Climate of the Past
Climate of the Past
CP

Snapshots of mean ocean temperature over the last 700 000 years using noble gases in the EPICA Dome C ice core

14 April 2021

Using the temperature-dependent solubility of noble gases in ocean water, the authors reconstruct global mean ocean temperature (MOT) over the last 700 kyr using noble gas ratios in air enclosed in polar ice cores. Their record shows that glacial MOT was about 3 °C cooler compared to the Holocene. Interglacials before 450 kyr ago were characterized by about 1.5 °C lower MOT than the Holocene. In addition, some interglacials show transient maxima in ocean temperature related to changes in ocean circulation.

The press release by the University of Bern can be found at: https://www.unibe.ch/news/media_news/media_relations_e/media_releases/2021/media_releases_2021/ocean_temperature_reconstructed_over_the_last_700000_years/index_eng.html

Snapshots of mean ocean temperature over the last 700 000 years using noble gases in the EPICA Dome C ice core
Marcel Haeberli, Daniel Baggenstos, Jochen Schmitt, Markus Grimmer, Adrien Michel, Thomas Kellerhals, and Hubertus Fischer
Clim. Past, 17, 843–867, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-843-2021, 2021

Contact: Hubertus Fischer (hubertus.fischer@climate.unibe.ch)