Tag

Deglaciation

All articles tagged with #deglaciation

climate-change2 years ago

The Dominance of Tipping Events in Climate Evolution

Two major tipping events, the Chicxulub meteor impact and the glaciation of the Southern hemisphere, have dominated the evolution of Earth's climate system over the past 66 million years. These events set the stage for further climate tipping and shaped the trajectory of future climate changes. If current anthropogenic climate change leads to deglaciation, it could represent a landmark tipping point with serious repercussions for the climate landscape. The study highlights the importance of understanding and mitigating the destabilization of tipping elements in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

earth-science2 years ago

Indian Ocean Salt Key to Ending Ice Ages

A new study suggests that a build-up of salinity in the Indian Ocean during the last ice age may have primed the ocean for a recovery of circulation during deglaciation. The Agulhas system, which transports warm and salty water from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, played a key role in this process. The study used sediment cores to reconstruct past ocean conditions and found that changes in the Agulhas system were linked to changes in the Indian Ocean's freshwater balance. The findings have implications for understanding how the ocean responds to climate change.