Holocene millennial climate variability influenced by tropical-Antarctic ocean-atmosphere interactions.

A robust ~1,350-year millennial-scale climate oscillation in Holocene variability is self-sustained and crucially influenced by tropical–Antarctic ocean-atmosphere interactions, as shown by EC-Earth simulations and proxy consistency.

• Why it matters: The origin and dynamics of Holocene millennial-scale climate oscillations remain debated despite prior emphasis on solar activity and deep-ocean variability.
• What they did: Using an EC-Earth Holocene transient simulation from 8 to 0 ka BP and a global compilation of 304 temperature reconstructions, the study identifies a ~1,350-y oscillatory mode and confirms its periodicity with complementary climate simulations.
• The result: Each cycle links Antarctic Bottom Water strengthening to an El Niño-like tropical SST response and high-latitude Southern Ocean circulation anomalies, with sea-ice and tropical air-sea feedbacks amplifying warming until AABW weakens and cooling begins.