Past warming events in the Arctic linked to shifting winds in the Antarctic

Abram, Nerilie J.

doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07495-7

NEWS AND VIEWS
28 November 2018

Past warming events in the Arctic linked to shifting winds in the Antarctic

During the most recent ice age, abrupt changes in the Arctic climate were transmitted through the ocean to Antarctica. An atmospheric link between the two hemispheres has now been identified across the Antarctic continent.

Nerilie J. Abram⁰

Nerilie J. Abram
1. Nerilie J. Abram is at the Research School of Earth Sciences and the Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, Australian National University, ACT 2601, Australia.
View author publications

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Access through your institution

Buy or subscribe

There are no precise analogues in Earth’s past for the rapid warming that the world is now facing as a result of rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, some periods of Earth’s history can reveal valuable details of the way in which different parts of the climate system respond and interact¹. Of particular interest are intervals of large and abrupt warming in the Arctic that occurred episodically during the most recent ice age (about 115,000–11,700 years ago). These climate shifts are known as Dansgaard–Oeschger events, and saw temperatures in Greenland jump by more than 10 °C in a matter of decades². On page 681, Buizert et al.³ report that these events altered the position of the westerly winds across the Southern Hemisphere — a finding that has implications for global ocean circulation and atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Access options

Access through your institution

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 563, 630-631 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07495-7

References

Fischer, H. et al. Nature Geosci. 11, 474–485 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
Kindler, P. et al. Clim. Past 10, 887–902 (2014).
Article Google Scholar
Buizert, C. et al. Nature 563, 681–685 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
Stocker, T. F. & Johnsen, S. J. Paleoceanography 18, 1087 (2003).
Article Google Scholar
WAIS Divide Project Members. Nature 520, 661–665 (2015).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Pedro, J. B. et al. Quat. Sci. Rev. 192, 27–46 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
EPICA Community Members. Nature 444, 195–198 (2006).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Markle, B. R. et al. Nature Geosci. 10, 36–40 (2017).
Article Google Scholar
Abram, N. J. et al. Nature 536, 411–418 (2016).
Article PubMed Google Scholar
Jones, J. M. et al. Nature Clim. Change 6, 917–926 (2016).
Article Google Scholar
Toggweiler, J. R. & Russell, J. Nature 451, 286–288 (2008).
Article PubMed Google Scholar