Record Details
Routing of western Canadian Plains runoff during the 8.2 ka cold event
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Routing of western Canadian Plains runoff during the 8.2 ka cold event |
| Names |
Carlson, Anders E.
(creator) Clark, Peter U., 1956- (creator) Haley, Brian A. (creator) Klinkhammer, Gary P. (creator) |
| Date Issued | 2009-07-18 (iso8601) |
| Note | Copyrighted by American Geophysical Union. |
| Abstract | The collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet over Hudson Bay ~8.47 ka allowed the rapid drainage of glacial Lake Agassiz into the Labrador Sea, an event identified as causing a reduction in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the 8.2 ka cold event. Atmosphere-ocean models simulations based on this forcing, however, fail to reproduce several characteristics of this event, particularly its duration. Here we use planktonic foraminifera U/Ca records to document the routing of western Canadian Plains runoff that accompanied ice-sheet collapse. Geochemical modeling of the ~7 nmol/mol increase in U/Ca at the opening of Hudson Bay indicates an increase in freshwater discharge of 0.13 ± 0.03 Sverdrups (10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) from routing, a sufficient magnitude to cause an AMOC reduction. We suggest that this routing event suppressed AMOC strength for several centuries after the drainage of Lake Agassiz, explaining multi-centennial climate anomalies associated with the 8.2 ka cold event. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | Carlson, A. E., P. U. Clark, B. A. Haley, and G. P. Klinkhammer (2009), Routing of western Canadian Plains runoff during the 8.2 ka cold event, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L14704. |
