The “warm” Marine Isotope Stage 31 in the Labrador Sea: Low surface salinities and cold subsurface waters prevented winter convection

Abstract

AbstractSurface and subsurface conditions in the Labrador Sea during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 31 at the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1305 off southwest Greenland are reconstructed based on dinocyst and foraminifer assemblages. Isotopic compositions of planktonic (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Np) and benthic (Cibicides wuellerstorfi, Cw, and Oridorsalis umbonatus, Ou) foraminifera provide further information about water properties in the mesopelagic layer as well as at the seafloor. Dinocyst proxy reconstructions indicate low salinities (32–34.5), cool winters (3–6°C), and mild summers (10–15°C) in the surface water layer during the MIS 31 “optimum”. However, planktonic foraminifer assemblages largely dominated by Np suggest relatively cold subsurface conditions in winter and summer (<4°C). Lower δ13C values in Np versus Cw further suggest either a lesser‐ventilated mesopelagic layer than the bottom one or high organic matter oxidation rates at Np habitat depth. The dinocyst and planktonic foraminifer records together suggest a strong stratification between the surface and subsurface water layers. Isotopic and micropaleontological data thus converge toward paleoceanographical conditions unsuitable for convection and intermediate or deep water formation in the Labrador Sea during the warm MIS 31 interglacial, a situation comparable to the one that prevailed during the warm MIS 5e.