Resolving the Euro-Atlantic Temperature Conundrum of Rapid Deglaciation

Abrupt climate shifts with extreme impacts on ecosystems are a recurrent feature of Earth´s history. With the current rapid warming of our planet, crossing tipping points becomes a major concern.

Despite their significance, the causes and impacts of these events, both regionally and globally, are poorly understood and climate models appear to project rather gradual changes.

This project aims to shed light on the mechanisms and consequences of abrupt climate shifts by studying the latest sequence of climate shifts during the Deglaciation period (~15,000 to 9,000-years ago).

We will utilize a novel approach that combines geological reconstructions and lake modelling of local scale impacts with large-scale atmospheric fields from climate modelling.

Machine learning will be applied to link local-scale patterns with physical-dynamical consistent atmospheric fields generated by the climate model.

By re-sampling these fields in time based on the best match with local climate proxy information across Europe, we will provide crucial insights into the mechanisms behind abrupt shifts and resolve the extreme seasonal cycle of past temperature proxies.

Our results will also facilitate the reconstruction of additional variables such as precipitation and droughts, for which no quantitative climate proxies exist.

This project will improve our ability to assess the future impacts of abrupt shifts and mitigate the impacts of future climate changes.