Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics

Abstract Greenland ice cores demonstrate that transient last glacial cold climate events (stadials) were associated with greatly enhanced atmospheric dust loading. Detailed radiocarbon dating of loess in central Europe reveals concurrent increases in dust activity in dust‐emitting regions. However,...

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Main Authors: Yunus Baykal, Gábor Újvári, Thomas Stevens, Sergio Andò, Adriano Banak, Sanja Šuica, Marta Barbarano, Eduardo Garzanti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-07-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115382
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author Yunus Baykal
Gábor Újvári
Thomas Stevens
Sergio Andò
Adriano Banak
Sanja Šuica
Marta Barbarano
Eduardo Garzanti
author_facet Yunus Baykal
Gábor Újvári
Thomas Stevens
Sergio Andò
Adriano Banak
Sanja Šuica
Marta Barbarano
Eduardo Garzanti
author_sort Yunus Baykal
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Greenland ice cores demonstrate that transient last glacial cold climate events (stadials) were associated with greatly enhanced atmospheric dust loading. Detailed radiocarbon dating of loess in central Europe reveals concurrent increases in dust activity in dust‐emitting regions. However, the causes of these changes in dust emission and the role of dust in rapid climate change remain unclear. We address this uncertainty through multi‐proxy analysis of loess sources in Hungary. Our results demonstrate that loess particles were dominantly produced by subglacial grinding processes in the eastern Alps. These particles were released along with stadial Alpine Ice Sheet‐driven meltwater pulses, turning major river systems into efficient dust sources for loess deposition in Europe. Concurrent strengthened anticyclonic circulation over northern Europe would have caused wider dispersal of Alpine Ice Sheet‐derived dust as far as Greenland. Resultant continental‐hemispheric scale changes in atmospheric dust loading likely amplified concomitant North Atlantic climate cooling and ice sheet decay during Greenland stadials.
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-e2c38f44f005459f9089e74fd9f16bf72025-08-20T02:56:24ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-07-015213n/an/a10.1029/2025GL115382Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet DynamicsYunus Baykal0Gábor Újvári1Thomas Stevens2Sergio Andò3Adriano Banak4Sanja Šuica5Marta Barbarano6Eduardo Garzanti7Department of Earth Sciences Uppsala University Uppsala SwedenInstitute for Geological and Geochemical Research HUN‐REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences Eötvös Loránd Research Network Budapest HungaryDepartment of Earth Sciences Uppsala University Uppsala SwedenDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Milano‐Bicocca Milano ItalyDepartment of Geology Croatian Geological Survey Zagreb CroatiaDepartment of Geology University of Zagreb Zagreb CroatiaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Milano‐Bicocca Milano ItalyDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Milano‐Bicocca Milano ItalyAbstract Greenland ice cores demonstrate that transient last glacial cold climate events (stadials) were associated with greatly enhanced atmospheric dust loading. Detailed radiocarbon dating of loess in central Europe reveals concurrent increases in dust activity in dust‐emitting regions. However, the causes of these changes in dust emission and the role of dust in rapid climate change remain unclear. We address this uncertainty through multi‐proxy analysis of loess sources in Hungary. Our results demonstrate that loess particles were dominantly produced by subglacial grinding processes in the eastern Alps. These particles were released along with stadial Alpine Ice Sheet‐driven meltwater pulses, turning major river systems into efficient dust sources for loess deposition in Europe. Concurrent strengthened anticyclonic circulation over northern Europe would have caused wider dispersal of Alpine Ice Sheet‐derived dust as far as Greenland. Resultant continental‐hemispheric scale changes in atmospheric dust loading likely amplified concomitant North Atlantic climate cooling and ice sheet decay during Greenland stadials.https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115382European loessprovenanceclimate change eventsdetrital zircon U–Pb agesheavy mineral assemblagesquartz grain morphology
spellingShingle Yunus Baykal
Gábor Újvári
Thomas Stevens
Sergio Andò
Adriano Banak
Sanja Šuica
Marta Barbarano
Eduardo Garzanti
Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
Geophysical Research Letters
European loess
provenance
climate change events
detrital zircon U–Pb ages
heavy mineral assemblages
quartz grain morphology
title Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
title_full Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
title_fullStr Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
title_full_unstemmed Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
title_short Continental‐Hemispheric Scale Dust Events Driven by Last Glacial Alpine Ice Sheet Dynamics
title_sort continental hemispheric scale dust events driven by last glacial alpine ice sheet dynamics
topic European loess
provenance
climate change events
detrital zircon U–Pb ages
heavy mineral assemblages
quartz grain morphology
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115382
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