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Tree rings and ice cores reveal 14C calibration uncertainties during the Younger Dryas

Nature Geoscience volume 1, pages 263–267 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The Younger Dryas interval during the Last Glacial Termination was an abrupt return to glacial-like conditions punctuating the transition to a warmer, interglacial climate. Despite recent advances in the layer counting of ice-core records of the termination, the timing and length of the Younger Dryas remain controversial. Also, a steep rise in the concentration of atmospheric radiocarbon at the onset of the interval, recorded primarily in the Cariaco Basin, has been difficult to reconcile with simulations of the Younger Dryas carbon cycle. Here we discuss a radiocarbon chronology from a tree-ring record covering the Late Glacial period that has not been absolutely dated. We correlate the chronology to ice-core timescales using the common cosmic production signal in tree-ring 14C and ice-core 10Be concentrations. The results of this correlation suggest that the Cariaco record may be biased by changes in the concentration of radiocarbon in the upper ocean during the early phase of the Younger Dryas climate reversal in the Cariaco basin. This bias in the marine record may also affect the accuracy of a widely used radiocarbon calibration curve over this interval. Our tree-ring-based radiocarbon record is easily reconciled with simulated production rates and carbon-cycle changes associated with reduced ocean ventilation during the Younger Dryas.

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Figure 1: δ18O (ref. 36), 10Be flux and 14C production rate for the period from 15,000 to 10,000 yr BP.
Figure 2: Correlation coefficient for a linear correlation between the 14C production rate from the floating tree-ring record and the climate-corrected 10Be flux to Summit.
Figure 3: Comparison of tree-ring-based 14C ages versus calendar ages with several independent calibration records.
Figure 4: Modelled and measured Δ14C and δ18O during the YD.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Schaub for his contribution to the building of the Swiss Late Glacial tree-ring chronology supported by the Department of Construction of Canton Zurich, Switzerland. This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council. B.K. and M.F. were funded by the ESF (European Science Foundation), EuroCores project ‘EuroClimate’ (Kr 726/3). Initial tree-ring work of M.F. was funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (DEKLIM—PROSIMUL1/01LD0002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoBiosphere Science Centre, Quaternary Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 22362 Lund, Sweden

    R. Muscheler & S. Björck

  2. Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Umweltphysik, Im Neuenheimer Feld 229, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

    B. Kromer & M. Friedrich

  3. Niels Bohr Institute, Ice and Climate Research, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

    A. Svensson

  4. Hohenheim University, Institute of Botany, Garbenstrasse 30, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany

    M. Friedrich

  5. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    K. F. Kaiser

  6. Department of Geography, University of Zürich-Irchel, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland

    K. F. Kaiser

  7. Department of Earth System Science, B321 Croul Hall, University of California, Irvine, California 92697-3100, USA

    J. Southon

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Contributions

R.M. proposed the 10Be–14C link, initiated the paper and did the calculations. Each co-author contributed especially to his own field of expertise. B.K., M.F. and K.F.K. were the main contributors for the development of the floating tree-ring 14C record. A.S. provided details on the ice-core dating and accumulation rate. S.B. and J.S. provided background and input on the climate, dating and correlation discussion. J.S. suggested a similar placement of the floating tree-ring chronology at the Second Carlsberg Dating Conference in Copenhagen. R.M. wrote the paper, with comments and input provided by all other authors.

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Correspondence to R. Muscheler.

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Muscheler, R., Kromer, B., Björck, S. et al. Tree rings and ice cores reveal 14C calibration uncertainties during the Younger Dryas. Nature Geosci 1, 263–267 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo128

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