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The last glacial period was punctuated by cold intervals in the North Atlantic region that culminated in extensive iceberg discharge events. These cold intervals, known as Heinrich Stadials, are associated with abrupt climate shifts worldwide. Here, we present CO2measurements from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide ice core across Heinrich Stadials 2 to 5 at decadal-scale resolution. Our results reveal multi-decadal-scale jumps in atmospheric CO2concentrations within each Heinrich Stadial. The largest magnitude of change (14.0 ± 0.8 ppm within 55 ± 10 y) occurred during Heinrich Stadial 4. Abrupt rises in atmospheric CO2are concurrent with jumps in atmospheric CH4and abrupt changes in the water isotopologs in multiple Antarctic ice cores, the latter of which suggest rapid warming of both Antarctica and Southern Ocean vapor source regions. The synchroneity of these rapid shifts points to wind-driven upwelling of relatively warm, carbon-rich waters in the Southern Ocean, likely linked to a poleward intensification of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. Using an isotope-enabled atmospheric circulation model, we show that observed changes in Antarctic water isotopologs can be explained by abrupt and widespread Southern Ocean warming. Our work presents evidence for a multi-decadal- to century-scale response of the Southern Ocean to changes in atmospheric circulation, demonstrating the potential for dynamic changes in Southern Ocean biogeochemistry and circulation on human timescales. Furthermore, it suggests that anthropogenic CO2uptake in the Southern Ocean may weaken with poleward strengthening westerlies today and into the future.
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Less Remineralized Carbon in the Intermediate‐Depth South Atlantic During Heinrich Stadial 1
Abstract The last deglaciation (~20–10 kyr BP) was characterized by a major shift in Earth's climate state, when the global mean surface temperature rose ~4 °C and the concentration of atmospheric CO2increased ~80 ppmv. Model simulations suggest that the initial 30 ppmv rise in atmospheric CO2may have been driven by reduced efficiency of the biological pump or enhanced upwelling of carbon‐rich waters from the abyssal ocean. Here we evaluate these hypotheses using benthic foraminiferal B/Ca (a proxy for deep water [CO32−]) from a core collected at 1,100‐m water depth in the Southwest Atlantic. Our results imply that [CO32−] increased by 22 ± 2 μmol/kg early in Heinrich Stadial 1, or a decrease in ΣCO2of approximately 40 μmol/kg, assuming there were no significant changes in alkalinity. Our data imply that remineralized phosphate declined by approximately 0.3 μmol/kg during Heinrich Stadial 1, equivalent to 40% of the modern remineralized signal at this location. Because tracer inversion results indicate remineralized phosphate at the core site reflects the integrated effect of export production in the sub‐Antarctic, our results imply that biological productivity in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean was reduced early in the deglaciation, contributing to the initial rise in atmospheric CO2.
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- PAR ID:
- 10460356
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2572-4517
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1218-1233
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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