Bipolar control on millennial atmospheric CO2 changes over the past glacial cycle

Abstract

Ice-core measurements show diverse atmospheric CO2 variations – increasing, decreasing or remaining stable – during millennial-scale North Atlantic cold periods called stadials. The reasons for these contrasting trends remain elusive. Ventilation of carbon-rich deep oceans can profoundly affect atmospheric CO2, but its millennial-scale history is poorly constrained. In this study, I will show a high-resolution deep-water acidity record from the Iberian Margin in the North Atlantic, a unique setting that allows us to construct a robust chronology for confident comparisons between marine and ice-core records. The new data combined with ice-core CO2 records reveal multiple ocean ventilation modes involving an interplay of the two polar regions, rather than by the Southern Ocean alone. These modes governed past deep-sea carbon storage and thereby atmospheric CO2 variations on millennial timescales. Overall, our record suggests a bipolar control on millennial atmospheric CO2 changes during the past glacial cycle.