Holocene climate variability and change; a data-based review
Abstract
The Holocene Thermal Maximum with peak temperatures prior to 7 ka BP is mostly accentuated in the Northern Hemisphere, still visible in the Southern Hemisphere and possibly did not exist in the tropics. Between this period and the modern warming a remarkable negative temperature trend occurred in the Northern Hemisphere, which was probably the effect of a decreasing orbital-induced insolation during the boreal summer. On average the Northern Hemisphere humidity–precipitation records do not show any significant trend. A mechanistic explanation for the multi-decadal- to century-scale Holocene cold relapses, which mainly occurred in the Atlantic–European regions, exists for only the early Holocene cooling events, which are probably the result of a collapse of the meridional overturning circulation owing to freshwater outbursts from the Laurentide ice sheet. Possibly, the late Holocene cold events after c . 4 ka BP are influenced by the covarying influence of major tropical volcanic eruptions and Grand Solar Minima.
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The shift to warming is first indicated by a slight change to less negative δ18O in Greenland ice from ~1900 C.E.
“The shift to warming ( 80, 81 ; Fig. 6C) is first indicated by a slight change to less negative δ 18 O in Greenland ice from ~1900 C.E. (Fig. 6A).”
From The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene (2016) · cites this paper as [81]
This shift is mainly due to greenhouse gases released from burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
“mainly due to greenhouse gases released from burning of fossil fuels and deforestation ( 79, 81, 82 ).”
From The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene (2016) · cites this paper as [81]
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The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene
Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Barnosky, A. D., Poirier, C., Gałuszka, A., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Ellis, E. C., Ellis, M., et al. (2016) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aad2622 · Cited by 2,375 · see citing works
“6C), mainly due to greenhouse gases released from burning of fossil fuels and deforestation (79, 81, 82).”
BackgroundInfluential
- Authors
- Wanner, H., Mercolli, L., Grosjean, M., & Ritz, S. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Bern (CH)
- Venue
- Journal of the Geological Society
- Publisher
- Geological Society of London
- Published
- 2014-10-17
- Volume
- 172
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 254-263
- ISSN
- 0016-7649 (ISSN-L)
- 2041-479X
- OpenAlex
- W2009503337
- Cited by
- 218
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 9
- FWCI
- 9.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the Geological Society (publishedVersion)
- BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate variability and models
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and environmental studies
- Keywords
- Holocene climate variability, Holocene Thermal Maximum, Northern Hemisphere cooling, orbital insolation, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation collapse, tropical volcanic eruptions, grand solar minima, late Holocene cooling
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