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The Iceberg in the Mist: Northern Research in pursuit of a “Little Ice Age” pp 101–119Cite as

The Time Period A.D. 1400–1980 in Central Greenland Ice Cores in Relation to the North Atlantic Sector

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Abstract

This paper presents a review of the time period A.D. 1400–1980 based on Greenland ice cores from the central west Greenland averaged record, and from winter and summer seasonal isotopic records from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2). This time period includes the so-called “Little Ice Age”. The concept of the “Little Ice Age” has evolved from the idea of a simple, centuries-long period of lower temperatures to a more complex view of temporal and spatial climatic variability. In the central Greenland ice core isotopic signals, the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries show multi-decadal excursions above and below the mean reference. The sixteenth and mid-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries are notable for decade-to-decade swings (high-low) in the isotopic signal, while multi-decadal low excursions dominate the seventeenth century. The “subdued” nature of the “Little Ice Age” isotopic signal in central Greenland is probably influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which presents opposing temperature excursions between west Greenland and northern Europe. Changes in the prevailing atmospheric circulation (Iceland Low) can explain some of the spatial and temporal variability between the central Greenland isotopic records and Iceland temperature.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Campus Box 450, Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0450, USA

    L. K. Barlow

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  1. L. K. Barlow
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, 1560 30th Street, Campus Box 450, 80309-0450, Boulder, CO, USA

    Astrid E. J. Ogilvie

  2. Department of Research and Processing, Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bústaðavegur 9, ÍS-150, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Trausti Jónsson

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Barlow, L.K. (2001). The Time Period A.D. 1400–1980 in Central Greenland Ice Cores in Relation to the North Atlantic Sector. In: Ogilvie, A.E.J., Jónsson, T. (eds) The Iceberg in the Mist: Northern Research in pursuit of a “Little Ice Age”. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3352-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3352-6_4

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3352-6

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