Fire in ice: two millennia of boreal forest fire history from the Greenland NEEM ice core

• DOI: 10.5194/cp-10-1905-2014
• Publication Date: 2014-10-29T10:31:49Z
• Authors: P. Zennaro; N. Kehrwald; J. R. McConnell; S. Schüpbach; O. J. Maselli; J. Marlon; P. Vallelonga; D. Leuenberger; R. Zangrando; A. Spolaor; M. Borrotti; E. Barbaro; A. Gambaro; C. Barbante
• Keywords: Levoglucosan; Ice core; Fire regime; Greenland ice sheet

Abstract. Biomass burning is a major source of greenhouse gases and influences regional to global climate. Pre-industrial fire-history records from black carbon, charcoal other proxies provide baseline estimates biomass at local scales spanning millennia, are thus useful examine the role fire in carbon cycle climate system. Here we use specific biomarker levoglucosan together with ammonium concentrations North Greenland Eemian (NEEM) ice cores (77.49° N, 51.2° W; 2480 m a.s.l) over past 2000 years infer changes boreal activity. Increases activity periods 1000–1300 CE decreases during 700–900 coincide high-latitude NH temperature changes. Levoglucosan NEEM peak between 1500 1700 CE, most spikes extensive central northern Asian droughts millennium. Many these multi-annual caused by monsoon failures, suggesting connection low- processes. America primary aerosols due its relative proximity Ice Cap. During events, however, isotopic analyses dust, back trajectories links peaks drought reconstructions suggest that Siberia also an important pyrogenic Greenland.