Abstract
AbstractDeep oceanic circulation regulates seafloor calcium carbonate (CaCO3) accumulation by transporting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to depth and then transferring it, with respired CO2, along the global ocean conveyor belt. This creates the shallowing trend of CaCO3 preservation from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. The thermohaline flow can be, however, complex on a basin‐wide scale; here, we use a state‐of‐the‐art data compilation and a carbonate accumulation/dissolution model to explain the CaCO3 distribution within the basins of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Our results demonstrate that different currents foster systematically dissimilar CaCO3 preservation within these connected ocean basins. The more undersaturated, faster moving, northward‐flowing Antarctic bottom water readily dissolves more CaCO3 than the southward‐flowing North Atlantic deep water. We are able to predict quantitatively these observations, based on benthic carbonate chemistry and mass‐transfer rates. Our model and CaCO3 records in such basins have the potential to provide new understanding about deep‐ocean circulation of the past.
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