Laurent Labeyrie

Bio: Laurent Labeyrie is an academic researcher from Centre national de la recherche scientifique. The author has contributed to research in topics: Glacial period & Thermohaline circulation. The author has an hindex of 74, co-authored 157 publications receiving 24730 citations. Previous affiliations of Laurent Labeyrie include University of Burgundy & Institut Universitaire de France.

Correlations between climate records from North Atlantic sediments and Greenland ice

Abstract: OXYGEN isotope measurements in Greenland ice demonstrate that a series of rapid warm-cold oscillations—called Dansgaard–Oeschger events—punctuated the last glaciation1. Here we present records of sea surface temperature from North Atlantic sediments spanning the past 90 kyr which contain a series of rapid temperature oscillations closely matching those in the ice-core record, confirming predictions that the ocean must bear the imprint of the Dansgaard–Oeschger events2,3. Moreover, we show that between 20 and 80 kyr ago, the shifts in ocean-atmosphere temperature are bundled into cooling cycles, lasting on average 10 to 15 kyr, with asymmetrical saw-tooth shapes. Each cycle culminated in an enormous discharge of icebergs into the North Atlantic (a 'Hein-rich event'4,5), followed by an abrupt shift to a warmer climate. These cycles document a previously unrecognized link between ice sheet behaviour and ocean–atmosphere temperature changes. An important question that remains to be resolved is whether the cycles are driven by external factors, such as orbital forcing, or by inter-nal ice-sheet dynamics.

Macintosh Program performs time‐series analysis

Abstract: A Macintosh computer program that can perform many time-series analysis procedures is now available on the Internet free of charge. Although AnalySeries was originally designed for paleoclimatic time series, it can be useful for most fields of Earth sciences. The program's graphical user interface allows easy access even for people unfamiliar with computer calculations. Previous versions of the program are already used by hundreds of scientists worldwide.

Evidence for massive discharges of icebergs into the North Atlantic ocean during the last glacial period

Abstract: SEDIMENTS in the North Atlantic ocean contain a series of layers that are rich in ice-rafted debris and unusually poor in foraminifera1. Here we present evidence that the most recent six of these 'Heinrich layers', deposited between 14,000 and 70,000 years ago, record marked decreases in sea surface temperature and salinity, decreases in the flux of planktonic foraminifera to the sediments, and short-lived, massive discharges of icebergs originating in eastern Canada. The path of the icebergs, clearly marked by the presence of ice-rafted detrital carbonate, can be traced for more than 3,000 km—a remarkable distance, attesting to extreme cooling of surface waters and enormous amounts of drifting ice. The cause of these extreme events is puzzling. They may reflect repeated rapid advances of the Laurentide ice sheet, perhaps associated with reductions in air temperatures, yet temperature records from Greenland ice cores appear to exhibit only a weak corresponding signal. Moreover, the 5–10,000-yr intervals between the events are inconsistent with Milankovitch orbital periodicities, raising the question of what the ultimate cause of the postulated cooling may have been.

Deepwater source variations during the last climatic cycle and their impact on the global deepwater circulation

Abstract: The degree of similarity of the ∂13C records of the planktonic foraminiferal species N. pachyderma and of the benthic foraminiferal genus Cibicides in the high-latitude basins of the world ocean is used as an indicator of the presence of deepwater sources during the last climatic cycle. Whereas continuous formation of deep water is recognized in the southern ocean, the Norwegian Sea stopped acting as a sink for surface water during isotope stage 4 and the remainder of the last glaciation. However, deep water formed in the north Atlantic south of the Norwegian Sea during the last climatic cycle as early as isotope substage 5d, and this area was also the only active northern source during stages 4–2. A detailed reconstruction of the geographic distribution of ∂13C in benthic foraminifera in the Atlantic Ocean during the last glacial maximum shows that the most important deepwater mass originated from the southern ocean, whereas the Glacial North Atlantic Deep Water cannot be traced south of 40°N. At shallower depth an oxygenated 13C rich Intermediate Water mass extended from 45°N to 15°S. In the Pacific Ocean a ventilation higher than the modern one was also found in open ocean in the depth range 700–2600 m and is best explained by stronger formation of Intermediate Water in high northern latitudes.

IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0-50,000 years cal BP

Abstract: Additional co-authors: TJ Heaton, AG Hogg, KA Hughen, KF Kaiser, B Kromer, SW Manning, RW Reimer, DA Richards, JR Southon, S Talamo, CSM Turney, J van der Plicht, CE Weyhenmeyer

A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records

Abstract: [1] We present a 53-Myr stack (the “LR04” stack) of benthic δ18O records from 57 globally distributed sites aligned by an automated graphic correlation algorithm This is the first benthic δ18O stack composed of more than three records to extend beyond 850 ka, and we use its improved signal quality to identify 24 new marine isotope stages in the early Pliocene We also present a new LR04 age model for the Pliocene-Pleistocene derived from tuning the δ18O stack to a simple ice model based on 21 June insolation at 65°N Stacked sedimentation rates provide additional age model constraints to prevent overtuning Despite a conservative tuning strategy, the LR04 benthic stack exhibits significant coherency with insolation in the obliquity band throughout the entire 53 Myr and in the precession band for more than half of the record The LR04 stack contains significantly more variance in benthic δ18O than previously published stacks of the late Pleistocene as the result of higher-resolution records, a better alignment technique, and a greater percentage of records from the Atlantic Finally, the relative phases of the stack's 41- and 23-kyr components suggest that the precession component of δ18O from 27–16 Ma is primarily a deep-water temperature signal and that the phase of δ18O precession response changed suddenly at 16 Ma

Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica

Abstract: The recent completion of drilling at Vostok station in East Antarctica has allowed the extension of the ice record of atmospheric composition and climate to the past four glacial–interglacial cycles. The succession of changes through each climate cycle and termination was similar, and atmospheric and climate properties oscillated between stable bounds. Interglacial periods differed in temporal evolution and duration. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane correlate well with Antarctic air-temperature throughout the record. Present-day atmospheric burdens of these two important greenhouse gases seem to have been unprecedented during the past 420,000 years.

Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica

Abstract: The recent completion of drilling at Vostok station in East Antarctica has allowed the extension of the ice record of atmospheric composition and climate to the past four glacial–interglacial cycles. The succession of changes through each climate cycle and termination was similar, and atmospheric and climate properties oscillated between stable bounds. Interglacial periods differed in temporal evolution and duration. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane correlate well with Antarctic air-temperature throughout the record. Present-day atmospheric burdens of these two important greenhouse gases seem to have been unprecedented during the past 420,000 years.

INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age Calibration, 24,000-0 cal BP

Abstract: The focus of this paper is the conversion of radiocarbon ages to calibrated (cal) ages for the interval 24,000-0 cal BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), based upon a sample set of dendrochronologically dated tree rings, uranium-thorium dated corals, and varve-counted marine sediment. The 14C age-cal age information, produced by many laboratories, is converted to 14C profiles and calibration curves, for the atmosphere as well as the oceans. We discuss offsets in measured 14C ages and the errors therein, regional 14C age differences, tree-coral 14C age comparisons and the time dependence of marine reservoir ages, and evaluate decadal vs. single-year 14C results. Changes in oceanic deepwater circulation, especially for the 16,000-11,000 cal BP interval, are reflected in the Δ 14C values of INTCAL98.