Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Reduction Research Articles

Increased Asian aerosols drive a slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Observational evidence and climate model experiments suggest a slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) since the mid-1990s. Increased greenhouse gases and the declined anthropogenic aerosols (AAs) over North America and Europe are believed to contribute to the AMOC slowdown. Asian AAs continue to increase but the associated impact has been unclear. Using ensembles of climate simulations, here we show that the radiative cooling resulting from increased Asian AAs drives an AMOC reduction. The increased AAs over Asia generate circumglobal stationary Rossby waves in the northern midlatitudes, which shift the westerly jet stream southward and weaken the subpolar North Atlantic westerlies. Consequently, reduced transport of cold air from North America hinders water mass transformation in the Labrador Sea and thus contributes to the AMOC slowdown. The link between increased Asian AAs and an AMOC slowdown is supported by different models with different configurations. Thus, reducing emissions of Asian AAs will not only lower local air pollution, but also help stabilize the AMOC.

AMOC decline and recovery in a warmer climate

This study presents novel insight into the mechanisms of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) reduction and its recovery under a warmer climate scenario. An one-thousand-year-long numerical simulation of a global coupled ocean–ice–atmosphere climate model, subjected to a stationary atmospheric radiative forcing, depict a coherent picture of the Arctic sea ice melting as a trigger for the initial AMOC reduction, along with decreases in the northward fluxes of salt and heat. Further atmospheric-driven ocean processes contribute to an erosion of the stable stratification of the fresher, yet colder waters in the surface layers of the North Atlantic, contributing to the recovery of a permanently altered AMOC.

Geostrophic and Mesoscale Eddy Contributions to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Decline under CO2 Increase in the GFDL CM2-O Model Suite

Abstract The pattern and magnitude of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) in response to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration greatly differ across climate models in particular due to differences in the representation of oceanic processes. Here, we investigate the response of the AMOC to an idealized climate change scenario, along with the drivers of this response, in the three configurations of a coupled climate model suite with varying resolutions in the ocean (1°, 0.25°, 0.10°). In response to the CO2 increase, the AMOC shows a reduction of similar magnitude in the low and high resolutions, while a muted response is found in the medium resolution. A decomposition of the AMOC into its geostrophic and residual components reveals that most of the AMOC reduction is due to a weakening of the geostrophic streamfunction driven by temperature anomalies, partly opposed by a strengthening of the geostrophic streamfunction driven by salinity anomalies. Changes in the AMOC due to the mesoscale eddy streamfunction contribute to 13% and 17% of the AMOC decline in the low and high resolutions, respectively, but induce very little change in the medium resolution. The similar response of the AMOC strength in the low and high resolutions hides important differences in the contribution and pattern of the geostrophic and eddy streamfunctions. The lack of sensitivity of the medium resolution to the CO2 forcing is due to a weak connection between the deep water formation regions in the northern subpolar gyre and the Deep Western Boundary Current. Significance Statement The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major system of ocean currents in the Atlantic that contributes to shaping the climate at regional and global scales, notably through the transport of heat from the low to the high latitudes. A major slowdown of the AMOC over the twenty-first century is predicted by current climate models in response to increasing greenhouse gases. Yet, the magnitude and timing of this slowdown are uncertain. The purpose of this study is to investigate the expected weakening of the AMOC using state-of-the-art numerical climate models that include higher resolutions than typically used in climate change assessments. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms driving the weakening of the AMOC and into differences arising from model resolutions.

Stagnant North Atlantic Deep Water Heat Uptake With Reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last Deglaciation

AbstractAtlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays a major role in the climate system by modulating the depth and rate of oceanic heat storage. Some climate simulations suggest that reduced AMOC decreases bottom water ventilation and that the heat absorbed by the ocean starts to mix downwards, warming Atlantic intermediate waters. This has been corroborated for the western North Atlantic by benthic foraminifera geochemical records from periods of reduced AMOC during the last deglaciation. However, the deep‐water response remains poorly constrained, and the lack of direct paleotemperature reconstructions limits our understanding about the effects of reduced circulation on ocean heat uptake. We present a new reconstruction of bottom water temperatures from core GeoB9508‐5 (2,384 m water depth, 15°29.90°N/17°56.88°W) off the northwestern African Margin. Our paleotemperature record, based on Uvigerina spp. Mg/Ca, shows two episodes of intense transient deep water warming in times of decreasing overturning circulation, followed by long periods of heat uptake stagnation. First, during AMOC slowdown in the Heinrich stadial 1, when paleotemperatures of ∼2°C persisted for ∼5.4 Kyr coincident with the weakest stage of AMOC; and second in the Younger Dryas, when bottom water temperatures >4°C lasted ∼2.5 Kyr during a less intense AMOC decline. This suggests a stagnation of deep‐water heat uptake in the deep NE Atlantic possibly linked to a reduced downward advection of heat during times of a reduced AMOC, supporting the hypothesis that AMOC strength sets the depth of oceanic heat storage in the North Atlantic.

Potential Role of Mid‐Latitude Seaway on Early Paleogene Atlantic Overturning Circulation

AbstractThe role of the mid‐latitude seaway between the proto‐Paratethys and the North Sea on the early Paleogene ocean circulation is examined with a state‐of‐art earth system model. The early Eocene simulations here demonstrate that the open mid‐latitude seaway captures most relatively fresh surface water from the Arctic and Greenland‐Norwegian Sea and prohibits them from leaking into the Labrador Sea, thus benefiting the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). However, the closure of the seaway triggers the AMOC reduction as more relatively fresh surface water enters the Labrador Sea, and the AMOC finally shuts down. Together with geological reconstructions, our results also provide insights into understanding the evolution of the Atlantic‐Arctic oceanic gateways during the Paleogene.

North Atlantic cooling triggered a zonal mode over the Indian Ocean during Heinrich Stadial 1.

Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are thought to affect tropical hydroclimate through adjustment of the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) involves the largest AMOC reduction in recent geological time; however, over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), proxy records suggest zonal anomalies featuring intense, widespread drought in tropical East Africa versus generally wet but heterogeneous conditions in the Maritime Continent. Here, we synthesize proxy data and an isotope-enabled transient deglacial simulation and show that the southward ITCZ shift over the eastern IO during HS1 strengthens IO Walker circulation, triggering an east-west precipitation dipole across the basin. This dipole reverses the zonal precipitation anomalies caused by the exposed Sunda and Sahul shelves due to glacial lower sea level. Our study illustrates how zonal modes of atmosphere-ocean circulation can amplify or reverse global climate anomalies, highlighting their importance for future climate change.

Early Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the Gulf of Cadiz reveal glacial-interglacial and millennial-scale variability

Coccolithophore high resolution (300 years) quantitative analyses have been carried out on Early Pleistocene sediment samples from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1387 retrieved in the Gulf of Cadiz. The studied interval is well constrained by the δ18O chronological frame and covers marine isotope stage (MIS) 48 to MIS 45, from 1465.9 ka to 1389.9 ka. The aim is to investigate paleoenvironmental changes during a poorly known interval of the “41 ky world” and understand how climate dynamics controlled coccolithophore abundance and variation at orbital up to millennial scale. Assemblage composition variation and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicate that temperature and nutrient availability are the main factors influencing coccolithophores. Precession forcing combined with hydrological and atmospheric dynamics affect changes in coccolithophore assemblage composition and abundance highlighting glacial-interglacial cycles and a millennial scale variability, which is more evident during glacials than during interglacials. Interglacial MIS 47 onset is more abrupt than MIS 45 inception in relation to a more prominent insolation maximum, which favors the sharp increase and highest abundance of warm water taxa in the early MIS 47. Short-term abundance peaks of C. pelagicus spp. pelagicus during glacials document polar-subpolar melting water influx into the Gulf of Cadiz and southward migration of the subpolar front during episodes of high volume ice-sheet in the north hemisphere and reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation. In late MIS 48 the lowest coccolithophore productivity, induced by colder and stratified surface waters, a terminal stadial has been inferred. Enhanced short-term glacial productivity is favored by higher mixing and nutrient content in surface water due to the strengthened westerly winds during +NAO-like phases. This promotes arid condition and upwelling along the studied site. The interglacial short-term coccolithophore productivity increases are associated with insolation maxima and enhanced nutrients of land origin during more humid periods led by -NAO-like phases, which induce the southward position of the westerlies and higher precipitation in the Mediterranean region and North Africa, in agreement with the contemporary sapropel occurrences in Mediterranean Sea. Our data-set suggests a connection between climate dynamics in the Gulf of Cadiz and east of Gibraltar Strait during the Early Pleistocene as well as a relationship with the north hemisphere ice-sheet dynamics.

Late Quaternary Abrupt Climate Change in the Tropics and Sub‐Tropics: The Continental Signal of Tropical Hydroclimatic Events (THEs)

AbstractTropical hydroclimatic events, characterized by extreme regional rainfall anomalies, were a recurrent feature of marine isotope stages 2–4 and involved some of the most abrupt and dramatic climatic changes in the late Quaternary. These anomalies were pervasive throughout the tropics and resulted from the southward displacement of the Hadley circulation and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and its associated convective rainfall, modulated by regional factors. Lake sediments, stalagmites, and offshore marine sediments that integrate inland continental conditions provide a comprehensive record of these changes over the past ∼70,000 yr. Vast areas experienced severe drought while other areas recorded greatly increased rainfall. Within the uncertainties of dating, these tropical rainfall anomalies occurred very close in time (±102–103 yr) to the deposition of North Atlantic ice‐rafted debris (IRD) that defines Heinrich events (HEs). The IRD record is a good proxy for the amount and distribution of additional freshwater forcing which was necessary to bring about a drastic reduction in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) strength during each HE. As a consequence of this reduction in AMOC and an abrupt expansion in the area of sea‐ice, cooling of the North Atlantic and adjacent continents took place, with a rapid atmospheric response involving the southward displacement of the ITCZ and associated rainfall belts. The climatic consequences of this large‐scale change in the Hadley circulation, modulated by regional factors, is clearly recorded throughout the tropics as a series of abrupt and extreme hydroclimatic events. Some of the physical mechanisms that may have played a role in those changes are discussed.

A late Holocene shift of typhoon activity recorded by coastal sedimentary archives in eastern China

AbstractFrequency changes in intense typhoons are of great concern to modern society. However, current understanding of the influence of climate on typhoon activity on the millennial scale is restricted by the sparseness of pre‐observational reconstructions in the north‐western Pacific. This study presents a 5500 year long typhoon record from the Jiangsu coast that provides the first >2 ka record in eastern China. Variations in the D90 grain size are the best predictor of recent typhoons in a second short high‐resolution core. Comparison with other typhoon records from south‐eastern China establishes a China millennial typhoon variability index during the middle to late Holocene, with maxima at ca 4750 ± 170, 3500 ± 220, 1500 ± 480 and 250 ± 170 yr bp and minima at ca 5200 ± 300, 4150 ± 430, 2600 ± 650 and 750 ± 270 yr bp. Peaks in typhoon activity in south‐eastern China (compared with Japan) correlate with damped (enhanced) El Niño–Southern Oscillation and weak (strong) East Asian Summer Monsoon, indicating a seesaw pattern in typhoon activity between the two regions. A shift in typhoon frequency pattern was also identified around 2000 yr bp in south‐eastern China, with subsequent more frequent typhoon activity. At that time there was sustained Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation reduction and its associated El Niño–Southern Oscillation enhancement, so Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation‐driven El Niño–Southern Oscillation changes are likely to be the major cause of the significant increase in typhoon activity since 2000 yr bp, resulting in the 1500 ± 480 and 250 ± 170 yr bp China millennial typhoon variability peaks. To accurately predict changes in intense typhoon activity, it is therefore important to understand how the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and El Niño–Southern Oscillation will respond to future climate change.

Carbon 13 Isotopes Reveal Limited Ocean Circulation Changes Between Interglacials of the Last 800 ka

AbstractIce core data have shown that atmospheric CO2 concentrations during interglacials were lower before the Mid‐Brunhes Event (MBE, ~430 ka), than after the MBE by around 30 ppm. To explain such a difference, it has been hypothesized that increased bottom water formation around Antarctica or reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could have led to greater oceanic carbon storage before the MBE, resulting in less carbon in the atmosphere. However, only few data on possible changes in interglacial ocean circulation across the MBE have been compiled, hampering model‐data comparison. Here we present a new global compilation of benthic foraminifera carbon isotopic (δ13C) records from 31 marine sediment cores covering the last 800 ka, with the aim of evaluating possible changes of interglacial ocean circulation across the MBE. We show that a small systematic difference between pre‐ and post‐MBE interglacial δ13C is observed. In pre‐MBE interglacials, northern source waters tend to have slightly higher δ13C values and penetrate deeper, which could be linked to an increased northern sourced water formation or a decreased southern sourced water formation. Numerical model simulations tend to support the role of abyssal water formation around Antarctica: Decreased convection there associated with increased sinking of dense water along the continental slopes results in increased δ13C values in the Atlantic in agreement with pre‐MBE interglacial data. It also yields reduced atmospheric CO2 as in pre‐MBE records, despite a smaller simulated amplitude change compared to data, highlighting the need for other processes to explain the MBE transition.

Two-phase structure of tropical hydroclimate during Heinrich Stadial 1 and its global implications

Previous studies have proposed that the two-phase structure of Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) is a ubiquitous feature. However, few studies have focused on the internal structure of HS1 over a tropical domain; thus, the interhemispheric ocean-atmosphere teleconnections during HS1 are poorly defined. Here, we present high-resolution sedimentological, geochemical, and palaeoceanographic records from the core CG2 in the southern South China Sea (SCS), off the northern Sunda Shelf. The core continuously spans 9.0–22.0 ky BP. The records suggest two episodes of increased monsoon rainfall during the pre-HS1 (∼19.0–18.0 ky BP) and in the early HS1 (17.5–16.1 ky BP), along with a weaker monsoon rainfall during the late HS1 (16.1–14.7 ky BP). In contrast, a lower precipitation over the Flores Sea occurred during the early HS1, off the southern Sunda Shelf, followed by an enhanced precipitation runoff during the late HS1 (Muller et al., 2012). Notably, these two different precipitation phases characterise a southward Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shift over the Sunda Shelf during HS1. These changes are also consistent with other monsoon records, as well as other available data from the tropical to high latitudes of both hemispheres, supporting the global scope of the twofold HS1. We propose that the two episodes of intense monsoon rainfall over the northern Sunda Shelf during the pre-HS1 and the early HS1 observed in our study are closely linked to two different melting events associated with European ice sheet (EIS) retreat. We further propose that the subsequent maximum Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) reduction and the migration of the ITCZ to its southernmost position during the late HS1 are tightly connected with the destabilization of the marine-terminating ice-streams of the Laurentide ice sheet (LIS) in the North Atlantic. Tropical positive feedbacks during HS1, in turn, should have played an important role in sustaining the AMOC reduction and Northern Hemisphere (NH) stadial conditions, by continuously lowering the salinity of the low-latitude currents in the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, the tropical ITCZ appears to have been a key bridge in promoting interhemispheric climate connections, by which North Atlantic cooling was rapidly linked to increased Southern Ocean surface westerlies. This, in turn, drove upwelling and CO2 ventilation from the Southern Ocean, and thereby facilitated deglacial warming. Finally, these findings show that tropical climate variation is an important component of deglacial climate changes; understanding how it responds to millennial events like HS1 may help us better understand global teleconnections.

Earth’s radiative imbalance from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present

The energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere determines the temporal evolution of the global climate, and vice versa changes in the climate system can alter the planetary energy fluxes. This interplay is fundamental to our understanding of Earth's heat budget and the climate system. However, even today, the direct measurement of global radiative fluxes is difficult, such that most assessments are based on changes in the total energy content of the climate system. We apply the same approach to estimate the long-term evolution of Earth's radiative imbalance in the past. New measurements of noble gas-derived mean ocean temperature from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dome C ice core covering the last 40,000 y, combined with recent results from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core and the sea-level record, allow us to quantitatively reconstruct the history of the climate system energy budget. The temporal derivative of this quantity must be equal to the planetary radiative imbalance. During the deglaciation, a positive imbalance of typically +0.2 W⋅m-2 is maintained for ∼10,000 y, however, with two distinct peaks that reach up to 0.4 W⋅m-2 during times of substantially reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. We conclude that these peaks are related to net changes in ocean heat uptake, likely due to rapid changes in North Atlantic deep-water formation and their impact on the global radiative balance, while changes in cloud coverage, albeit uncertain, may also factor into the picture.

Mechanisms and Impacts of a Partial AMOC Recovery Under Enhanced Freshwater Forcing

AbstractThe Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is expected to weaken in the 21st century due to increased surface buoyancy. Such AMOC changes in ocean models are often accompanied by a subsurface reduction in density. Here we perform freshwater perturbation experiments with both a 1° coupled model and an idealized zonally averaged ocean‐only model to demonstrate that slow subsurface property changes (1) introduce a negative feedback that erodes the stratification and partially reinvigorates convection and the AMOC and (2) ensure the meridional heat transport weakens less than the AMOC. In the coupled model with a 0.1‐Sv net freshwater flux introduced around Greenland, an initial 22% AMOC reduction over 40 years is followed by a recovery of almost half the lost strength after 400 years. The final heat transport, however, is weakened by only 7%. Similar responses in the idealized model demonstrate that 2‐D ocean‐only dynamics control the changes.

The resilience and sensitivity of Northeast Atlantic deep water εNd to overprinting by detrital fluxes over the past 30,000 years

The neodymium isotope proxy has become a valuable tool for the reconstruction of past ocean water mass provenance and mixing. For its accurate application, knowledge about the origin and preservation of Nd in sedimentary archives is crucial. Recently, concerns have emerged regarding the applicability of neodymium isotopes as a conservative palaeo water mass tracer, given potential Nd fluxes from sediments into bottom waters (Abbott et al., 2015a) and inferred relabelling of ocean waters by settling detrital material (Roberts and Piotrowski, 2015). Consequently, a decoupling of water mass provenance and proxy variations may arise. We investigate the mobility of Nd around extreme detrital sedimentation events such as glacial ice rafting pulses and turbidite deposition in the Northeast Atlantic. The constructed records from sediment leachates span extreme Nd isotope variations including volcanic (εNd ∼ 0) and Laurentian (εNd ∼ −27) sources. We find that Nd was released into pore waters from reactive detritus inside some detrital layers during early diagenesis, thereby overprinting any archived bottom water Nd signature and precluding the reconstruction of past water mass provenance during the affected time intervals. However, we do not observe any definite indication of diffusive vertical migration of Nd into adjacent layers. Furthermore, bottom water Nd isotope signatures were not modified to a measurable degree by any potential benthic flux of Nd during the deposition of these detrital sediment layers. Consequently, the Nd isotope composition of the pelagic glacial Northeast Atlantic water masses were resilient to such episodic large detrital fluxes.Apart from extreme local sedimentation events, we confirm the presence of detritally overprinted deep waters north of 47°N during the peak glacial from comparison of Northeast Atlantic depth transects. We furthermore suggest that the sensitivity of deep waters to this overprinting effect increased during periods of reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and elevated ice rafting.Overall, our study demonstrates that a thorough evaluation of the proportion of Nd originating from physical water mass advection versus in situ chemical inputs is crucial for the reliable application of Nd isotopes as a water mass tracer.

Multicentury Instability of the Atlantic Meridional Circulation in Rapid Warming Simulations With GISS ModelE2

AbstractIn multimillennial global warming simulations with the GISS‐E2‐R climate model, we observe multicentennial shutdowns with restoration and fast overshooting in North Atlantic Deep Water production despite the absence of exogenous freshwater input. AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) cessation is associated with a sea surface salinity reduction, initiated by increases in precipitation over evaporation as the climate warms. These multicentury shutdowns are the direct result of cooling in the North Atlantic associated with an aerosol indirect effect on cloud cover. The local cooling reduces evaporation within the North Atlantic, while warming elsewhere provides moisture to maintain nearly unperturbed precipitation in this region. As global warming continues, warm temperature (low density) anomalies spread northward at depth in the North Atlantic eventually destabilizing the water column, even though precipitation input at the surface is initially unchanged. Internal ocean freshwater transports do not play an important role in initiating this behavior, as assumed by some standard metrics of AMOC stability. The importance of the aerosol indirect effect in these runs is due to its role in strengthening the sea surface temperature‐evaporation feedback; this suggests a renewed focus on surface flux observations to help assess overturning stability. The length of the AMOC reduction, and its rapid recovery, may be relevant to the onset and end of the Younger Dryas, which occurred within a warming climate during the last deglaciation.

Delayed maximum northern European summer temperatures during the Last Interglacial as a result of Greenland Ice Sheet melt

Abstract Here we report a new quantitative mean July temperature reconstruction using non-biting midges (chironomids) from the Danish Last Interglacial (LIG) site Hollerup (spanning 127–116 ka). We find that peak mean July temperatures of 17.5 °C, similar to those of the present day (1961–1990 CE), were reached shortly before the onset of the regional Carpinus pollen zone. Through comparison to terrestrial and marine sequences we demonstrate that peak summer warmth took place some three millennia after the onset of LIG warming in Europe, a marked delay in line with records from the North Atlantic. Crucially, the warmest northern European summer temperatures appear to follow maximum Greenland Ice Sheet mass loss, implying that meltwater substantially reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and depressed European temperatures during the early part of the interglacial.

Uncertainty in twenty-first century projections of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in CMIP3 and CMIP5 models

Uncertainty in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is analyzed in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (CMIP3) and Phase 5 (CMIP5) projections for the twenty-first century; and the different sources of uncertainty (scenario, internal and model) are quantified. Although the uncertainty in future projections of the AMOC index at 30°N is larger in CMIP5 than in CMIP3, the signal-to-noise ratio is comparable during the second half of the century and even larger in CMIP5 during the first half. This is due to a stronger AMOC reduction in CMIP5. At lead times longer than a few decades, model uncertainty dominates uncertainty in future projections of AMOC strength in both the CMIP3 and CMIP5 model ensembles. Internal variability significantly contributes only during the first few decades, while scenario uncertainty is relatively small at all lead times. Model uncertainty in future changes in AMOC strength arises mostly from uncertainty in density, as uncertainty arising from wind stress (Ekman transport) is negligible. Finally, the uncertainty in changes in the density originates mostly from the simulation of salinity, rather than temperature. High-latitude freshwater flux and the subpolar gyre projections were also analyzed, because these quantities are thought to play an important role for the future AMOC changes. The freshwater input in high latitudes is projected to increase and the subpolar gyre is projected to weaken. Both the freshening and the gyre weakening likely influence the AMOC by causing anomalous salinity advection into the regions of deep water formation. While the high model uncertainty in both parameters may explain the uncertainty in the AMOC projection, deeper insight into the mechanisms for AMOC is required to reach a more quantitative conclusion.

Punctuated Shutdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during Greenland Stadial 1.

The Greenland Stadial 1 (GS-1; ~12.9 to 11.65 kyr cal BP) was a period of North Atlantic cooling, thought to have been initiated by North America fresh water runoff that caused a sustained reduction of North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), resulting in an antiphase temperature response between the hemispheres (the ‘bipolar seesaw’). Here we exploit sub-fossil New Zealand kauri trees to report the first securely dated, decadally-resolved atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) record spanning GS-1. By precisely aligning Southern and Northern Hemisphere tree-ring 14C records with marine 14C sequences we document two relatively short periods of AMOC collapse during the stadial, at ~12,920-12,640 cal BP and 12,050-11,900 cal BP. In addition, our data show that the interhemispheric atmospheric 14C offset was close to zero prior to GS-1, before reaching ‘near-modern’ values at ~12,660 cal BP, consistent with synchronous recovery of overturning in both hemispheres and increased Southern Ocean ventilation. Hence, sustained North Atlantic cooling across GS-1 was not driven by a prolonged AMOC reduction but probably due to an equatorward migration of the Polar Front, reducing the advection of southwesterly air masses to high latitudes. Our findings suggest opposing hemispheric temperature trends were driven by atmospheric teleconnections, rather than AMOC changes.

Quantitative estimates of tropical temperature change in lowland Central America during the last 42 ka

Determining the magnitude of tropical temperature change during the last glacial period is a fundamental problem in paleoclimate research. Large discrepancies exist in estimates of tropical cooling inferred from marine and terrestrial archives. Here we present a reconstruction of temperature for the last 42 ka from a lake sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, Guatemala, located at 17°N in lowland Central America. We compared three independent methods of glacial temperature reconstruction: pollen-based temperature estimates, tandem measurements of δ18O in biogenic carbonate and gypsum hydration water, and clumped isotope thermometry. Pollen provides a near-continuous record of temperature change for most of the glacial period but the occurrence of a no-analog pollen assemblage during cold, dry stadials renders temperature estimates unreliable for these intervals. In contrast, the gypsum hydration and clumped isotope methods are limited mainly to the stadial periods when gypsum and biogenic carbonate co-occur. The combination of palynological and geochemical methods leads to a continuous record of tropical temperature change in lowland Central America over the last 42 ka. Furthermore, the gypsum hydration water method and clumped isotope thermometry provide independent estimates of not only temperature, but also the δ18O of lake water that is dependent on the hydrologic balance between evaporation and precipitation over the lake surface and its catchment. The results show that average glacial temperature was cooler in lowland Central America by 5–10 °C relative to the Holocene. The coldest and driest times occurred during North Atlantic stadial events, particularly Heinrich stadials (HSs), when temperature decreased by up to 6 to 10 °C relative to today. This magnitude of cooling is much greater than estimates derived from Caribbean marine records and model simulations.The extreme dry and cold conditions during HSs in the lowland Central America were associated with fresh water forcing in the North Atlantic, which led to reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, cooling of the North Atlantic, southern advance of sea-ice, and southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Although some models correctly predict the sign of temperature and precipitation changes, they consistently underestimate the degree of observed cooling and decreased precipitation over land in lowland Central America.

Cosmogenic 36Cl exposure ages reveal a 9.3 ka BP glacier advance and the Late Weichselian-Early Holocene glacial history of the Drangajökull region, northwest Iceland

We present twenty-four new cosmogenic isotope (36Cl) surface exposure ages from erratic boulders, moraine boulders and glacially eroded bedrock that constrain the late Weichselian to Holocene glacial history of the Drangajökull region, northwest Iceland. The results suggest a topographically controlled ice sheet over the Vestfirðir (Westfjords) peninsula during the last glaciation. Cold based non-erosive sectors of the ice sheet covered most of the mountains while fjords and valleys were occupied with erosive, warm-based ice.Old36Cl exposure ages from highlands and mountain plateaux (L8; 76.5 ka and H1; 41.6 ka) in combination with younger erratic boulders (L7; 26.2 and K1–K4; 15.0–13.8 ka) superimposed on such surfaces suggest the presence of non-erosive ice over uplands and plateaux in the Vestfirðir peninsula during the last glaciation. Glacially scoured terrain and erratic boulders yielding younger exposure ages (L1-L6; 11.3–9.1 ka and R1, R6-R7; 10.6–9.4 ka) in the lowland areas indicate that the valleys and fjords of the Vestfirðir peninsula were occupied by warm-based, dynamic ice during the last glaciation.The deglaciation of mountain Leirufjall by 26.2 ka BP suggests that ice thinning and deglaciation of some mountains and plateaux preceded any significant lateral retreat of the ice sheet. Subsequently this initial ice thinning was followed by break-up of the shelf based ice sheet off Vestfirðir about 15 ka BP. Hence, the new exposure ages suggest a stepwise asynchronous deglaciation on land, following the shelf break-up with some valleys and most of the highlands, ice free by 14–15 ka BP.The outermost moraine at the mouth of Leirufjörður is dated to 9.3 ka BP, and we suggest the moraine to be formed by a glacier re-advance in response to a cooler climate forced by the reduced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at around 9.3 ka BP. A system of moraines proximal to the 9.3 ka moraine in Leirufjörður as well as a 9.4 ka deglaciation age in the coastal area of Reykjarfjörður suggest that an extensive ice cap persisted over the eastern Vestfirðir peninsula at least until c. 9 ka BP.