Decadal-resolution early Holocene temperature and precipitation reconstruction near Disko Bugt, western Greenland

Abstract:

Quantifying ice sheet responses to climate change is critical for predicting sea level rise in a warming world. In particular, increased precipitation may play an important role in offsetting ice sheet mass balance losses caused by rising temperatures. Past intervals of rapid climate change on human-relevant timescales provide natural experiments for quantifying ice sheet response to temperature and precipitation. During the early Holocene, western Greenland Ice Sheet retreat in the Disko Bugt region was punctuated by rapid and dramatic advances, likely in response to abrupt climate changes at 9.3 and 8.2 ka. The character of early Holocene decadal-scale temperature and precipitation changes in western Greenland remains unknown, however, so direct comparison of climate and ice sheet reconstructions currently is not possible. Leaf wax hydrogen isotopes reflect temperature and precipitation changes in the Arctic. We will present a decadal-resolution multiproxy record of early Holocene terrestrial temperature and precipitation using leaf wax hydrogen isotopes and other organic and inorganic proxies from a well-dated lake sediment sequence in the Disko Bugt region of western Greenland.