Interpreting glacial-interglacial changes in ice volume and climate from subarctic deep water foraminiferal δ18O

Author(s):  
Henning A. Bauch ◽  
Helmut Erlenkeuser
Keyword(s):  
2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREAS MACKENSEN

Southern Ocean palaeocirculation is clearly related to the formation of a continental ice sheet on Antarctica and the opening of gateways between Antarctica and the Australian and South American continents. Palaeoenvironmental proxy records from Southern Ocean sediment cores suggest ice growth on Antarctica beginning by at least 40 million years (Ma) ago, and the opening of Tasmania–Antarctic and Drake Passages to deep-water flow around 34 and 31 ± 2 Ma, respectively. So, the Eocene/Oligocene transition appears to mark the initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and thus the onset of thermal isolation of Antarctica with a first major ice volume growth on East Antarctic. There is no evidence for a significant cooling of the deep ocean associated with this rapid (< 350 000 years) continental ice build-up. After a long phase with frequent ice sheets growing and decaying, in the middle Miocene at about 14 Ma, a re-establishment of an ice sheet on East Antarctica and the Pacific margin of West Antarctica was associated with an increased southern bottom water formation, and a slight cooling of the deep ocean, but with no permanent drop in atmospheric pCO2. During the late Pleistocene on orbital time scales a temporal correlation between changes in atmospheric pCO2 and proxy records of deep ocean temperatures, continental ice volume, sea ice extension, and deep-water nutrient contents is documented. I discuss hypotheses that call for a dominant control of glacial to interglacial atmospheric pCO2 variations by Southern Ocean circulation dynamics. Millennial to centennial climate variability is a global feature, but there is contrasting evidence from various palaeoclimate archives that indicate both interhemispheric synchrony and asynchrony. The role of the Southern Ocean, however, in triggering or modulating climate variability on these time scales only recently received some attention and is not yet adequately investigated.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Min ◽  
Qinghua Yang ◽  
Longjiang Mu ◽  
Frank Kauker ◽  
Robert Ricker

Abstract. Sea ice in Baffin Bay plays an important role in the deep water formation in the Labrador Sea and contributes to the variation of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on larger scales. To quantify the sea ice volume variations in Baffin Bay, a major driver of the deep water formation, three state-of-the-art sea ice models (CMST, NAOSIM, and PIOMAS) are investigated in the melt and freezing season from 2011 to 2016. An ensemble of three estimates of the sea ice volume fluxes in Baffin Bay is generated from the three modeled sea ice thickness and NSIDC satellite derived ice drift data. Results show that the net increase of the ensemble mean sea ice volume (SIV) in Baffin Bay occurs from October to April with the largest SIV increase in December (116 ± 16 km3 month−1) and the reduction occurs from May to September with the largest SIV decline in July (−160 ± 32 km3 month−1). The maximum SIV inflow occurs in winter in all the model data consistently. The ensemble mean SIV inflow (322 ± 4 km3) reaches its maximum in winter 2013 caused by high ice velocities while the largest SIV outflow (244 ± 61 km3) occurs in spring of 2014. The long-term annual mean ice volume inflow and outflow are 437(± 53) km3 and 339(± 68) km3, respectively. Our analysis also reveals that on average, sea ice in Baffin Bay melts from May to October with a net reduction of 335 km3 in volume while it freezes from November to April with a net increase of 251 km3.


1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Martin

The utility of benthic foraminifera in bathymetric interpretation of clastic depositional environments is well established. In contrast, bathymetric distribution of benthic foraminifera in deep-water carbonate environments has been largely neglected. Approximately 260 species and morphotypes of benthic foraminifera were identified from 12 piston core tops and grab samples collected along two traverses 25 km apart across the northern windward margin of Little Bahama Bank at depths of 275-1,135 m. Certain species and operational taxonomic groups of benthic foraminifera correspond to major near-surface sedimentary facies of the windward margin of Little Bahama Bank and serve as reliable depth indicators. Globocassidulina subglobosa, Cibicides rugosus, and Cibicides wuellerstorfi are all reliable depth indicators, being most abundant at depths &gt;1,000 m, and are found in lower slope periplatform aprons, which are primarily comprised of sediment gravity flows. Reef-dwelling peneroplids and soritids (suborder Miliolina) and rotaliines (suborder Rotaliina) are most abundant at depths &lt;300 m, reflecting downslope bottom transport in proximity to bank-margin reefs. Small miliolines, rosalinids, and discorbids are abundant in periplatform ooze at depths &lt;300 m and are winnowed from the carbonate platform. Increased variation in assemblage diversity below 900 m reflects mixing of shallow- and deep-water species by sediment gravity flows.


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