Complex spatio-temporal structure of the Holocene Thermal Maximum.

Cartapanis, Olivier; Jonkers, Lukas; Moffa-Sanchez, Paola; Jaccard, Samuel L; de Vernal, Anne (2022). Complex spatio-temporal structure of the Holocene Thermal Maximum. Nature Communications, 13(1), p. 5662. Springer Nature 10.1038/s41467-022-33362-1

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Inconsistencies between Holocene climate reconstructions and numerical model simulations question the robustness of climate models and proxy temperature records. Climate reconstructions suggest an early-middle Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) followed by gradual cooling, whereas climate models indicate continuous warming. This discrepancy either implies seasonal biases in proxy-based climate reconstructions, or that the climate model sensitivity to forcings and feedbacks needs to be reevaluated. Here, we analyze a global database of Holocene paleotemperature records to investigate the spatiotemporal structure of the HTM. Continental proxy records at mid and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere portray a "classic" HTM (8-4 ka). In contrast, marine proxy records from the same latitudes reveal an earlier HTM (11-7ka), while a clear temperature anomaly is missing in the tropics. The results indicate a heterogeneous response to climate forcing and highlight the lack of globally synchronous HTM.

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