Geology Club Seminar

Measurements of atmospheric noble gas ratios in ice cores enable mean ocean temperature reconstruction at unprecedented resolution. A recent study of the last deglaciation (Termination I) showed tight covariation of mean ocean temperature and Antarctic temperature and a rapid ocean warming during the first 700 years of the Younger Dryas interval. Here, we take a closer look at Termination I with a high-resolution reconstruction of Younger Dryas mean ocean temperature change with an ice core record from Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. We then compare this record to that of Termination II and the Last Interglacial, also from Taylor Glacier. We quantify peak mean ocean temperature during the Last Interglacial and the thermosteric component of sea level rise during this period and discuss the implications of ocean circulation changes for mean ocean temperature on glacial and millennial timescales.