Abstract
The temperature distribution through the Greenland ice sheet at the Dye 3 borehole is a record of the past climatic changes in the Arctic. The numerical model of the temperature distribution now presented reproduces the observed temperature distribution within 0.03 K, and shows that the basal ice is still cooled 5 K by the cold ice-age climate. The results suggest a mean ice-age temperature of −32 ± 2°C, which is 12 K colder than the present temperature, and a precipitation rate 50 ± 25% of the present rate. Calculations of a more detailed temperature history through the present inter-glacial period reveal evidence of the AD 1920–50 maximum, the little ice age, and the Atlantic period.
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Dahl-Jensen, D., Johnsen, S. Palaeotemperatures still exist in the Greenland ice sheet. Nature 320, 250–252 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320250a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/320250a0
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