This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by van Geel, B. Articles by Schuurmans, C. J.E. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Climatic change in Chile at around 2700 BP and global evidence for solar forcing: a hypothesis

Centre for Geo-ecological Research, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Calvin J. Heusser

100 Clinton Road, Tuxedo, New York 10987, USA

Hans Renssen

Centre for Geo-ecological Research, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Cor J.E. Schuurmans

Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Universiteit Utrecht, PO Box 80005, 3508 TA Utrecht, The Netherlands

Palaeoecological and geological evidence for changing atmospheric circulation patterns in Chile indicates that equatorward and poleward shifts of the Southern Westerlies (Pacific precipitation source) were an important factor during Weichselian and Holocene climate change. We focus on the evidence and possible causes of considerable climate change in the Holocene at around 2700 BP, which was associated with a steep rise in atmospheric radiocarbon content, indicating an abrupt decrease in solar activity. Climate change may have been caused by the lowering of solar irradiation through two amplifying factors, namely (1) increased cosmic ray intensity, stimulating cloud formation and precipitation, and (2) reduced solar UV intensity, causing a decline of stratospheric ozone production and cooling as a result of less absorption of sunlight. A decrease in the latitudinal extent of Hadley Cell circulation may have occurred with concomitant equatorward relocation of mid-latitude storm tracks, which brought about northward movement of vegetation belts and advance of glaciers.

Key Words: Climatic teleconnections • solar forcing • climatic change • 2700 BP • Subboreal/Subatlantic transition • late Holocene • Chile

The Holocene, Vol. 10, No. 5, 659-664 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/09596830094908


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B.M. Chase, M.E. Meadows, L. Scott, D.S.G. Thomas, E. Marais, J. Sealy, and P.J. Reimer A record of rapid Holocene climate change preserved in hyrax middens from southwestern Africa Geology, August 1, 2009; 37(8): 703 - 706. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. T. Swindles, G. Plunkett, and H. M. Roe A delayed climatic response to solar forcing at 2800 cal. BP: multiproxy evidence from three Irish peatlands The Holocene, February 1, 2007; 17(2): 177 - 182. [Abstract] [PDF]

				L. M. Kiage and K.-b. Liu Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in East Africa: a review of multiproxy evidence from palynology, lake sediments, and associated records Progress in Physical Geography, October 1, 2006; 30(5): 633 - 658. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. Van der Putten, H. Stieperaere, C. Verbruggen, and R. Ochyra Holocene palaeoecology and climate history of South Georgia (sub-Antarctica) based on a macrofossil record of bryophytes and seeds The Holocene, April 1, 2004; 14(3): 382 - 392. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. Wilson, J. McGourty, and M. D. Bateman Mid-to late-Holocene coastal dune event stratigraphy for the north coast of Northern Ireland The Holocene, April 1, 2004; 14(3): 406 - 416. [Abstract] [PDF]

				F. M. Chambers, F. M. Chambers, and D. J. Charman Holocene environmental change: contributions from the peatland archive The Holocene, January 1, 2004; 14(1): 1 - 6. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Blaauw, M. Blaauw, B. van Geel, and J. van der Plicht Solar forcing of climatic change during the mid-Holocene: indications from raised bogs in The Netherlands The Holocene, January 1, 2004; 14(1): 35 - 44. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. E. Noon, P. E. Noon, M. J. Leng, and V. J. Jones Oxygen-isotope ({delta}18O) evidence of Holocene hydrological changes at Signy Island, maritime Antarctica The Holocene, February 1, 2003; 13(2): 251 - 263. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. Wilson Holocene coastal dune development on the South Erradale peninsula, Wester Ross, Scotland Scottish Journal of Geology, May 1, 2002; 38(1): 5 - 13. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. Diz, G. Frances, C. Pelejero, J. O. Grimalt, and F. Vilas The last 3000 years in the Ria de Vigo (NW Iberian Margin): climatic and hydrographic signals The Holocene, May 1, 2002; 12(4): 459 - 468. [Abstract] [PDF]

				F. M. Chambers, F. M. Chambers, and S. A. Brain Paradigm shifts in late-Holocene climatology? The Holocene, February 1, 2002; 12(2): 239 - 249. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. F. Glasser, N. F. Glasser, M. J. Hambrey, and M. Aniya An advance of Soler Glacier, North Patagonian Icefield, at c. AD 1222-1342 The Holocene, January 1, 2002; 12(1): 113 - 120. [Abstract] [PDF]