The hemispheric origins of meltwater pulse 1B

Abstract

Summary Antarctica has been proposed as a significant source of the meltwater that entered the oceans during Meltwater Pulse 1B (MWP1B) approximately 11,500 years ago. Support for this scenario has been provided by evidence that the deep fjords of coastal Antarctica, which were heavily glaciated at the maximum of glaciation, were deglaciated at this time. Further support for this scenario was provided by the observation that the inter-hemispheric sea level teleconnection associated with significant southern hemisphere deglaciation at this time provided an explanation of the highly non-monotonic relative sea level histories recorded at sites on the coast of Scotland, a region which had also been heavily glaciated at the last glacial maximum. Furthermore, it has been argued that a significant contribution to MWP1B must have also been delivered to the oceans by the abrupt northern hemisphere warming that occurred at the end of the Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal, which also occurred approximately 11,500 years ago. Our focus in the present paper is to distinguish between these two possible primary sources of MWP1B. The investigation of how local alterations to ice thicknesses are able to explain evidence which has previously been used to argue for an Antarctic dominant MWP1B will lead us to the conclusion that the Laurentide may be primary source of MWP1B.