Abstract
Constraining the response time of the climate system to changes in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation is fundamental to improving climate and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation predictability. Here we report a new synchronization of terrestrial, marine, and ice-core records, which allows the first quantitative determination of the response time of North Atlantic climate to changes in high-latitude NADW formation rate during the last deglaciation. Using a continuous record of deep water ventilation from the Nordic Seas, we identify a ∼400-year lead of changes in high-latitude NADW formation ahead of abrupt climate changes recorded in Greenland ice cores at the onset and end of the Younger Dryas stadial, which likely occurred in response to gradual changes in temperature- and wind-driven freshwater transport. We suggest that variations in Nordic Seas deep-water circulation are precursors to abrupt climate changes and that future model studies should address this phasing.
Highlights
Constraining the response time of the climate system to changes in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation is fundamental to improving climate and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation predictability
We present a new synchronization of high-latitude NADW, climate, and pCO2 records for the last deglaciation based on new marine and ice core data that allows us to conclude for the first time that changes in deep-water circulation in the Nordic Seas led rapid shifts in North Atlantic climate and changes in carbon cycling
Site MD99-2284, which is characterised by exceptionally high sedimentation rates (>400 cm kyr-1), is located at the gateway of the Faroe-Shetland Channel (FSC), where warm surface Atlantic water flows into the Nordic Seas and cold dense water overflows into the North Atlantic
Summary
Constraining the response time of the climate system to changes in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation is fundamental to improving climate and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation predictability. We report a new synchronization of terrestrial, marine, and ice-core records, which allows the first quantitative determination of the response time of North Atlantic climate to changes in high-latitude NADW formation rate during the last deglaciation. Precise reconstructions that resolve the relative timing of changes in North Atlantic Ocean circulation, climate, and carbon cycling are necessary to anticipate the mechanisms initiating and propagating abrupt global climate changes. We present a new synchronization of high-latitude NADW, climate, and pCO2 records for the last deglaciation based on new marine and ice core data that allows us to conclude for the first time that changes in deep-water circulation in the Nordic Seas led rapid shifts in North Atlantic climate and changes in carbon cycling
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