  • German Climate Computing Centre (DE)
Corresponding author
Schannwell, Clemens
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-04-05
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
2961-2961
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-47141-7
PMC
PMC10997585
OpenAlex
W4393975272
Cited by
6
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1
FWCI
1.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (01LP1916A, 01LP1917B)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Cryospheric studies and observations
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
Keywords
Heinrich events, Dansgaard-Oeschger events, Laurentide Ice Sheet, iceberg discharge, last glacial period

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