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Despite a substantial body of evidence on millennial-scale climate variability during Marine Isotope Stage 3, uncertainty remains over the precise sequence of changes in different parts of the climate system, and ultimately their causes. Here, we present results of joint marine and terrestrial proxy analyses from the Portuguese Margin, showing the typical succession of cold stadials and warm interstadials over the interval 35-57 ka, with most extreme changes occurring during Heinrich Stadials (HS). The planktonic and benthic foraminiferal isotope records map onto Greenland and Antarctic temperature variations, respectively, while the pollen record bears a close similarity to changes in the Asian summer monsoon, atmospheric methane and dust concentrations, indicating coupled changes in hydroclimate in middle-to-low latitudes. Closer inspection of HS4 and HS5 reveals considerable structure, with a relatively fast transition to maximum cooling and aridity associated with a peak in ice-rafted detritus, containing detrital carbonate grains originating from the Hudson Strait. This was followed by an interval of slowly increasing sea-surface temperatures (SST) and moisture availability, in line with evidence indicating a gradual evolution in low-latitude hydroclimate. A climate model experiment closely reproduces the gradual increase in SST and precipitation in W. Iberia during the final part of HS4 as a result of the recovery of the Atlantic overturning circulation, but does not capturethe abrupt warming in Greenland. What emerges is a diversity of response timescales, from centuries in low-to-mid latitude SST and precipitation to decades in Greenland temperatures.

We present results of a multi-proxy study on marine sediment core JR179-PC466 recovered from the crest of a sediment drift off the West Antarctic Peninsula at approximately 2300 m water depth. The 10.45 m-long core consists dominantly of glaciomarine terrigenous sedi- ments, with only traces of calcium carbonate (,1 wt%). Despite the very low abundance of calcar- eous foraminifera, planktonic shell numbers are sufficient for stable isotope analyses in two-thirds of the samples studied. The core chronology is based on oxygen isotope stratigraphy and corre- lation of its relative palaeomagnetic intensity (RPI) with a stacked reference curve. According to the age model, core PC466 spans the last 75 ka, with average sedimentation rates of between about 4 and 25 cm ka 21 . Planktonic foraminifera abundances fluctuate between 0 and 30 individ- uals per gram throughout the core, with minima observed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (14–29 ka before present, BP) and MIS4 (57–71 ka BP). Planktonic foraminifera are present in the Holocene but more abundant in sediments deposited during MIS3 (29–57 ka BP), owing to less dilution by terrigenous detritus and/or better carbonate preservation. During MIS3, forami- nifera maxima correlate with Antarctic warming events as recorded in the d 18 O signal of the EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML) ice core. They indicate higher planktonic foraminifera production and better carbonate preservation west of the Antarctic Peninsula during that time. The abundance of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) in core PC466 increased during the last deglaciation between about 19 and 11 ka BP, when numerous icebergs drifted across the core site, thereby releasing IRD. During this time, sea-level rise destabilized the Antarctic Peninsula (APIS) and West Antarctic (WAIS) ice sheets that had advanced onto the shelf during the sea-level low- stand of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; c. 19–23 ka BP). Overall, our results demonstrate that it is possible to establish an age model and reconstruct palaeoceanographical and climatic changes at high temporal resolution from sedimentary sequences recovered at 2300 m water depth from a West Antarctic drift.

Periodic iceberg discharges during the last glacial period led to a slowdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Sediment records from the Portuguese margin show that similar events punctuated the penultimate glacial period as well, although their duration and broader climatic impacts were modified by different background climate conditions. During the last glacial period, iceberg discharges into the North Atlantic disrupted the meridional overturning circulation, leading to cooling in the Northern Hemisphere and warming in Antarctica1,2. This asymmetric response can be explained by a bipolar see-saw mechanism3,4,5, whereby changes in the strength of the meridional overturning circulation lead to changes in the interhemispheric heat transport. It is unclear, however, to what extent the response of the overturning circulation is a function of freshwater flux and boundary climate conditions4. Here we use foraminiferal isotope and pollen records from the Portuguese margin to reconstruct surface- and deep-water hydrography and atmospheric changes during the last and penultimate glacial periods. When we compare our records with temperature reconstructions from Antarctica6, we find that the bipolar see-saw was a characteristic feature of both glacial periods. However, the comparison also underlines the dependence of the bipolar see-saw on background climate and magnitude of iceberg discharge. It also suggests that an intensified hydrological cycle may lead to a weaker overturning circulation with a smaller disruption threshold and extended North Atlantic stadial durations.

Detailed sedimentological and microtextural analyses of newly-discovered late Neogene diamictites and other coarse-grained facies, mostly sandwiched between hyaloclastite of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group and Cretaceous sandstone and mudstone, indicate deposition mainly by glacigenic debris flows. The deposits on James Ross Island (northern Antarctic Peninsula) constrain the depositional setting, ice–bed dynamics and regional palaeoclimate. The sequences on James Ross Island vary in age but are mainly late Miocene and Pliocene. Unlike Neogene sedimentary sequences elsewhere in Antarctica, those on James Ross Island are unusually well-dated by a combination of 40Ar/39Ar and 87Sr/86Sr analyses on fresh interbedded lavas and pristine bivalve molluscs, respectively. The Sr isotopic ages of the debris flows cluster around 4.74, 4.89, 5.44, 5.78, and 6.31 Ma and probably date relatively warm periods in the northern Antarctic Peninsula region, when the bivalves lived under ice-poor or seasonally ice-free conditions. The bivalves are often remarkably well-preserved, lack adhering lithified sediment and, in at least two locations, are large, mainly unfragmented and sometimes articulated, suggesting that they were alive immediately prior to their incorporation in subaqueous debris flows at the margins of an advancing glacier. These fossiliferous glacigenic debris flows signify episodes of ice expansion during relatively warm periods, or “interglacials”, of the late Miocene and Pliocene. The James Ross Island glacigenic sedimentary successions attain thicknesses of up to 150 m and extend over 4 km laterally. The high volume of glacigenic sediment delivery implicit in the James Ross Island successions indicates that a series of dynamic ice fronts crossed the region during the late Miocene and Pliocene epochs. Associated evidence, in the form of clast abrasion (including striations and faceting) and bedrock erosion, is indicative of basal sliding and subglacial sediment deformation active at the ice–bed interface and wet-based temperate or polythermal regimes, prior to remobilisation. The evidence further suggests two local ice caps on James Ross Island during the warm periods, as well as ice-overriding by the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet from the west and northwest.

This paper explores the effects of preservation and taphonomy on the ultrastructure of recent and fossil (Quaternary and Neogene) Globigerinoides using scanning electron microscopy and thin section petrography. We show preservation states from: pristine (plankton tow) specimens that are “glassy”, have a microcrystalline test structure, and bear sharply defined interpore ridges with delicate spines; through core top and fossil specimens that have gametogenic calcite veneers of euhedral or lumpy deposits covering the interpore ridges and spine bases; to fossil material with extensive dissolution of the test wall and diagenetic calcite formed during shallow burial (less than 300 m below the sea floor). The latter produce a “grainy” texture to the test. Although we cannot unravel the precise effects of ecology and taphonomy on calcification temperature at every site, we show that for well-preserved fossil material with gametogenic calcite, temperature estimates are typically 2–3 °C cooler than modern sea surface, and are similar to those recorded using the δ18O of core top material from tropical latitudes. In contrast, at tropical sites with poor fossil preservation, estimates of calcification temperature are significantly cooler, sometimes by more than 10 °C than expected from present observations.

Geochemical and sedimentological evidence suggest that the rapid climate warming oscillations of the last ice age, the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles, were coupled to fluctuations in North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation through its regulation of poleward heat flux. The balance between cold meltwater from the north and warm, salty subtropical gyre waters from the south influenced the strength and location of North Atlantic overturning circulation during this period of highly variable climate. Here we investigate how rapid reorganizations of the ocean-atmosphere system across these cycles are linked to salinity changes in the subtropical North Atlantic gyre. We combine Mg/Ca palaeothermometry and oxygen isotope ratio measurements on planktonic foraminifera across four Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles (spanning 45.9-59.2 kyr ago) to generate a seawater salinity proxy record from a subtropical gyre deep-sea sediment core. We show that North Atlantic gyre surface salinities oscillated rapidly between saltier stadial conditions and fresher interstadials, covarying with inferred shifts in the Tropical Atlantic hydrologic cycle and North Atlantic overturning circulation. These salinity oscillations suggest a reduction in precipitation into the North Atlantic and/or reduced export of deep salty thermohaline waters during stadials. We hypothesize that increased stadial salinities preconditioned the North Atlantic Ocean for a rapid return to deep overturning circulation and high-latitude warming by contributing to increased North Atlantic surface-water density on interstadial transitions.

The results of a multi-proxy study, including quantitative planktonic foraminifera faunal analysis, geochemistry of foraminifera tests, and lithogenic counts (IRD) are presented for two open marine sites. The sites are located in the eastern South Atlantic (ODP Leg 177 Site 1088) and the western tropical North Atlantic (ODP Leg 154 Site 925). Both sedimentary records span the interval 5.7–5.2 Ma (i.e. late Miocene to early Pliocene), which encompasses the time of deposition of the upper evaporites (UE) in the Mediterranean basin. The observations confirm a major oceanographic and climatologic event which occurred during the Messinian at the transition between the glacial TG12 and the prominent TG11 warm interglacial at 5.5 Ma. However, some oceanographic changes also occurred at the Miocene–Pliocene (M–P) transition in the northern tropical Atlantic and in the Southern Ocean with the first input of IRD at ODP Site 1088. In contrast to the termination across the lower evaporites (LE) at 5.5 Ma, the M–P transition may not have involved a large change in ice volume. The potential causes behind the data across the major climatic transient are examined in the light of published information, including evidence from polar areas with focus on the climatic impact of fluctuating meridional oceanic circulation (MOC). A thermal seesaw mechanism in pre-Quaternary times is hypothesised as part of the large late Messinian deglaciation across the TG12–TG11 transition. An implication of the major Southern Atlantic warming before 5.5 Ma is that an abrupt event freshening the surface of the North Atlantic might be present in the sub-polar Northern Hemisphere, but this has yet to be verified. This deglaciation may have been reinforced by a freshening of the North Atlantic as a result of discontinuous connection of the Mediterranean Sea.

The environmental history of the last interglacial period is equivocal, since its climate has been reported to be anything from unstable, with at least one significant cold event, to generally stable and comparable to the Holocene. Here the activity of the southerly Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) in the ∼130–110 ka interval is studied at two sites (3481 and 4760 m) in the subtropical NW Atlantic presently bathed by Lower North Atlantic Deep Water (LNADW). Proxies for both bottom water chemistry (δ13C) and near-bottom flow vigor ( SS¯, the mean size of the “sortable silt” fraction) are employed. The δ13C data indicate the interval of peak interglaciation when LNADW bathed both sites studied is followed by the development of a vertical water mass gradient between them, with nutrient-rich waters of southern origin flooding the deeper parts of the area. After ∼113 ka this gradient disappears as the deeper, low δ13C waters homogeneously invade the whole of the depth range investigated. The SS¯ data imply these events are likely to be associated with the vertical migration of the flow axis of the DWBC. Furthermore, they also reveal unexpected fluctuations in near-bottom flow activity during the period of minimum ice volume which are tentatively ascribed to small changes in the convective activity of the Nordic Seas. Alternatively, DWBC flow fluctuations may be controlled by processes occurring farther downstream from the areas of deep water formation, therefore not requiring changes in the production rates of LNADW. In either case, this series of small fluctuations during the peak of the last interglaciation may ultimately be linked to the insolation-related evolution of latitudinal sea surface temperature and salinity gradients in the North Atlantic.

International audience; The asynchronous relationship between millennial-scale temperature changes over Greenland and Antarctica during the last glacial period has led to the notion of a bipolar seesaw which acts to redistribute heat depending on the state of meridional overturning circulation within the Atlantic Ocean. Here we present new records from the South Atlantic that show rapid changes during the last deglaciation that were instantaneous (within dating uncertainty) and of opposite sign to those observed in the North Atlantic. Our results demonstrate a direct link between the abrupt changes associated with variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the more gradual adjustments characteristic of the Southern Ocean. These results emphasize the importance of the Southern Ocean for the development and transmission of millennial-scale climate variability and highlight its role in deglacial climate change and the associated rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

[1] The inputs of higher plants in Blake Outer Ridge (subtropical western North Atlantic) during marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3) have been recorded at high resolution by quantification of C23–C33 odd carbon numbered n-alkanes and C20–C30 even carbon numbered n-alkan-1-ols in sediment sections of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1060. The changes of these proxies at this open marine site are mainly related to eolian inputs. Their concentrations and fluxes exhibit major abrupt variations that are correlated with Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) patterns in Greenland ice cores. The ratios between interstadials and stadials range between 2 and 9 times. The intense flux increases in the D/O stadials are linked to strong enhancements of the westerly wind regime at these subtropical latitudes during stadials. The observed variation was paralleled by changes in wind-blown dust and the polar circulation index in Greenland ice, which is in agreement with previously hypothesized atmospheric teleconnections between northern and middle-low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The close correspondence between sedimentary and ice core proxies is evidence that crossings of the glacial climate thresholds involved major reorganizations of the troposphere. The observed large rise in higher plant biomarkers indicates that climate stabilization in the D/O stadial conditions led to main increases in wind intensity.

[1] The marine isotopic stage 3 (MIS3) at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1060 (Gulf Stream) shows both sharp onset and end of interstadials, the existence of very short lived warm events during stadials, and points to differences in detail between the sea surface temperature (SST) record from the western North Atlantic and the atmospheric temperature record inferred from δ18O in Greenland ice. Investigating MIS3 and obtaining comparable data from other locations appears crucial. The eastern Atlantic provides well-documented records of climate changes. We have selected a core from off Portugal and use it to examine Dansgaard/Oeschger events (D/O) at centennial-scale resolution (139 years on average between two data points). We have obtained a faunal data set for core MD01-2444, 37°N, 10°W, 2600 m water depth and use a group of species (Globigerina bulloides + Globigerinita glutinata) as a proxy of upwelling intensity driven by trade winds intensity changes. We tentatively relate the variation of this group to a North Atlantic Oscillation-like phenomenon (NAO) off Portugal. We observe that it resembles the rainfall index in the Caribbean as recorded at ODP Site 1002 (Cariaco Basin) which traces the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) location through changes of terrigenous inputs. The driest intervals (ITZC to the south) at Site 1002 correspond to intervals of increased upwelling in MD01-2444 as well as the driest periods identified during stadials on similar cores in the area. Because the ITZC to the south is consistent with an El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO+) situation, our study suggests a positive correlation between ENSO-like conditions and NAO-like conditions at a millennial timescale. During interstadial intervals when increased wetness over Cariaco is recorded (ITCZ to the north) and the upwelling in MD01-2444 is decreased, we see from both SSTs and faunal tropical indicators that MD01-2444 site is warm. In addition, interstadials are equally warm through each so-called Bond cycle. This contrasts with the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) record where interstadial peaks are successively cooler through each Bond cycle. This record confirms a link between tropical climate linked to ITCZ position and the climate of southern Europe at millennial timescales, in spite of showing a very good correlation with polar latitudes (GRIP) through δ18O on Globigerina bulloides. In addition, because the warmest SSTs and the δ18O on G. bulloides are so remarkably different, our work points to changes in seasonality as a strong control over the climatic pattern of the North Atlantic area and the marked influence of winter conditions.

[1] Mg/Ca ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from Colombian Basin core ODP 999A suggest that Caribbean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were from 2.1 to 2.7°C colder than the present during the last three glacial maximums. In comparison, faunal derived SSTs (SIMMAX method) show that August SSTs in the Caribbean varied

We have studied Ocean Drilling Program Site 1060 on the Blake Outer Ridge, which lies beneath the Gulf Stream. We focus on marine isotope stage 3, 60–25 thousand years before present (ka). Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) inferred both from foraminiferal fauna and alkenone ratios, as well as counts of iceberg melt-out debris and benthic stable isotope analyses, enable our record to be interpreted in terms of regional hydrographic changes as well as changing thermohaline circulation (THC). The observed SST record is consistent with the air temperature record from the Greenland ice cores. However, Site 1060 exhibits important differences in detail compared with the ice core record, and when compared to other sites within the North Atlantic, significant longitudinal differences emerge. At Site 1060 in the western Atlantic, all Greenland stadials (GS) whether associated with Heinrich events (HEs) or not, show a similar small amplitude of cooling; mean faunal-based SSTaug during GS is only 1.5°C colder than during Greenland interstadials (GIS). In addition, during GS the coldest SSTs are limited to apparently brief events. This is in contrast to several eastern Atlantic sites where HE stadials exhibit coolings that are enhanced by 2°C compared to other GS and where cold conditions are not restricted to cold pulses but cover 2 ka-long intervals. Furthermore, Site 1060 SSTs remained warm right through each interstadial, in contrast to the sustained and uniform cooling trend through interstadials that is consistently observed in Greenland, indicated by measurements of δ18O in ice.

The response of the tropical ocean to global climate change and the extent of sea ice in the glacial nordic seas belong to the great controversies in paleoclimatology. Our new reconstruction of peak glacial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic is based on census counts of planktic foraminifera, using the Maximum Similarity Technique Version 28 (SIMMAX-28) modern analog technique with 947 modern analog samples and 119 well-dated sediment cores. Our study compares two slightly different scenarios of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Environmental Processes of the Ice Age: Land, Oceans, Glaciers (EPILOG), and Glacial Atlantic Ocean Mapping (GLAMAP 2000) time slices. The comparison shows that the maximum LGM cooling in the Southern Hemisphere slightly preceeded that in the north. In both time slices sea ice was restricted to the north western margin of the nordic seas during glacial northern summer, while the central and eastern parts were ice-free. During northern glacial winter, sea ice advanced to the south of Iceland and Faeroe. In the central northern North Atlantic an anticyclonic gyre formed between 45degrees and 60degreesN, with a cool water mass centered west of Ireland, where glacial cooling reached a maximum of >12degreesC. In the subtropical ocean gyres the new reconstruction supports the glacial-to-interglacial stability of SST as shown by CLIMAP Project Members (CLIMAP) [1981]. The zonal belt of minimum SST seasonality between 2degrees and 6degreesN suggests that the LGM caloric equator occupied the same latitude as today. In contrast to the CLIMAP reconstruction, the glacial cooling of the tropical east Atlantic upwelling belt reached up to 6degrees-8degreesC during Northern Hemisphere summer. Differences between these SIMMAX-based and published U37(k)- and Mg/Ca-based equatorial SST records are ascribed to strong SST seasonalities and SST signals that were produced by different planktic species groups during different seasons.

Reconstructions of upper ocean temperature (T) during the Holocene (10–0 ka B.P.) were established using the alkenone method from seven, high accumulation sediment cores raised from the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea (361N–751N). All these paleo-T records document an apparent long-term cooling during the last 10 kyr. In records with indication of a constant trend, the apparent cooling ranges from � 0.27 to � 0.151C kyr � 1 . Records with indication of time-variable trend show peak-to-peak amplitudes in apparent temperatures of 1.2–2.91C. A principal component analysis shows that there is one factor which accounts for a very large fraction (67%) of the total variance in the biomarker paleo-T records and which dominates these records over other potential secondary influences. Two possible contributions are (1) a widespread surface cooling, which may be associated with the transition fromthe Hypsithermal interval ( B9–5.7 ka B.P.) to the Neoglaciation (B5.7–0 ka B.P.); and (2) a change in the seasonal timing and/or duration of the growth period of alkenone producers (prymnesiophyte algae). The first contribution is consistent with many climate proxy records from the northeast Atlantic area and with climate model simulations including Milankovitch forcing. The second contribution is consistent with the divergence between biomarker and summer faunal paleo-T fromearly to late Holocene observed in two cores. Further work is necessary, and in particular the apparent discordance between biomarker and faunal T records for the relative stable Holocene period must be understood, to better constrain the climatic and ecological contributions to the apparent cooling observed in the former records. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

International audience; The Mediterranean Sea hydrology at the time of the Heinrich formation in the North Atlantic Ocean was analyzed by comparing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and oxygen isotope composition of seawater (δw) changes during the past 75 kyr in two marine cores. These were compared to the palynological variations derived in the Mediterranean Sea core. During the last glacial the two oceanic SST records show similar and synchronous patterns, with several long‐term cooling periods, ending by abrupt SST increases. At the time of the Heinrich events, cold SSTs and low salinity prevailed in the Mediterranean Sea. The freshwater budget was similar to the modern one, permitting the presence of a mixed forest on the Mediterranean borderlands. The post‐Heinrich periods are marked by a freshwater budget decrease, limiting oak and fir tree growth in the Mediterranean region. Increase of precipitation or reduction of evaporation is observed before the Heinrich episode, and is associated with a well‐developed mixed Mediterranean forest.

The changes in distribution of sea surface temperature and salinity in the North Atlantic between 40 and 60°N were reconstructed for the time interval between 40 and 30 kyr BP, which includes the large iceberg discharge event associated with the deposition of Heinrich layer 4. We found that the meltwater input during deposition of Heinrich layer 4 resulted in a 1–2 kyr temperature decrease of about 2°C and a salinity decrease in the range of 1.5‰–3.5‰ between 40 and 50°N. Sites above 50°N did not experience significant salinity variations. A much larger area was affected by the reduction in sea surface temperature. The amplitude of the sea surface temperature shift was, however, much smaller than the atmospheric temperature changes over Greenland at GISP and GRIP sites.

Hydrographical changes of the southern Indian Ocean over the last 230 kyr, is reconstructed using a 17-m-long sediment core (MD 88 770; 46°01′S 96°28′E, 3290m). The oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of planktonic (N. pachyderma sinistra and G. bulloides) and benthic (Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, Epistominella exigua, and Melonis barleeanum) foraminifera have been analysed. Changes in sea surface temperatures (SST) are calculated using diatom and foraminiferal transfer functions. A new core top calibration for the Southern Ocean allows an extension of the method developed in the North Atlantic to estimate paleosalinities (Duplessy et al., 1991). The age scale is built using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating of N. pachyderma s. for the last 35 kyr, and an astronomical age scale beyond. Changes in surface temperature and salinity clearly lead (by 3 to 7 kyr) deep water variations. Thus changes in deep water circulation are not the cause of the early response of the surface Southern Ocean to climatic changes. We suggest that the early warming and cooling of the Southern Ocean result from at least two processes acting in different orbital bands and latitudes: (1) seasonality modulated by obliquity affects the high-latitude ocean surface albedo (sea ice coverage) and heat transfer to and from the atmosphere; (2) low-latitude insolation modulated by precession influences directly the atmosphere dynamic and related precipitation/ evaporation changes, which may significantly change heat transfer to the high southern latitudes, through their control on latitudinal distribution of the major frontal zones and on the conditions of intermediate and deep water formation.

Glacial terminations during the late Pleistocene epoch are associated with changes in insolation. They are also punctuated by millennial-scale climate shifts, characterized by a weakening and subsequent strengthening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. This ubiquitous association suggests that these oscillations may be a necessary component of deglaciation. Model simulations have suggested that the period of weakened circulation during these terminal oscillations would be followed by an overshoot of the circulation on its resumption, but this phenomenon has not yet been observed. Here we use radiocarbon measurements of benthic foraminifera and carbonate preservation indices to reconstruct ventilation changes in the deep South Atlantic Ocean over the past 40,000 years. We find evidence for a particularly deep expansion of the Atlantic overturning cell directly following the weak mode associated with Heinrich Stadial 1. Our analysis of an ocean general circulation model simulation suggests that North Atlantic Deep Water export during the expansion was greater than that of interglacial conditions. We find a similar deep expansion during Dansgaard–Oeschger Interstadial Event 8, 38,000 years ago, which followed Heinrich Stadial 4. We conclude that the rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and resultant warming associated with an especially weak overturning circulation are sufficient to trigger a switch to a vigorous circulation, but a full transition to interglacial conditions requires additional forcing at an orbital scale.