North Atlantic Deep Water Formation Research Articles

The impacts of the Indonesian Throughflow on the inter‐basin seesaw mechanism, in idealized experiments

ABSTRACTThe role that the Indonesian Throughflow plays on climate is investigated in an alternative scenario, expected during glacial ages. The equatorwards shift of the Southern Hemisphere westerlies found in glacial ages acts to decrease the Agulhas Leakage (AL) and the thermohaline circulation (THC) in the Atlantic. Recent results suggest that these changes are followed by an increased THC in the Pacific, through an inter‐basin seesaw mechanism. The enhanced circulation in the Pacific demands thermocline water to cross the equator towards northern latitudes, which shifts the water source of the throughflow from the low‐salinity North Pacific to the relative saltier South Pacific. It is shown that in this equilibrium, the salinity anomalies of the throughflow impact the inter‐basin seesaw towards the restoration of the modern climate, enhancing the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation and decreasing the THC in the Pacific. These results are consistent with paleo‐observations and provide new insights to interpreting the climate changes in glacial periods.

Sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet to Interglacial Climate Forcing: MIS 5e Versus MIS 11

AbstractThe Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is thought to have contributed substantially to high global sea levels during the interglacials of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e and 11. Geological evidence suggests that the mass loss of the GrIS was greater during the peak interglacial of MIS 11 than MIS 5e, despite a weaker boreal summer insolation. We address this conundrum by using the three‐dimensional thermomechanical ice sheet model Glimmer forced by Community Climate System Model version 3 output for MIS 5e and MIS 11 interglacial time slices. Our results suggest a stronger sensitivity of the GrIS to MIS 11 climate forcing than to MIS 5e forcing. Besides stronger greenhouse gas radiative forcing, the greater MIS 11 GrIS mass loss relative to MIS 5e is attributed to a larger oceanic heat transport toward high latitudes by a stronger Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. The vigorous MIS 11 ocean overturning, in turn, is related to a stronger wind‐driven salt transport from low to high latitudes promoting North Atlantic Deep Water formation. The orbital insolation forcing, which causes the ocean current anomalies, is discussed.

North Atlantic Deep Water formation inhibits high Arctic contamination by continental perfluorooctane sulfonate discharges

AbstractPerfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is an aliphatic fluorinated compound with eight carbon atoms that is extremely persistent in the environment and can adversely affect human and ecological health. The stability, low reactivity, and high water solubility of PFOS combined with the North American phaseout in production around the year 2000 make it a potentially useful new tracer for ocean circulation. Here we characterize processes affecting the lifetime and accumulation of PFOS in the North Atlantic Ocean and transport to sensitive Arctic regions by developing a 3‐D simulation within the MITgcm. The model captures variability in measurements across biogeographical provinces (R2 = 0.90, p = 0.01). In 2015, the North Atlantic PFOS reservoir was equivalent to 60% of cumulative inputs from the North American and European continents (1400 Mg). Cumulative inputs to the Arctic accounted for 30% of continental discharges, while the remaining 10% was transported to the tropical Atlantic and other regions. PFOS concentrations declined rapidly after 2002 in the surface mixed layer (half‐life: 1–2 years) but are still increasing below 1000 m depth. During peak production years (1980–2000), plumes of PFOS‐enriched seawater were transported to the sub‐Arctic in energetic surface ocean currents. However, Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and deep ocean transport returned a substantial fraction of this northward transport (20%, 530 Mg) to southern latitudes and reduced cumulative inputs to the Arctic (730 Mg) by 70%. Weakened AMOC due to climate change is thus likely to increase the magnitude of persistent bioaccumulative pollutants entering the Arctic Ocean.

North Atlantic deep water formation and AMOC in CMIP5 models

Abstract. Deep water formation in climate models is indicative of their ability to simulate future ocean circulation, carbon and heat uptake, and sea level rise. Present-day temperature, salinity, sea ice concentration and ocean transport in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre and Nordic Seas from 23 CMIP5 (Climate Model Intercomparison Project, phase 5) models are compared with observations to assess the biases, causes and consequences of North Atlantic deep convection in models. The majority of models convect too deep, over too large an area, too often and too far south. Deep convection occurs at the sea ice edge and is most realistic in models with accurate sea ice extent, mostly those using the CICE model. Half of the models convect in response to local cooling or salinification of the surface waters; only a third have a dynamic relationship between freshwater coming from the Arctic and deep convection. The models with the most intense deep convection have the warmest deep waters, due to a redistribution of heat through the water column. For the majority of models, the variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is explained by the volumes of deep water produced in the subpolar gyre and Nordic Seas up to 2 years before. In turn, models with the strongest AMOC have the largest heat export to the Arctic. Understanding the dynamical drivers of deep convection and AMOC in models is hence key to realistically forecasting Arctic oceanic warming and its consequences for the global ocean circulation, cryosphere and marine life.

Deep-water bottom current evolution in the northern South China Sea during the last 150 kyr: Evidence from sortable-silt grain size and sedimentary magnetic fabric

Deep water bottom current (DWBC) plays a central role in global climate. Relative to the Atlantic, due to poor preservation of marine carbonate in the Pacific sediments, the evolution of Pacific deepwater circulation is still unclear. The South China Sea (SCS), connection to the Pacific through Luzon Strait, at a depth of about 2400m, offers a unique opportunity to monitor the changes of western Pacific deep water circulation. We present a magnetic and grain size analysis of two sediment cores (PC111 and PC83) located in Xisha Trough, northern SCS in order to reconstruct past changes of DWBC during the last 150kyrs. Variations in the mean size of sortable silt are interpreted to indicate past changes of DWBC, which suggest abrupt, millennial-scale increasing DWBC strength during Heinrich Stadials (HS1, HS2, HS3, HS4, HS5, HS6, HS7, HS8, HS9, HS10, HS11) for past 150kyr. The flow orientation of DWBC revealed by the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) are mostly NW–SE direction in Core PC111 and Core PC83, which are both parallel to the local topography. Combined with the published studies, we suggest the increase bottom current in northern SCS during the Heinrich Stadials (HS1 to HS11), times of weak North Atlantic Deep Water formation, demonstrating the tight coupling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Sensitivity of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to the dynamical framework in an ocean general circulation model

The horizontal coordinate systems commonly used in most global ocean models are the spherical latitude–longitude grid and displaced poles, such as a tripolar grid. The effect of the horizontal coordinate system on Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is evaluated by using an OGCM (ocean general circulation model). Two experiments are conducted with the model—one using a latitude–longitude grid (referred to as Lat_1) and the other using a tripolar grid (referred to as Tri). The results show that Tri simulates a stronger North Atlantic deep water (NADW) than Lat_1, as more saline water masses enter the Greenland–Iceland–Norwegian (GIN) seas in Tri. The stronger NADW can be attributed to two factors. One is the removal of the zonal filter in Tri, which leads to an increasing of the zonal gradient of temperature and salinity, thus strengthening the north geostrophic flow. In turn, it decreases the positive subsurface temperature and salinity biases in the subtropical regions. The other may be associated with topography at the North Pole, because realistic topography is applied in the tripolar grid while the latitude–longitude grid employs an artificial island around the North Pole. In order to evaluate the effect of the filter on AMOC, three enhanced filter experiments are carried out. Compared to Lat_1, an enhanced filter can also augment NADW formation, since more saline water is suppressed in the GIN seas, but accumulated in the Labrador Sea, especially in experiment Lat_2_S, which is the experiment with an enhanced filter on salinity.

Freshening of the Labrador Sea as a trigger for Little Ice Age development

Abstract. Arctic freshwater discharges to the Labrador Sea from melting glaciers and sea ice can have a large impact on ocean circulation dynamics in the North Atlantic, modifying climate and deep water formation in this region. In this study, we present for the first time a high resolution record of ice rafting in the Labrador Sea over the last millennium to assess the effects of freshwater discharges in this region on ocean circulation and climate. The occurrence of ice-rafted debris (IRD) in the Labrador Sea was studied using sediments from Site GS06-144-03 (57.29° N, 48.37° W; 3432 m water depth). IRD from the fraction 63–150 µm shows particularly high concentrations during the intervals ∼ AD 1000–1100, ∼ 1150–1250, ∼ 1400–1450, ∼ 1650–1700 and ∼ 1750–1800. The first two intervals occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), whereas the others took place within the Little Ice Age (LIA). Mineralogical identification indicates that the main IRD source during the MCA was SE Greenland. In contrast, the concentration and relative abundance of hematite-stained grains reflects an increase in the contribution of Arctic ice during the LIA. The comparison of our Labrador Sea IRD records with other climate proxies from the subpolar North Atlantic allowed us to propose a sequence of processes that led to the cooling that occurred during the LIA, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. This study reveals that the warm climate of the MCA may have enhanced iceberg calving along the SE Greenland coast and, as a result, freshened the subpolar gyre (SPG). Consequently, SPG circulation switched to a weaker mode and reduced convection in the Labrador Sea, decreasing its contribution to the North Atlantic deep water formation and, thus, reducing the amount of heat transported to high latitudes. This situation of weak SPG circulation may have made the North Atlantic climate more unstable, inducing a state in which external forcings (e.g. reduced solar irradiance and volcanic eruptions) could easily drive periods of severe cold conditions in Europe and the North Atlantic like the LIA. This analysis indicates that a freshening of the SPG may play a crucial role in the development of cold events during the Holocene, which may be of key importance for predictions about future climate.

Changes in the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic meridional heat transport in a RCP 8.5 climate projection in MPI-ESM

Abstract. We investigate changes in the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic Ocean meridional heat transport (OHT) in a climate projection experiment with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) performed for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Specifically, we compare a Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) RCP 8.5 climate change scenario, covering the simulation period from 2005 to 2300, to a historical simulation, covering the simulation period from 1850 to 2005. In RCP 8.5, the OHT declines by 30–50 % in comparison to the historical simulation in the North Atlantic by the end of the 23rd century. The decline in the OHT is accompanied by a change in the seasonal cycle of the total OHT and its components. We decompose the OHT into overturning and gyre component. For the OHT seasonal cycle, we find a northward shift of 5° and latitude-dependent shifts between 1 and 6 months that are mainly associated with changes in the meridional velocity field. We find that the changes in the OHT seasonal cycle predominantly result from changes in the wind-driven surface circulation, which projects onto the overturning component of the OHT in the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic. This leads in turn to latitude-dependent shifts between 1 and 6 months in the overturning component. In comparison to the historical simulation, in the subpolar North Atlantic, in RCP 8.5 we find a reduction of the North Atlantic Deep Water formation and changes in the gyre heat transport result in a strongly weakened seasonal cycle with a weakened amplitude by the end of the 23rd century.

Insights into North Atlantic deep water formation during the peak interglacial interval of Marine Isotope Stage 9 (MIS 9)

Foraminifera abundance and stable isotope records from ODP Site 984 (61.25°N, 24.04°W, 1648 m) in the North Atlantic are used to reconstruct surface circulation variations and the relative strength of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation over the period spanning the peak warmth of Marine Interglacial Stage (MIS) 9e (~324–336 ka). This interval includes the preceding deglaciation, Termination 4 (T4), and the subsequent glacial inception of MIS 9d. The records indicate a greatly reduced contribution of NADW during T4, as observed in more recent deglaciations. In contrast with the most recent deglaciation, the lack of a significant NADW signal extended from T4 well into the peak interglacial MIS 9e and persisted nearly until the transition to the subsequent glacial stage MIS 9d. Although NADW formation resumed during MIS 9e, only depths greater than 2000 m appear to have been ventilated. The poorly ventilated intermediate depth of Site 984 (<2000 m) may have resulted on one hand from a general reduction of deep water ventilation by NADW during the study interval or, on the other hand, from different pathways of the spread of newly formed NADW that bypassed the study location. The intermediate depths may have also been invaded by southern-sourced waters as the formation of intermediate depth NADW weakened. The absence of any significant NADW signal at the water depth of Site 984 during the climatic optimum contrasts sharply with subsequent interglacial peaks (MIS 5e and the Holocene). Despite the perturbed intermediate depth circulation, oceanic heat transport northeastward was not interrupted and may have contributed to the relatively mild interglacial conditions of MIS 9e.

Deepwater circulation variation in the South China Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum

AbstractDeepwater circulation plays a central role in global climate. Compared with the Atlantic, the Pacific deepwater circulation's history remains unclear. The Luzon overflow, a branch of the North Pacific deep water, determines the ventilation rate of the South China Sea (SCS) basin. Sedimentary magnetic properties in the SCS reflect millennial‐scale fluctuations in deep current intensity and orientation. The data suggest a slightly stronger current at the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the Holocene. But, the most striking increase in deep current occurred during Heinrich stadial 1 (H1) and to a lesser extent during the Younger Dryas (YD). Results of a transient deglacial experiment suggest that the northeastern current strengthening at the entrance of the SCS during H1 and the YD, times of weak North Atlantic Deep Water formation, could be linked to enhanced formation of North Pacific Deep Water.

Effects of Drake Passage on a strongly eddying global ocean

The climate impact of ocean gateway openings during the Eocene-Oligocene transition is still under debate. Previous model studies employed grid resolutions at which the impact of mesoscale eddies has to be parameterized. We present results of a state-of-the-art eddy-resolving global ocean model with a closed Drake Passage and compare with results of the same model at noneddying resolution. An analysis of the pathways of heat by decomposing the meridional heat transport into eddy, horizontal, and overturning circulation components indicates that the model behavior on the large scale is qualitatively similar at both resolutions. Closing Drake Passage induces (i) sea surface warming around Antarctica due to equatorward expansion of the subpolar gyres, (ii) the collapse of the overturning circulation related to North Atlantic Deep Water formation leading to surface cooling in the North Atlantic, and (iii) significant equatorward eddy heat transport near Antarctica. However, quantitative details significantly depend on the chosen resolution. The warming around Antarctica is substantially larger for the noneddying configuration (∼5.5°C) than for the eddying configuration (∼2.5°C). This is a consequence of the subpolar mean flow which partitions differently into gyres and circumpolar current at different resolutions. We conclude that for a deciphering of the different mechanisms active in Eocene-Oligocene climate change detailed analyses of the pathways of heat in the different climate subsystems are crucial in order to clearly identify the physical processes actually at work.

A pulse in the delivery of ice-rafted debris at site 704 in the southeast Atlantic during glacial Termination V

Termination V, the transition from glacial marine isotope stage 12 to interglacial stage 11–425 ka, is the largest deglaciation of the late Pleistocene and culminated with temperatures potentially warmer than present. Coastal geomorphic and stratigraphic evidence provides estimates of a sea-level high-stand 20 m above present at the time (Hearty et al. in Geology 27(4):375–378, 1999). Such sea-level rise would require disintegration of the Greenland Ice Sheet and West Antarctic Ice Sheet as well as part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (Raynaud et al. in Earth’s climate and orbital eccentricity: the marine isotope stage 11 question. Geophysical monograph 137. American Geophysical Union, Washington, 2003). Lithic fragments in deep-sea sediments >150 μm at Site 704 in the South Atlantic Ocean were quantified. A large multipronged peak in concentration of this ice-rafted debris consisting of clear minerals, rose-colored transparent minerals, and ash punctuates glacial Termination V. It coincides with a brief two-pronged 1 ‰ reversal to heavier isotopic values from ~2.4 to ~3.4 ‰ at ~416 ka interpreted to reflect cooling resulting from influx of a large number of icebergs. The peak in ice-rafted debris also coincides with a 1 ‰ decrease in carbon isotopic ratios interrupting the ~2 ‰ increase in carbon isotope values across the entirety of Termination V. This is interpreted to reflect a reduction or shutdown in North Atlantic Deep Water formation and attendant Circumpolar Deep Water upwelling at the site and is also consistent with a shift in storage of carbon and carbonate from the deep sea to continental shelves resulting from a dramatic sea-level high-stand. Consequently, the lithic record at Site 704 lends support for the upper end of sea-level estimates based upon land-based evidence that requires a substantial contribution from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, caution is warranted as differences with lithic records from Site 1089, 1090 and 1094 suggest sea-surface temperatures may have also affected lithic concentration through controls on iceberg trajectories and decay.

Glacial Atlantic overturning increased by wind stress in climate models

AbstractPrevious Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project (PMIP) simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) showed dissimilar results on transports and structure. Here we analyze the most recent PMIP3 models, which show a consistent increase (on average by 41 ± 26%) and deepening (663 ± 550 m) of the AMOC with respect to preindustrial simulations, in contrast to some reconstructions from proxy data. Simulations run with the University of Victoria (UVic) ocean circulation model suggest that this is caused by changes in the Northern Hemisphere wind stress, brought about by the presence of ice sheets over North America in the LGM. When forced with LGM wind stress anomalies from PMIP3 models, the UVic model responds with an increase of the northward salt transport in the North Atlantic, which strengthens North Atlantic Deep Water formation and the AMOC. These results improve our understanding of the LGM AMOC's driving forces and suggest that some ocean mechanisms may not be correctly represented in PMIP3 models or some proxy data may need reinterpretation.

Severe cooling episodes at the onset of deglaciations on the Southwestern Iberian margin from MIS 21 to 13 (IODP site U1385)

Here we reconstruct past sea surface water conditions on the SW Iberian Margin by analyzing planktonic foraminifer assemblages from IODP Site U1385 sediments (37°34.285′N, 10°7.562′W; 2585m depth). The data provide a continuous climate record from Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 21 to 13, extending the existing paleoclimate record of the Iberian Margin back to the ninth climatic cycle (867ka). Millennial-scale variability in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) occurred during interglacial and glacial periods, but with wider amplitude (>5°C) at glacial onsets and terminations. Pronounced stadial events were recorded at all deglaciations, during the middle Pleistocene. These events are recorded by large amplitude peaks in the percentage of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral coincident with heavy values of planktonic δ18O and low Ca/Ti ratios. This prominent cooling of surface waters along the Portuguese margin is the result of major reorganizations of North Atlantic surface and deep-water circulation in response to freshwater release to the North Atlantic when ice sheets collapse at the onset of deglaciations. In fact, most of these cooling events occurred at times of maximum or increasing northern Hemisphere summer insolation. The slowdown of deep North Atlantic deep-water formation reduced the northward flow of the warm subtropical North Atlantic Drift, which was recorded on the Iberian margin by enhanced advection of northern cold subpolar waters. Following each episode of severe cooling at the onset of deglaciations, surface water experienced abrupt warming that initiated the climatic optimum during the early phase of interglacials. Abrupt warming was recorded by a sudden increase of the subtropical assemblage that indicates enhanced northward transport of heat through the North Atlantic Drift. At the onset of glaciations, SST along the Portuguese margin remained relatively warm while the surface waters of the North Atlantic experienced cooling, generating a large latitudinal SST gradient.

Distal and proximal controls on the silicon stable isotope signature of North Atlantic Deep Water

It has been suggested that the uniquely high δ30Si signature of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) results from the contribution of isotopically fractionated silicic acid by mode and intermediate waters that are formed in the Southern Ocean and transported to the North Atlantic within the upper limb of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Here, we test this hypothesis in a suite of ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) with widely varying MOCs and related pathways of nutrient supply to the upper ocean. Despite their differing MOC pathways, all models reproduce the observation of a high δ30Si signature in NADW, as well showing a major or dominant (46–62%) contribution from Southern Ocean mode/intermediate waters to its Si inventory. These models thus confirm that the δ30Si signature of NADW does indeed owe its existence primarily to the large-scale transport of a distal fractionation signal created in the surface Southern Ocean. However, we also find that more proximal fractionation of Si upwelled to the surface within the Atlantic Ocean must also play some role, contributing 20–46% of the deep Atlantic δ30Si gradient. Finally, the model suite reveals compensatory effects in the mechanisms contributing to the high δ30Si signature of NADW, whereby less export of high-δ30Si mode/intermediate waters to the North Atlantic is compensated by production of a high-δ30Si signal during transport to the NADW formation region. This trade-off decouples the δ30Si signature of NADW from the pathways of deep water upwelling associated with the MOC. Thus, whilst our study affirms the importance of cross-equatorial transport of Southern Ocean-sourced Si in producing the unique δ30Si signature of NADW, it also shows that the presence of a deep Atlantic δ30Si gradient does not uniquely constrain the pathways by which deep waters are returned to the upper ocean.

Did a bi-polar multi-level oceanic oscillation cause the Little Ice Age and other high latitude climate extremes?

Variations of ice-rafted sand and sediment from deep-sea cores beneath the North Atlantic Drift imply 1500yr cycles of the Drift flow and its associated climate warmth in northern North Atlantic regions. The Drift cycle is part of a complex bi-polar oceanic oscillation. Central to the oscillation is the relatively higher sea surface salinity of the high-latitude Greenland Sea that enables the winter sinking of surface water to form North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This drives the oscillation, and the NADW is replaced by water from the Drift. The oscillation causes climate extremes in both northern and southern high latitudes and is framed here in a sinusoidal model. The model is consistent with and may explain the early medieval climate optimum, the subsequent Little Ice Age, the recent record maximum area of Antarctic winter sea ice, and the related record low rate of Antarctic Bottom Water (ABW) formation. The negative feedback of lower salinity ABW entering the northern North Atlantic tends to inhibit NADW formation and the northward Drift flow. The positive feedback of warmer and higher salinity NADW mixing into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica tends to reduce sea ice formation and enhance the rate of ABW formation. Because of these feedbacks, the rate of NADW formation oscillates over a range less than a maximum without feedback, the rate of ABW formation oscillates over a range greater than a minimum without feedback, and the phase of NADW oscillation in the model leads the ABW oscillation by 375 years. The model predicts another northern North Atlantic climate optimum about 2500 AD. However, increases in penetration of the polar ocean by flow of Atlantic water in the process of replacing the sinking NADW suggest that an interval of extreme warmth in the northeastern North Atlantic may occur within decades. This penetration could result in the loss of perennial sea ice along the northern coast of Greenland. Much of the inferred increase of northward winter flow of northeastern North Atlantic water into the Greenland Sea in recent decades may be due to stronger NADW formation caused by greater salt contributions to the Drift from the Mediterranean outflow.

Early Pliocene onset of modern Nordic Seas circulation related to ocean gateway changes.

The globally warm climate of the early Pliocene gradually cooled from 4 million years ago, synchronous with decreasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. In contrast, palaeoceanographic records indicate that the Nordic Seas cooled during the earliest Pliocene, before global cooling. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the precise timing of Nordic Seas cooling has limited our understanding of the governing mechanisms. Here, using marine palynology, we show that cooling in the Nordic Seas was coincident with the first trans-Arctic migration of cool-water Pacific mollusks around 4.5 million years ago, and followed by the development of a modern-like Nordic Seas surface circulation. Nordic Seas cooling precedes global cooling by 500,000 years; as such, we propose that reconfiguration of the Bering Strait and Central American Seaway triggered the development of a modern circulation in the Nordic Seas, which is essential for North Atlantic Deep Water formation and a precursor for more widespread Greenland glaciation in the late Pliocene.

Unstable AMOC during glacial intervals and millennial variability: The role of mean sea ice extent

A striking feature of paleoclimate records is the greater stability of the Holocene epoch relative to the preceding glacial interval, especially apparent in the North Atlantic region. In particular, strong irregular variability with an approximately 1500 yr period, known as the Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) events, punctuates the last glaciation, but is absent during the interglacial. Prevailing theories, modeling and data suggest that these events, seen as abrupt warming episodes in Greenland ice cores and sea surface temperature records in the North Atlantic, are linked to reorganizations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). In this study, using a new low-order ocean model that reproduces a realistic power spectrum of millennial variability, we explore differences in the AMOC stability between glacial and interglacial intervals of the 100 kyr glacial cycle of the Late Pleistocene (1 kyr=1000 yr). Previous modeling studies show that the edge of sea ice in the North Atlantic shifts southward during glacial intervals, moving the region of the North Atlantic Deep Water formation and the AMOC also southward. Here we demonstrate that, by shifting the AMOC with respect to the mean atmospheric precipitation field, such a displacement makes the system unstable, which explains chaotic millennial variability during the glacials and the persistence of stable ocean conditions during the interglacials.

Termination-II interstadial/stadial climate change recorded in two stalagmites from the north European Alps

Understanding the sequence of events that take place during glacial-interglacial climate transitions is important for improving our knowledge of abrupt climate change. Here, we present a new stacked, high-resolution, precisely-dated speleothem stable isotope record from the northern Alps, which provides an important record of temperature and moisture-source changes between 134 and 111 ka for Europe and the wider North Atlantic realm. The record encompasses the penultimate deglaciation (Termination II (TII)), which lies beyond the limit of radiocarbon dating, thus providing an important new archive for a crucial period of rapid paleoclimate change. Warmer and wetter ice-free conditions were achieved by 134.1 ± 0.7 ka (modelled ages) as indicated by the presence of liquid water at the site. Temperatures warmed further at 133.7 ± 0.5 ka and led into an interstadial, synchronous with slightly elevated monsoon strength during the week monsoon interval. The interstadial experienced an unstable climate with a trough in temperature associated with a slowdown in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and a reduction in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation. The interstadial ended with a more extreme cold reversal lasting 500 years in which NADW formation remained active but the subpolar gyre weakened allowing cool polar waters to penetrate southwards. The main warming associated with TII was very rapid, taking place between 130.9 ± 0.9 and 130.7 ± 0.9 ka coeval with initial monsoon strengthening. Temperatures then plateaued before being interrupted by a 600-year cold event at 129.1 ± 0.6 ka, associated once again with penetration of polar waters southwards into the North Atlantic and a slowdown in monsoon strengthening. Sub-orbital climate oscillations were thus a feature of TII in the north Atlantic realm, which broadly resemble the Bølling/Allerød-Younger Dryas-8.2 ka event pattern of change observed in Termination I despite monsoon records indicating strong differences between the last and penultimate deglaciation.

Atlantic Deep-water Response to the Early Pliocene Shoaling of the Central American Seaway.

The early Pliocene shoaling of the Central American Seaway (CAS), ~4.7–4.2 million years ago (mega annum-Ma), is thought to have strengthened Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The associated increase in northward flux of heat and moisture may have significantly influenced the evolution of Pliocene climate. While some evidence for the predicted increase in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation exists in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, similar evidence is missing in the wider Atlantic. Here, we present stable carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope records from the Southeast Atlantic-a key region for monitoring the southern extent of NADW. Using these data, together with other δ13C and δ18O records from the Atlantic, we assess the impact of the early Pliocene CAS shoaling phase on deep-water circulation. We find that NADW formation was vigorous prior to 4.7 Ma and showed limited subsequent change. Hence, the overall structure of the deep Atlantic was largely unaffected by the early Pliocene CAS shoaling, corroborating other evidence that indicates larger changes in NADW resulted from earlier and deeper shoaling phases. This finding implies that the early Pliocene shoaling of the CAS had no profound impact on the evolution of climate.