Antarctic link to deep flow speed variation during Marine Isotope Stage 3 in the western North Atlantic

The Western Boundary Undercurrent (WBUC), off eastern America, is an important component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation and is the principal route for southward transport of North Atlantic waters and southward return of Southern Source Water (SSW). Here a direct flow speed proxy (mean grain size of the sortable silt) is used to infer the vigour of flow of the palaeo-WBUC at Blake Outer Ridge, (ODP Site 1060, depth 3481 m) during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The overall\ud shape of the flow speed proxy record shows a complex pattern of variability, with generally more vigorous flow and larger-scale flow variations between 35 and 60 ka than in the younger part of MIS 3 and MIS 2 (b35 ka). Six events of reduced bottom flow vigour (Slow Events, SEs) occur. These appear uncorrelated with Heinrich events, but are instead synchronous with the warming phases of Antarctic Warm Events A-1 to A-4 (with one new one, A-1a and one poorly defined, ‘A-0’). This indicates that Antarctic\ud climate exerts a stronger control on deep flow vigour in the North Atlantic during MIS 3 than Northern Hemisphere climate. The correspondence of SEs with Antarctic warming suggests a weaker WBUC flow due to reduced volume flux at SSW source or reduced SSW density. Because the variability of the lower limb of the WBUC was not connected to sharp North Atlantic changes in temperature, it is unlikely that the Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles were associated with a mode of MOC variation involving whole-\ud ocean overturn, but more likely with perturbations of only the shallow Glacial Gulf Stream–Glacial Northern Source Intermediate Water cell. Nutrient proxies (benthic carbon isotopes and Cd/Ca of Uvigerina peregrina) at this site show similar trends to the GRIP δ18O record. This correlation has previously been attributed mainly to hydrographic and flow changes but is here shown to\ud be better explained by variations in surface ocean productivity and subsequent decomposition of 12C rich organic material on the sea floor

Magnetic record of deglaciation using FORC-PCA, sortable-silt grain size, and magnetic excursion at 26 ka, from the Rockall Trough (NE Atlantic)

Core MD04-2822 from the Rockall Trough has apparent sedimentation rates of ∼ 1 m/kyr during the last deglaciation (Termination I). Component magnetization directions indicate a magnetic excursion at 16.3 m depth in the core, corresponding to an age of 26.5 ka, implying an excursion duration of ∼350 years. Across Termination I, the mean grain size of sortable silt implies reduced bottom-current velocity in the Younger Dryas and Heinrich Stadial (HS)−1A, and increased velocities during the Bølling-Allerød warm period. Standard bulk magnetic parameters imply fining of magnetic grain size from the mid-Younger Dryas (∼12 ka) until ∼ 8 ka. First-order reversal curves (FORCs) were analyzed using ridge extraction to differentiate single domain (SD) from background (detrital) components. Principal component analysis (FORC-PCA) was then used to discriminate three end members corresponding to SD, pseudo-single domain (PSD), and multidomain (MD) magnetite. The fining of bulk magnetic grain size from 12 to 8 ka is due to reduction in concentration of detrital (PSD + MD) magnetite, superimposed on a relatively uniform concentration of SD magnetite produced by magnetotactic bacteria. The decrease in PSD+MD magnetite concentration from 12 to 8 ka is synchronized with increase in benthic δ13C, and with major (∼70 m) regional sea-level rise, and may therefore be related to detrital sources on the shelf that had reduced influence as sea level rose, and to bottom-water reorganization as Northern Source Water (NSW) replaced Southern Source Water (SSW).Research supported by US NSF grants 0850413 and 1014506, and the European R12esearch Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement No. 320750. The UK NERC and BGS funded the recovery of Core MD04-2822

Calibration and application of B/Ca, Cd/Ca, and δ^(11)B in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) to constrain CO_2 uptake in the subpolar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation

The North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea are prominent sinks of atmospheric CO_2 today, but their roles in the past remain poorly constrained. In this study, we attempt to use B/Ca and δ^(11)B ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral variety) to reconstruct subsurface water pH and pCO_2 changes in the polar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation. Comparison of core-top results with nearby hydrographic data shows that B/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) is mainly controlled by seawater B(OH)_4−/HCO_3− with a roughly constant partition coefficient (K_D = [B/Ca]_(CaCO_3) / [B(OH)_4−/HCO_3− (seawater)) of 1.48 ± 0.15 × 10^(−3) (2σ), and δ^(11)B in this species is offset below δ^(11)B of the borate in seawater by 3.38 ± 0.71‰ (2σ). These values represent our best estimates with the sparse available hydrographic data close to our core-tops. More culturing and sediment trap work is needed to improve our understanding of boron incorporation into N. pachyderma (s). Application of a constant K_D of 1.48 × 10^(−3) to high resolution N. pachyderma (s) B/Ca records from two adjacent cores off Iceland shows that subsurface pCO_2 at the habitat depth of N. pachyderma (s) (~50 m) generally followed the atmospheric CO_2 trend but with negative offsets of ~10–50 ppmv during 19–10 ka. These B/Ca-based reconstructions are supported by independent estimates from low-resolution δ^(11)B measurements in the same cores. We also calibrate and apply Cd/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) to reconstruct nutrient levels for the same down cores. Like today's North Atlantic, past subsurface pCO_2 variability off Iceland was significantly correlated with nutrient changes that might be linked to surface nutrient utilization and mixing within the upper water column. Because surface pCO_2 (at 0 m water depth) is always lower than at deeper depths and if the application of a constant KD is valid, our results suggest that the polar North Atlantic has remained a CO_2 sink during the calcification seasons of N. pachyderma (s) over the last deglaciation

Glacial-interglacial changes in bottom-water oxygen content on the Portuguese margin

During the last and penultimate glacial maxima, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were lower than present, possibly in part because of increased storage of respired carbon in the deep oceans. The amount of respired carbon present in a water mass can be calculated from its oxygen content through apparent oxygen utilization; the oxygen content can in turn be calculated from the carbon isotope gradient within the sediment column. Here we analyse the shells of benthic foraminifera occurring at the sediment surface and the oxic/anoxic interface on the Portuguese Margin to reconstruct the carbon isotope gradient and hence bottom-water oxygenation over the past 150,000 years. We find that bottom-water oxygen concentrations were 45 and 65 μmol kg−1 lower than present during the last and penultimate glacial maxima, respectively. We calculate that concentrations of remineralized organic carbon were at least twice as high as today during the glacial maxima. We attribute these changes to decreased ventilation linked to a reorganization of ocean circulation and a strengthened global biological pump. If the respired carbon pool was of a similar size throughout the entire glacial deep Atlantic basin, then this sink could account for 15 and 20 per cent of the glacial PCO2 drawdown during the last and penultimate glacial maxima

Architecture of North Atlantic contourite drifts modified by transient circulation of the Icelandic mantle plume

Overflow of Northern Component Water, the precursor of North Atlantic Deep Water, appears to have varied during Neogene times. It has been suggested that this variation is moderated by transient behavior of the Icelandic mantle plume, which has influenced North Atlantic bathymetry through time. Thus pathways and intensities of bottom currents that control deposition of contourite drifts could be affected by mantle processes. Here, we present regional seismic reflection profiles that cross sedimentary accumulations (Björn, Gardar, Eirik and Hatton Drifts). Prominent reflections were mapped and calibrated using a combination of boreholes and legacy seismic profiles. Interpreted seismic profiles were used to reconstruct solid sedimentation rates. Björn Drift began to accumulate in late Miocene times. Its average sedimentation rate decreased at ∼2.5 Ma and increased again at ∼0.75 Ma. In contrast, Eirik Drift started to accumulate in early Miocene times. Its average sedimentation rate increased at ∼5.5 Ma and decreased at ∼2.2 Ma. In both cases, there is a good correlation between sedimentation rates, inferred Northern Component Water overflow, and the variation of Icelandic plume temperature independently obtained from the geometry of diachronous V-shaped ridges. Between 5.5 and 2.5 Ma, the plume cooled, which probably caused subsidence of the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland Ridge, allowing drift accumulation to increase. When the plume became hotter at 2.5 Ma, drift accumulation rate fell. We infer that deep-water current strength is modulated by fluctuating dynamic support of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Our results highlight the potential link between mantle convective processes and ocean circulationThis work is partly supported by Natural Environment Research Council Grant NE/G007632/1. RPT was supported by the University of Cambridge Girdler Fund and by BP Exploration.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015GC00594

Abrupt wind regime changes in the North Atlantic Ocean during the past 30,000-60,000 years

The inputs of higher plants in Blake Outer Ridge (subtropical western North Atlantic) during marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3) have been recorded at high resolution by quantification of C23–C33 odd carbon numbered n-alkanes and C20–C30 even carbon numbered n-alkan-1-ols in sediment sections of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1060. The changes of these proxies at this open marine site are mainly related to eolian inputs. Their concentrations and fluxes exhibit major abrupt variations that are correlated with Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) patterns in Greenland ice cores. The ratios between interstadials and stadials range between 2 and 9 times. The intense flux increases in the D/O stadials are linked to strong enhancements of the westerly wind regime at these subtropical latitudes during stadials. The observed variation was paralleled by changes in wind-blown dust and the polar circulation index in Greenland ice, which is in agreement with previously hypothesized atmospheric teleconnections between northern and middle-low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The close correspondence between sedimentary and ice core proxies is evidence that crossings of the glacial climate thresholds involved major reorganizations of the troposphere. The observed large rise in higher plant biomarkers indicates that climate stabilization in the D/O stadial conditions led to main increases in wind intensity

Calibration and application of B/Ca, Cd/Ca, and δ11B in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) to constrain CO2 uptake in the subpolar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation

[1] The North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea are prominent sinks of atmospheric CO2 today, but their roles in the past remain poorly constrained. In this study, we attempt to use B/Ca and δ11B ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral variety) to reconstruct subsurface water pH and pCO2 changes in the polar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation. Comparison of core-top results with nearby hydrographic data shows that B/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) is mainly controlled by seawater B(OH)4−/HCO3− with a roughly constant partition coefficient inline image of 1.48 ± 0.15 × 10−3 (2σ), and δ11B in this species is offset below δ11B of the borate in seawater by 3.38 ± 0.71‰ (2σ). These values represent our best estimates with the sparse available hydrographic data close to our core-tops. More culturing and sediment trap work is needed to improve our understanding of boron incorporation into N. pachyderma (s). Application of a constant KD of 1.48 × 10−3 to high resolution N. pachyderma (s) B/Ca records from two adjacent cores off Iceland shows that subsurface pCO2 at the habitat depth of N. pachyderma (s) (~50 m) generally followed the atmospheric CO2 trend but with negative offsets of ~10–50 ppmv during 19–10 ka. These B/Ca-based reconstructions are supported by independent estimates from low-resolution δ11B measurements in the same cores. We also calibrate and apply Cd/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) to reconstruct nutrient levels for the same down cores. Like today's North Atlantic, past subsurface pCO2 variability off Iceland was significantly correlated with nutrient changes that might be linked to surface nutrient utilization and mixing within the upper water column. Because surface pCO2 (at 0 m water depth) is always lower than at deeper depths and if the application of a constant KD is valid, our results suggest that the polar North Atlantic has remained a CO2 sink during the calcification seasons of N. pachyderma (s) over the last deglaciation

Calibration and application of B/Ca, Cd/Ca, and δ11B in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) to constrain CO2 uptake in the subpolar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 28 (2013): 237–252, doi:10.1002/palo.20024.The North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea are prominent sinks of atmospheric CO2 today, but their roles in the past remain poorly constrained. In this study, we attempt to use B/Ca and δ11B ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral variety) to reconstruct subsurface water pH and pCO2 changes in the polar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation. Comparison of core-top results with nearby hydrographic data shows that B/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) is mainly controlled by seawater B(OH)4−/HCO3− with a roughly constant partition coefficient of 1.48 ± 0.15 × 10−3 (2σ), and δ11B in this species is offset below δ11B of the borate in seawater by 3.38 ± 0.71‰ (2σ). These values represent our best estimates with the sparse available hydrographic data close to our core-tops. More culturing and sediment trap work is needed to improve our understanding of boron incorporation into N. pachyderma (s). Application of a constant KD of 1.48 × 10−3 to high resolution N. pachyderma (s) B/Ca records from two adjacent cores off Iceland shows that subsurface pCO2 at the habitat depth of N. pachyderma (s) (~50 m) generally followed the atmospheric CO2 trend but with negative offsets of ~10–50 ppmv during 19–10 ka. These B/Ca-based reconstructions are supported by independent estimates from low-resolution δ11B measurements in the same cores. We also calibrate and apply Cd/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) to reconstruct nutrient levels for the same down cores. Like today's North Atlantic, past subsurface pCO2 variability off Iceland was significantly correlated with nutrient changes that might be linked to surface nutrient utilization and mixing within the upper water column. Because surface pCO2 (at 0 m water depth) is always lower than at deeper depths and if the application of a constant KD is valid, our results suggest that the polar North Atlantic has remained a CO2 sink during the calcification seasons of N. pachyderma (s) over the last deglaciation.This research is funded by Lamont-Doherty Postdoctoral Fellowship, Lawrence Livermore Fellowship and the Australian National University (J.Y.), by NERC RAPID grant NER/T/S/2002/00436 (N. M. and D. T.), and by a NERC PhD studentship (J.R.).2013-11-3

Magnetic record of deglaciation using FORC-PCA, sortable-silt grain size, and magnetic excursion at 26 ka, from the Rockall Trough (NE Atlantic)

Core MD04-2822 from the Rockall Trough has apparent sedimentation rates of ∼ 1 m/kyr during the last deglaciation (Termination I). Component magnetization directions indicate a magnetic excursion at 16.3 m depth in the core, corresponding to an age of 26.5 ka, implying an excursion duration of ∼350 years. Across Termination I, the mean grain size of sortable silt implies reduced bottom-current velocity in the Younger Dryas and Heinrich Stadial (HS)−1A, and increased velocities during the Bølling-Allerød warm period. Standard bulk magnetic parameters imply fining of magnetic grain size from the mid-Younger Dryas (∼12 ka) until ∼ 8 ka. First-order reversal curves (FORCs) were analyzed using ridge extraction to differentiate single domain (SD) from background (detrital) components. Principal component analysis (FORC-PCA) was then used to discriminate three end members corresponding to SD, pseudo-single domain (PSD), and multidomain (MD) magnetite. The fining of bulk magnetic grain size from 12 to 8 ka is due to reduction in concentration of detrital (PSD + MD) magnetite, superimposed on a relatively uniform concentration of SD magnetite produced by magnetotactic bacteria. The decrease in PSD+MD magnetite concentration from 12 to 8 ka is synchronized with increase in benthic δ13C, and with major (∼70 m) regional sea-level rise, and may therefore be related to detrital sources on the shelf that had reduced influence as sea level rose, and to bottom-water reorganization as Northern Source Water (NSW) replaced Southern Source Water (SSW)

Influence of hydrodynamic processes on the fate of sedimentary organic matter on continental margins

Understanding the effects of hydrodynamic forcing on organic matter (OM) composition is important for assessment of organic carbon (OC) burial in marginal seas on regional and global scales. Here we examine the relationships between regional oceanographic conditions (bottom shear stress), and the physical characteristics (mineral surface area and grain size) and geochemical properties (OC content [OC%] and carbon isotope compositions [13C, 14C]) of a large suite of surface sediments from the Chinese marginal seas to assess the influence of hydrodynamic processes on the fate of OM on shallow continental shelves. Our results suggest that 14C content is primarily controlled by organo‐mineral interactions and hydrodynamically driven resuspension processes, highlighted by (i) positive correlations between 14C content and OC% (and surface area) and (ii) negative correlations between 14C content and grain size (and bottom shear stress). Hydrodynamic processes influence 14C content due to both OC aging during lateral transport and accompanying selective degradation of OM associated with sediment (re) mobilization, these effects being superimposed on the original 14C characteristics of carbon source. Our observations support the hypotheses of Blair and Aller (2012, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev‐marine‐120709‐142717) and Leithold et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.10.011) that hydrodynamically driven sediment translocation results in greater OC 14C depletion in broad, shallow marginal seas common to passive margin settings than on active margins. On a global scale, this may influence the extent to which continental margins act as net carbon sources and sinks. Our findings thus suggest that hydrodynamic processes are important in shaping the nature, dynamics, and magnitude of OC export and burial in passive marginal seas