Core Data Show Greenland Warmed Rapidly By 10C 14,700 and 11,700 Years Ago - Bloomberg

June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Greenland's temperatures rose abruptly twice during the last ice age, said University of Copenhagen-led researchers who studied the phenomenon to learn how the world's climate can change violently.

Samples drilled from the island's ice sheet previously showed it warmed by more than 10 degrees Celsius (18 Fahrenheit) 14,700 years ago, and again 11,700 years ago, with a cooler period in between. The scientists examined the cores further and found the warming periods were accompanied by changing precipitation and wind patterns across the world, according to their findings, published yesterday in the journal Science.

``Such rapid climate change would challenge even the most modern societies to successfully adapt,'' said Jim White, a co- author of the paper and a scientist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, in a statement. ``Knowing how these massive events start and evolve is one of the most pressing climate questions we need to answer.''

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The Danish-led scientists studied dust and isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen stored in the ice. More dust indicates a colder climate, and a higher amount of the O-18 isotope of oxygen is a sign of warmer temperatures where precipitation falls, the university said. When the compacted ice contains more deuterium, a hydrogen isotope, it's a sign that temperatures are warmer at the place where the vapor originated from, it said. The warming period 11,700 years ago occurred over 60 years, while an excess of deuterium in the ice from 14,700 years ago showed the transition then took place over one to three years, the scientists said

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=abQ8EuR8Milo&refer=latin_america

To swipe phantom power's expression, that must have been exciting...

Although they don't say one way or the other.

One of my top 10 favorite disaster scenarios. :D

:evilgrin:

coincidence? I don't think so.



http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/IntroFourteenMigFS.html

Americas - there's very little, but tantalizing, evidence of people arriving @14,500 years ago, and much more, stronger evidence of a large migration @2000 years later.

"build the wall."