The Holocene Thermal Maximum
The timing, dynamics, and cause of the Holocene Thermal Maximum in the Arctic
Project Conclusions
The Earth's orbital variations were the primary HTM driver.
The effects of radiative warming were spatially variable.
Sea and glacial ice reductions were significant for high latitude amplification of warming.
The effect of vegetation cover was spatially variable.
The Laurentide Ice Sheet delayed the HTM in northeast North America.
Ice sheets blocked the Canadian High Arctic channels
implying an increased flux of warm Atlantic water through the Fram
Strait. This might have lead to the warmer conditions observed in East
Greenland and parts of the Arctic Ocean.
Changes in atmospheric circulation contributed to the asynchronicity of the HTM.
Recent spatial patterns of Arctic warming resemble those of the HTM suggesting similarities between the two phenomena.