Climatic Record in North Atlantic Deep-Sea Core V23-82: Comparison of the Last and Present Interglacials Based on Quantitative Time Series

Abstract

In North Atlantic deep-sea core V23-82, changing surface water conditions are revealed by changing composition of fauna and flora. Sedimentation rate seems to vary little so that approximate dating of climatic events within the X zone of Ericson is possible. These include an interglacial temperature maximum at 124,000 YBP; start of the post-Eemian cooling at about 116,000 YBP; and peak cool conditions at about 110,000 YBP, followed by warming.Drop in summer and winter temperatures about two-thirds of the way towards full glacial values and a significant drop of salinity is suggested by quantitative paleoenvironmental analysis of the 110,000 YBP cold episode.If the Eemian is taken as the analog of the present interglacial, a point in time 116,000 YBP becomes the historical model for today's ocean, and the North Atlantic is now approaching a time of severe cooling.