HR: 0800h
AN: PP31A-0893    [Abstracts]
TI: Climate change at 8200 yrs BP: A synthesis of paleoclimate proxy records
AU: * Morrill, C
EM: morrill@ucar.edu
AF: Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AU: Jacobsen, R M
EM: rmjaco@wm.edu
AF: Department of Geology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23185 United States
AU: Otto-Bliesner, B L
EM: ottobli@ucar.edu
AF: Climate and Global Dynamics Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307 United States
AB: Many paleoclimate proxy records show an abrupt climate change at 8200 yrs BP and there is strong evidence linking this event to the rapid drainage of Lake Agassiz through the Hudson Strait into the North Atlantic. This event is particularly important because it occurred during a time when temperatures were similar to or slightly higher than today, providing an example of how a warm, interglacial climate could be altered by an anomalous freshwater flux to the North Atlantic. Despite the importance of this event, no comprehensive global map of climate anomalies exists for this time. In this research, we have compiled nearly 100 high-resolution, well-dated proxy records that span the early Holocene. We have used statistical tests to objectively identify anomalies associated with the abrupt event at 8200 yrs BP. Regional patterns and magnitudes of climate change will be described. Because so many high-resolution records are available from this time period and the cause of the event is known relatively well, it provides an excellent opportunity for a comparison to coupled climate model simulations. We will discuss how our results can be compared with model output in order to understand the response of the climate system to freshwater anomalies and to test model sensitivity.
DE: 3344 Paleoclimatology
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 1610 Atmosphere (0315, 0325)
DE: 1620 Climate dynamics (3309)
DE: 1635 Oceans (4203)
SC: Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology [PP]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting