Synchronisation of palaeoenvironmental events in the North Atlantic region during the Last Termination: a revised protocol recommended by the INTIMATE group

The North Atlantic INTIMATE group of the INQUA Palaeoclimate Commission has previously recommended an Event Stratigraphy approach for the synchronisation of records of the Last Termination using the Greenland GRIP isotopic record as the regional stratotype and INTCAL98 for the calibration of radiocarbon dates [Lowe, J.J., Hoek, W., INTIMATE Group, 2001. Inter-regional correlation of palaeoclimatic records for the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition: a protocol for improved precision recommended by the INTIMATE project group. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, 1175-1187]. Here, we present a revised protocol for time-stratigraphic correlation in the North Atlantic region over a more extended time period (30-8 ka). This employs the new NGRIP isotopic record and associated Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) as the regional stratotype, INTCAL04 for the calibration of radiocarbon dates, Bayesian-based statistical procedures for the construction of age models, and tephrochronology to validate correlations between regional site records. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.