Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

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

Nature volume 399, pages 429–436 (1999)Cite this article

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The deuterium record.
Figure 3: Vostok time series and insolation.
Figure 2: Vostok time series and ice volume.
Figure 4: Spectral properties of the Vostok time series.
Figure 5: Vostok time series during glacial terminations.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Imbrie, J.et al. On the structure and origin of major glaciation cycles. 1. Linear responses to Milankovich forcing. Paleoceanography 7, 701–738 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Tzedakis, P. C.et al. Comparison of terrestrial and marine records of changing climate of the last 500,000 years. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 150, 171–176 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Berger, A. L. Long-term variations of daily insolation and Quaternary climatic change. J. Atmos. Sci. 35, 2362–2367 (1978).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lorius, C.et al. A150,000-year climatic record from Antarctic ice. Nature 316, 591–596 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Barnola, J. M., Raynaud, D., Korotkevich, Y. S. & Lorius, C. Vostok ice cores provides 160,000-year record of atmospheric CO2. Nature 329, 408–414 (1987).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jouzel, J.et al. Vostok ice core: a continuous isotope temperature record over the last climatic cycle (160,000 years). Nature 329, 402–408 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Raisbeck, G. M.et al. Evidence for two intervals of enhanced 10Be deposition in Antarctic ice during the last glacial period. Nature 326, 273–277 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Legrand, M., Lorius, C., Barkov, N. I. & Petrov, V. N. Vostok (Antarctic ice core): atmospheric chemistry changes over the last climatic cycle (160,000 years). Atmos. Environ. 22, 317–331 (1988).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Chappellaz, J., Barnola, J.-M., Raynaud, D., Korotkevich, Y. S. & Lorius, C. Ice-core record of atmospheric methane over the past 160,000 years. Nature 127–131;(1990).

  10. Petit, J. R.et al. Paleoclimatological implications of the Vostok core dust record. Nature 343, 56–58 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Sowers, T.et al. 135 000 year Vostok—SPECMAP common temporal framework. Paleoceanography 8, 737–766 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Jouzel, J.et al. Extending the Vostok ice-core record of palaeoclimate to the penultimate glacial period. Nature 364, 407–412 (1993).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Jouzel, J.et al. Climatic interpretation of the recently extended Vostok ice records. Clim. Dyn. 12, 513–521 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Genthon, C.et al. Vostok ice core: climatic response to CO2and orbital forcing changes over the last climatic cycle. Nature 329, 414–418 (1987).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lorius, C., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D., Hansen, J. & Le Treut, H. Greenhouse warming, climate sensitivity and ice core data. Nature 347, 139–145 (1990).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Raynaud, D.et al. The ice record of greenhouse gases. Science 259, 926–934 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Petit, J. R.et al. Four climatic cycles in Vostok ice core. Nature 387, 359–360 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Kapitza, A. P., Ridley, J. K., Robin, G. d. Q., Siegert, M. J. & Zotikov, I. A. Alarge deep freshwater lake beneath the ice of central East Antarctica. Nature 381, 684–686 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Bender, M., Sowers, T. & Labeyrie, L. D. The Dole effect and its variation during the last 130,000 years as measured in the Vostok core. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 8, 363–376 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Barnola, J. M., Pimienta, P., Raynaud, D. & Korotkevich, Y. S. CO2climate relationship as deduced from the Vostok ice core: a re-examination based on new measurements and on a re-evaluation of the air dating. Tellus B 43, 83–91 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lorius, C. & Merlivat, L. in Isotopes and Impurities in Snow and Ice. Proc. the Grenoble Symp. Aug./Sept. 1975 127–137 (Publ. 118, IAHS, (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Dahl-Jensen, D.et al. Past temperatures directly from the Greenland ice sheet. Science 282, 268–271 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Salamatin, A. N.et al. Ice core age dating and paleothermometer calibration on the basis of isotopes and temperature profiles from deep boreholes at Vostok station (East Antarctica). J. Geophys. Res. 103, 8963–8977 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Krinner, G., Genthon, C. & Jouzel, J. GCM analysis of local influences on ice core δ signals. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2825–2828 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Hoffmann, G., Masson, V. & Jouzel, J. Stable water isotopes in atmospheric general circulation models. Hydrol. Processes(in the press).

  26. Bassinot, F. C.et al. The astronomical theory of climate and the age of the Brunhes-Matuyama magnetic reversal. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 126, 91–108 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Shackleton, N. J., Imbrie, J. & Hall, M. A. Oxygen and carbon isotope record of East Pacific core V19-30: implications for the formation of deep water in the late Pleistocene North Atlantic. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 65, 233–244 (1983).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Steig, E.et al. Synchronous climate changes in Antarctica and the North Atlantic. Science 282, 92–95 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Howard, W. Awarm future in the past. Nature 388, 418–419 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Malaizé, B., Paillard, D., Jouzel, J. & Raynaud, D. The Dole effect over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. J. Geophys. Res.(in the press).

  31. Legrand, M. & Delmas, R. J. Formation of HCl in the Antarctic atmosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 7153–7168 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Yung, Y. K., Lee, T., Chung-Ho & Shieh, Y. T. Dust: diagnostic of the hydrological cycle during the last glacial maximum. Science 271, 962–963 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. de Menocal, P. Plio-Pleistocene African climate. Science 270, 53–59 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. CLIMAP. Seasonal Reconstructions of the Earth's Surface at the Last Glacial Maximum ( Geol. Soc. Am., Boulde, Colorado, Boulde (1981).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Basile, I.et al. Patagonian origin dust deposited in East Antarctica (Vostok and Dome C) during glacial stages 2, 4 and 6. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 146, 573–589 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Basile, I. Origine des Aérosols Volcaniques et Continentaux de la Carotte de Glace de Vostok (Antarctique). Thesis, Univ. Joseph Fourier, Grenoble(1997).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Leuenberger, M. & Siegenthalerr, U. Ice-age atmospheric concentration of nitrous oxide from an Antarctic ice core. Nature 360, 449–451 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Ramstein, G., Serafini-Le Treut, Y., Le Treut, H., Forichon, M. & Joussaume, S. Cloud processes associated with past and future climate changes. Clim. Dyn. 14, 233–247 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Berger, A., Loutre, M. F. & Gallée, H. Sensitivity of the LLN climate model to the astronomical and CO2forcings over the last 200 ky. Clim. Dyn. 14, 615–629 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Weaver, A. J., Eby, M., Fanning, A. F. & Wilbe, E. C. Simulated influence of carbon dioxide, orbital forcing and ice sheets on the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum. Nature 394, 847–853 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Broecker, W. S. & Henderson, G. M. The sequence of events surrounding termination II and their implications for the causes of glacial interglacial CO2changes. Paleoceanography 13, 352–364 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Cortijo, E.et al. Eemian cooling in the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic ocean preceding ice-sheet growth. Nature 372, 446–449 (1994).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Chappellaz, J.et al. Synchronous changes in atmospheric CH4and Greenland climate between 40 and 8 kyr BP. Nature 366, 443–445 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Fischer, H., Wahlen, M., Smith, J., Mastroianni, D. & Deck, B. Ice core records of atmospheric CO2around the last three glacial terminations. Science 283, 1712–1714 (1999).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Stauffer, B.et al. Atmospheric CO2concentration and millenial-scale climate change during the last glacial period. Nature 392, 59–61 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Martin, J. H. Glacial-interglacial CO2change: The iron hypothesis. Paleoceanography 5, 1–13 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  47. Paillard, D., Labeyrie, L. & Yiou, P. Macintosh program performs time-series analysis. Eos 77, 379 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  48. Ritz, C. Un Modele Thermo-mécanique d'évolution Pour le Bassin Glaciaire Antarctique Vostok-Glacier Byrd: Sensibilité aux Valeurs de Paramètres Mal Connus Thesis, Univ. Grenoble(1992).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Blunier, T.et al. Timing of the Antarctic Cold Reversal and the atmospheric CO2increase with respect to the Younger Dryas event. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 2683–2686 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Waelbroeck, C.et al. Acomparison of the Vostok ice deuterium record and series from Southern Ocean core MD 88-770 over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. Clim. Dyn. 12, 113–123 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Blunier, T.et al. Asynchrony of Antarctic and Greenland climate change during the last glacial period. Nature 394, 739–743 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Bender, M., Malaizé, B., Orchado, J., Sowers, T. & Jouzel, J. High precision correlations of Greenland and Antarctic ice core records over the last 100 kyr.in The Role of High and Low Latitudes in Millennial Scale Global Change(eds Clark, P. & Webb, R.) (AGU Monogr., Am. Geophys. Union, in the press).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work is part of a joint project between Russia, France and USA. We thank the drillers from the St Petersburg Mining Institute; the Russian, French and US participants for field work and ice sampling; and the Russian Antarctic Expeditions (RAE), the Institut Français de Recherches et Technologies Polaires (IFRTP) and the Division of Polar Programs (NSF) for the logistic support. The project is supported in Russia by the Russian Ministry of Sciences, in France by PNEDC (Programme National d'Études de la Dynamique du Climat), by Fondation de France and by the CEC (Commission of European Communities) Environment Programme, and in the US by the NSF Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l'Environnement, CNRS, BP96, 38402, Saint Martin d'Hères Cedex, France

    J. R. Petit, D. Raynaud, J.-M. Barnola, I. Basile, J. Chappellaz, M. Delmotte, M. Legrand, C. Lorius, L. PÉpin, L. PÉpin & C. Ritz

  2. Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (UMR CEA/CNRS 1572), L'Orme des Merisiers, Bât. 709, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

    J. Jouzel, G. Delaygue & M. Stievenard

  3. Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Beringa Street 38, 199397, St Petersburg, Russia

    N. I. Barkov & V. Y. Lipenkov

  4. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544-1003, New Jersey, USA

    M. Bender

  5. Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, 33149, Florida, USA

    M. Davis & E. Saltzman

  6. Institute of Geography, Staromonetny, per 29, 109017, Moscow, Russia

    V. M. Kotlyakov

Authors
  1. J. R. Petit
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Jouzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. Raynaud
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. N. I. Barkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J.-M. Barnola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. I. Basile
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. M. Bender
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. J. Chappellaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. M. Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. G. Delaygue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. M. Delmotte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. V. M. Kotlyakov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. M. Legrand
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. V. Y. Lipenkov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. C. Lorius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. L. PÉpin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. C. Ritz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. E. Saltzman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. M. Stievenard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. R. Petit.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary information is available on Nature's World-Wide Web site (http://www.nature.com) or as paper copy from the London editorial office of Nature. (PDF 3112 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Petit, J., Jouzel, J., Raynaud, D. et al. Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice core, Antarctica. Nature 399, 429–436 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/20859

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/20859

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing