Skip to main content

Last Glacial Interstadials

  • Reference work entry
Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Relatively warm periods recorded in Greenland ice cores during the last glacial.

Last glacial interstadials are strongly related to ocean circulation changes resulting from partial collapsing of continental ice. Sea-level changes also occurred. Ice cores obtained from deep drilling in Greenland by international collaborative efforts have revealed a detailed history of paleoclimates. One of the important discoveries from the ice cores was the identification of abrupt shifts in climate, in particular during the last glacial. Shifts in Greenland surface-air temperature were abrupt changing from cold status to warm status by as much as 10–15°C in decadal time scales or less. This had been previously found in the interval between 20,000 and 75,000 years ago (e.g., Dansgaard et al., 1982; Johnsen et al., 1972, 1992). In the meantime, deep-sea cores were also analyzed and indicated similar millennial scale oscillations. There are two types of rapid climate change according to...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 549.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Alley, R. B., 1998. Icing the North Atlantic. Nature, 392, 335–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alley, R. B., Dupont, T. K., Parizek, B. R., Anandakrishnan, S., Lawson, D. E., and Evenson, E. B., 2006. Outburst flooding and the initiation of ice-stream surges in response to climatic cooling: a hypothesis. Geomorphology, 75(1–2), 76–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, G. C., and Lotti, R., 1995. Iceberg discharges into the North Atlantic on millennial time scales during the last deglaciation. Science, 267, 1005–1010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, G. C., Broecker, W., Johnsen, S., McManus, J., Labeyrie, L., Jouzel, J., and Bonani, G., 1993. Correlations between climate records from North Atlantic sediments and Greenland ice. Nature, 365, 143–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabioch, G., and Ayliffe, L., 2001. Raised coral terraces at Malakula, Vanuatu Southwest Pacific, indicate high sea level during Marine Isotope Stage 3. Quaternary Research, 56, 357–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappell, J., Omura, A., Esat, T. M., McCulloch, M., Pandolfi, J., Ota, Y., and Pillans, B., 1996. Reconciliation of late Quaternary sea levels derived from coral terraces at Huon Peninsula with deep sea oxygen isotope records. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 141, 227–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, P. U., Hostetler, S. W., Pisias, N. G., Schmittner, A., and Meissner, K. J., 2007. Mechanisms for a ∼7 kyr climate and sea-level oscillation during marine isotope stage 3. In Schmittner, A., Chiang, J., and Hemming, S. (eds.), Ocean Circulation: Mechanisms and Impacts. Geophysical Monograph 173. Washington, DC: AGU, pp. 209–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dansgaard, W., Clausen, H. B., Gundestrup, N., Hammer, C. U., Johnsen, S. F., Kristinsdottir, P. M., and Reeh, N., 1982. A new Greenland deep ice core. Science, 218, 1273–1277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esat, T. M., and Yokoyama, Y., 2006. Growth patterns of the last ice age coral terraces at Huon Peninsula. Global and Planetary Change, 54, 216–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flükiger, J., Knutti, R., and White, J. W. C., 2006. Oceanic processes as potential trigger and amplifying mechanisms for Heinrich events. Paleoceanography, 21, PA2014, doi:10.1029/2005PA001204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganopolski, A., and Rahmstorf, S., 2001. Rapid changes of glacial climate simulated in a coupled climate model. Nature, 409, 153–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinrich, H., 1988. Origin and consequences of cyclic ice rafting in the northeast Atlantic Ocean during the past 130,000 years. Quaternary Research, 29, 142–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemming, S. R., 2004. Heinrich events: massive late Pleistocene detritus layers of the North Atlantic and their global climate imprint. Reviews of Geophysics, 42(1), RG1005, doi:10.1029/2003RG000128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulbe, C. L., MacAyeal, D. R., Denton, G. H., Kleman, J., and Lowell, T. V., 2004. Catastrophic ice shelf breakup as the source of Heinrich event icebergs. Paleoceanography, 19, PA1004, doi:10.1029/2003PA000890.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen, S. F., Dansgaard, W., Clausen, H. B., and Langway, C. C. Jr., 1972. Oxygen isotope profiles through the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Nature, 235, 429–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen, S. F., Clausen, H. B., Dansgaard, W., Fuhrer, K., Gundestrup, N., Hammer, C., Iverson, P., Jouzel, J., Stauffer, B., and Steffensen, J. P., 1992. Irregular glacial interstadials recorded in a new Greenland ice core. Nature, 359, 311–313.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacAyeal, D. R., 1993. A low-order model of the Heinrich event cycle. Paleoceanography, 8(6), 767–773.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadeau, M. J., Pflaumann, U., and Voelker, A., 2000. Potential links between surging ice sheets, circulation changes, and the Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles in the Irminger Sea, 60–18 kyr. Paleoceanography, 15(4), 425–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, A. C., and Macintyre, I., 1985. Reef response to sea level rise: keep-up, catch-up or give-up. In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress, Tahiti. Vol. 3, pp. 105–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • North Greenland Ice Core Project Members, 2004. High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the Last interglacial period. Nature, 431, 147–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papa, B., Mysak, L., and Wang, Z., 2006. Intermittent ice sheet discharge events in northeastern North America during the last glacial period. Climate Dynamics, 26, 201–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddall, M., Rohling, E. J., Almogi-Labin, A., Hemleben, C., Meischner, D., Schmelzer, I., and Smeed, D. A., 2003. Sea-level fluctuation during the last glacial cycle. Nature, 423, 853–858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama, Y., Esat, T. M., Lambeck, K., and Fifield, L. K., 2000. Last ice age millennial scale climate changes recorded in Huon Peninsula corals. Radiocarbon, 42, 383–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama, Y., Esat, T. M., and Lambeck, K., 2001a. Coupled climate and sea-level changes deduced from Huon Peninsula coral terraces of the last ice age. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 193, 579–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama, Y., Esat, T. M., and Lambeck, K., 2001b. Last glacial sea-level change deduced from uplifted coral terraces of Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. Quaternary International, 83–85, 275–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yokoyama, Y., Matsuzaki, H., and Esat, T. M., 2008. Prospects for the new frontiers of earth and environmental sciences. Quaternary Geochronology, 3, 206–207.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this entry

Cite this entry

Yokoyama, Y. (2011). Last Glacial Interstadials. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_103

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics