Introduction
Welcome to the website for the QUEST Working Group on Abrupt Climate Changes.
The working group was established following a June 2008 workshop at University of Bordeaux 1 on "High-Resolution Pollen Records and Reconstruction of Vegetation Changes during Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events", with 25 attendees from the global community of researchers in this field.
A second workshop was held in March 2009 with the aim of producing a Quaternary Science Reviews Special Issue. Links are available to In Press papers.
In the last glacial-interglacial cycle (approximately 130,000 years) there have been many smaller, more rapid climate fluctuations, superimposed on the longer term orbitally-influenced trend. These have been identified in marine records and Greenland ice cores, and labelled 'Dansgaard-Oeschger' events or cycles. In pollen records from both terrestrial (e.g. lake) and marine sediments, vegetation also shows such rapid changes. Historically, the European interpretation of vegetation change has been prominent, due to the amount of study, and proximity to the North Atlantic and Greenland ice sheet. However, particularly with the identification of rapid climate events in Antarctic ice cores, it's clear that we need to look at the global picture to see how vegetation responds in different regions and to compare northern and southern hemispheres.
Please explore the contents of the site using the links to the right.
Aims
- A synthesis volume for Quaternary Science Reviews, summarising the current state of knowledge of the vegetation response to short-term variability during Stages 4, 3 and 2, on a regional basis.
- The compilation of a database of global pollen records of D-O variability and the application of biomisation techniques required for quantitative evaluation of vegetation changes worldwide.
Coordination
Sandy Harrison (U. Bristol)
Maria Fernanda Sanchez Goni (U. Bordeaux 1)
Further information
QUEST
QUEST-DESIRE
