New research using speleothem and ice core data reveals the Laacher See volcano eruption occurred earlier than previously thought, eliminating its role in triggering the Younger Dryas cold period. This breakthrough in dating climate archives provides valuable insight into past climate relationships and aids in predicting future climate changes.
The synchronization of data from two natural climate archives - a speleothem from the Herbstlabyrinth Cave in Hesse (Germany) and ice cores from Greenland - offers new insights into the chronology of abrupt climate change s in Central Europe . Geoscientists have found that the devastating eruption of the Laacher See volcano in Rhineland-Palatinate occurred earlier than previously assumed, ruling out its direct link to the sudden cold period approximately 13,000 years ago.
Research by scientists from Heidelberg University and Mainz University confirmed this finding. They precisely dated the volcanic eruption and estimated its climatic impact. The last eruption of the Laacher See volcano is considered one of the most devastating events of the past two million years, with effects reaching as far as northern Italy, Scandinavia, and Russia. The timing of the eruption and its connection to the Younger Dryas cold period have been subjects of scientific debate. A new temporal classification in 2021, using radiocarbon dating of tree trunks, suggested the eruption occurred 130 years earlier than previously thought. The research team from Heidelberg and Mainz confirmed this new date using a speleothem from the Herbstlabyrinth Cave in Breitscheid, Hesse. Since volcanic eruptions release high amounts of sulfur, this signal should be present in the speleothem. High-resolution sulfur and oxygen isotope measurements taken by an ion probe in Heidelberg were crucial in determining this. The ion probe allows for precise measurements of various isotope ratios and trace elements at a micrometer level. The geochemical data synchronized with an unattributed sulfate peak in Greenland ice cores. Statistical analyses, led by Prof. Dr. Denis Scholz, an expert in age determination of historical climate fluctuations at the Institute for Geosciences at Mainz University, solidified the findings. This synchronization represents a breakthrough for dating climate and environmental archives, as before, no absolutely dated time marker existed before the Younger Dryas cooling. Dr Sophie Warken, who researches climatic changes of past millennia at the Institutes of Earth Sciences and Environmental Physics at Heidelberg University, states that the new age determination shows the eruption occurred about 150 years before the Younger Dryas cold period. This excludes any causal relationship between the volcanic eruption and the abrupt climate change, explains Dr. Warken. The identification of sulfate spikes in Greenland ice cores allowed the research team to draw conclusions about the climatic events at the beginning of the Younger Dryas. Previously, it was unknown whether the climatic changes associated with this approximately 1,000-year cold period occurred simultaneously in the North Atlantic region and Europe or if it spread from Greenland to Central Europe over several decades or even centuries. Our results indicate a simultaneous significant temperature drop, suggesting a direct link between the Central European and Arctic climates, explains Dr. Warken. The research results offer new perspectives for understanding complex past climate relationships and provide a solid basis for more precise predictions of future climate developments, as emphasized by Sophie Warken. The research was part of the collaborative 'Terrestrial Magmatic Systems' (TeMaS) project, conducted jointly by Heidelberg University, Goethe University Frankfurt (Main), and Mainz University, funded by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and others. Additional funding was provided by the German Research Foundation and the European Research Council. The findings were published in the journal 'Science Advances.
Geology Archaeology Climate Change Volcanic Eruption Younger Dryas Speleothem Ice Cores Laacher See Central Europe Climate History Dating Methods
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