A model for Scottish interstadial marine palaeotemperature 13,000 to 11,000 B.P.

From a study of molluscan assemblages it is suggested that sea temperatures, particularly in the period 12,500 to 12,000 B.P., were 3°C lower than they are today for all but surface waters, implying that the interstadial North Atlantic Drift was weaker than the present Drift where it extends into the Norwegian Sea. An early interstadial ‘warm’ event may relate to a period when temperatures in the Bay of Biscay exceeded those of the present day. A later ‘warm’ episode may correlate with the warmest part of the interstadial deduced from the deep sea succession west of Ireland.