Lake Meerfelder Maar Younger Dryas Varved Sediment Data Brauer, A.; Haug, G.H.; Dulski, P.; Sigman, D.M.; Negendank, J.F.W. Brauer, A. Haug, G.H. Dulski, P. Sigman, D.M. Negendank, J.F.W. earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (iron,sediment,null,count per second,null,paleolimnology,null,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (iron,sediment,null,count per second,null,paleolimnology,smoothed,x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,N,smoothed 11 point running average) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (varve thickness,null,null,millimeter,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (age,null,null,calendar year before present,null,paleolimnology,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleolimnology (Lake Meerfelder Maar>LATITUDE 50.1>LONGITUDE 6.75) The Younger Dryas cooling 12,700 years ago is one of the most abrupt climate changes observed in Northern Hemisphere palaeoclimate records. Annually laminated lake sediments are ideally suited to record the dynamics of such abrupt changes, as the seasonal deposition responds immediately to climate, and the varve counts provide an accurate estimate of the timing of the change. Here, we present sub-annual records of varve microfacies and geochemistry from Lake Meerfelder Maar in western Germany, providing one of the best dated records of this climate transition. Our data indicate an abrupt increase in storminess during the autumn to spring seasons, occurring from one year to the next at 12,679 yr BP, broadly coincident with other changes in this region. We suggest that this shift in wind strength represents an abrupt change in the North Atlantic westerlies towards a stronger and more zonal jet. Changes in meridional overturning circulation alone cannot fully explain the changes in European climate; we suggest the observed wind shift provides the mechanism for the strong temporal link between North Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation and European climate during deglaciation. STUDY NOTES: Varve thickness and iron content data for Lake Meerfelder Maar, western Germany, across the Younger Dryas cold interval at sub-annual resolution. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Brauer, A. Investigator : Haug, G.H. Investigator : Dulski, P. Investigator : Sigman, D.M. Investigator : Negendank, J.F.W. 2009-07-01 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/8656 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.xls English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/8656 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleolimnology/europe/germany/meerfelder-maar2008.xls Brauer, A., Haug, G.H., Dulski, P., Sigman, D.M., Negendank, J.F.W. 2008. An abrupt wind shift in western Europe at the onset of the Younger Dryas cold period. Nature Geoscience, 1, 520-523. START YEAR: 12950 cal yr BP * END YEAR: 10950 cal yr BP 6.75 50.1 6.75 50.1