Cited by 133Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchGroundwater and Isotope GeochemistryClimate variability and models

Widespread six degrees Celsius cooling on land during the Last Glacial Maximum

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Seltzer, Alan M., Ng, Jessica, Aeschbach, Werner, Kipfer, Rolf, Kulongoski, Justin T., Severinghaus, Jeffrey P., Stute, Martin·2021·Nature

Abstract

The magnitude of global cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, the coldest multimillennial interval of the last glacial period) is an important constraint for evaluating estimates of Earth's climate sensitivity 1,2. Reliable LGM temperatures come from high-latitude ice cores 3,4, but substantial disagreement exists between proxy records in the low latitudes 1,5-8, where quantitative low-elevation records on land are scarce. Filling this data gap, noble gases in ancient groundwater record past land surface temperatures through a direct physical relationship that is rooted in their temperature-dependent solubility in water 9,10. Dissolved noble gases are suitable tracers of LGM temperature because of their complete insensitivity to biological and chemical processes and the ubiquity of LGM-aged groundwater around the globe 11,12. However, although several individual noble gas studies have found substantial tropical LGM cooling 13-16, they have used different methodologies and provide limited spatial coverage. Here we use noble gases in groundwater to show that the low-altitude, low-to-mid-latitude land surface (45 degrees south to 35 degrees north) cooled by 5.8 ± 0.6 degrees Celsius (mean ± 95% confidence interval) during the LGM. Our analysis includes four decades of groundwater noble gas data from six continents, along with new records from the tropics, all of which were interpreted using the same physical framework. Our land-based result broadly supports a recent reconstruction based on marine proxy data assimilation 1 that suggested greater climate sensitivity than previous estimates 5-7.

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  • Tracing back the post-LGM or Holocene ice loss rate from current measurements is difficult considering that climate was at least 6 °C colder during the LGM.

    “Tracing back the post-LGM or Holocene ice loss rate from current measurements is difficult considering that climate was at least 6 °C colder during the LGM”

    From Fast uplift in the southern Patagonian Andes due to long- and short-term deglaciation and the asthenospheric window underneath (2024) · cites this paper as Seltzer et al., 2021

    The Abstract (page unavailable) reports 5.8 ± 0.6 °C LGM cooling for low-altitude land between 45°S and 35°N. That supports roughly 6 °C cooling in the studied region, but not a claim that climate generally was at least 6 °C colder. The paper does not address whether current measurements make post-LGM or Holocene ice-loss rates difficult to reconstruct. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Savin, P. K., C., S. K., J., L. & S., M.) 89-100 (American Geophysical Union (AGU), 1993). doi:10.1029/gm078p0089 · DOI
  2. Aeschbach-Hertig, W. & Solomon, D. K. The Noble Gases as Geochemical Tracers. in The Noble Gases as Geochemical Tracers (ed. Burnard, P.) 81-122 (Springer, 2013). doi:10.1007/978-3- 642-28836-4 · DOI
  3. Oeschger, H. & Langway, C. C.) 53-67 (Wiley, 1989).

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Authors
Seltzer, A. M., Ng, J., Aeschbach, W., Kipfer, R., Kulongoski, J. T., Severinghaus, J. P., & Stute, M.
Affiliations
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US)
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
  • Heidelberg University (DE)
  • ETH Zurich (CH)
  • Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (US)
Corresponding author
Seltzer, Alan M.
Venue
Nature
Published
2021-05-12
Volume
593
Issue
7858
Pages
228-232
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W3160078815
Cited by
133
References
83
Citations by year
2026: 16 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 8
FWCI
8.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DORA Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (1702571, 1923915, 1702704)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
Keywords
Last Glacial Maximum, land surface cooling, dissolved noble gases, paleoclimate reconstruction, climate sensitivity, paleotemperature proxies
MeSH terms
Altitude, Climate, Cold Temperature, Noble Gases, Solubility, Reproducibility of Results, Ice Cover, History, Ancient, Climate Change, Groundwater

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