A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting

Lin, Y.; Hibbert, F.; Whitehouse, P.; Woodroffe, S.; Purcell, A.; Shennan, I.; Bradley, S.

Abstract

The most rapid global sea-level rise event of the last deglaciation, Meltwater Pulse 1A (MWP-1A), occurred ∼14,650 years ago. Considerable uncertainty regarding the sources of meltwater limits understanding of the relationship between MWP-1A and the concurrent fast-changing climate. Here we present a data-driven inversion approach, using a glacio-isostatic adjustment model to invert for the sources of MWP-1A via sea-level constraints from six geographically distributed sites. The results suggest contributions from Antarctica, 1.3 m (0–5.9 m; 95% probability), Scandinavia, 4.6 m (3.2–6.4 m) and North America, 12.0 m (5.6–15.4 m), giving a global mean sea-level rise of 17.9 m (15.7–20.2 m) in 500 years. Only a North American dominant scenario successfully predicts the observed sea-level change across our six sites and an Antarctic dominant scenario is firmly refuted by Scottish isolation basin records. Our sea-level based results therefore reconcile with field-based ice-sheet reconstructions.

Citation

Lin, Y., Hibbert, F., Whitehouse, P., Woodroffe, S., Purcell, A., Shennan, I., & Bradley, S. (2021). A reconciled solution of Meltwater Pulse 1A sources using sea-level fingerprinting. Nature Communications, 12, Article 2015. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21990-y

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 22, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021
• Deposit Date: Mar 15, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 8, 2021
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Article Number: 2015
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21990-y
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1279123