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Abstract The prevailing hypothesis to explain pCO₂rise at the last glacial termination calls upon enhanced ventilation of excess respired carbon that accumulated in the deep sea during the glacial. Recent studies argue lower [O₂] in the glacial ocean is indicative of increased carbon respiration. The magnitude of [O₂] depletion was 100–140 µ mol/kg at the glacial maximum. Because respiration is coupled toδ¹³C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), [O₂] depletion of 100–140 µ mol/kg from carbon respiration would lower deep waterδ¹³C_DICby ∼1‰ relative to surface water. Prolonged sequestration of respired carbon would also lower the amount of¹⁴C in the deep sea. We show that Pacific Deep Waterδ¹³C_DICdid not decrease relative to the surface ocean and Δ¹⁴C was only ∼50‰ lower during the late glacial. Model simulations of the hypothesized ventilation change during deglaciation lead to large increases inδ¹³C_DIC, Δ¹⁴C, andε¹⁴C that are not recorded in observations. 

In the early 20th century, after contributing major advances in calculating radiation forcing on planetary bodies, Milutin Milankovitch the Serbian mathematician took up the challenge of explaining why Earth has experienced recurrent episodes of glaciation. Influenced by the ideas of his predecessors, Milankovitch developed a theory that centered on the notion that summertime temperature at high northern latitudes is the most important influence on the advance and retreat of glaciations. The calculations revealed a periodicity in summer insolation that had a reasonable correspondence with what was then known about the occurrence of ice ages. From that was born the elemental foundation of the orbital theory of the ice ages. That theory evolved over the next three decades while retaining the fundamental tenant that summer season insolation at the higher northern latitudes determines Earth’s climate variability. Scientists of the day were skeptical, and it was not until the 1960s that new techniques became available to test the temporal predictions of Milankovitch’s theory. The orbital theory gained support in the 1950s and 60s when methods for paleoclimate reconstructions documented an orbital-like recurrence pattern of cold and warm climate conditions spanning the past 2.5 million years. Accompanying the documentation of Earth’s climate rhythmicity from marine archives have been advances in other areas, including ice core records of atmospheric CO2 that pose challenges to the original orbital theory, namely what role have variations in atmospheric CO2 played in dictating the transitions from warm to cold and, what caused orbital scale variations in greenhouse gas concentrations. In this contribution we review the current state of knowledge about the Earth’s carbon cycle on glacial/interglacial timescales and explore how new information has begun to shed light on the long-standing goal to understand Earth’s natural climate rhythmicity. The findings presented here highlight the need to expand research on Earth’s geologic processes that influence the carbon budget on glacial timescales. And with this comes a new hypothesis that incorporates geologic processes in orbital scale climate cycles. 

The prevailing hypothesis to explain pCO2 rise at the last glacial termination calls upon enhanced ventilation of excess respired carbon that accumulated in the deep sea during the glacial. Recent studies argue lower [O2] in the glacial ocean is indicative of increased carbon respiration. The magnitude of [O2] depletion was 100–140 μ mol/kg at the glacial maximum. Because respiration is coupled to δ13C of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), [O2] depletion of 100–140 μ mol/kg from carbon respiration would lower deep water δ13CDIC by ∼1‰ relative to surface water. Prolonged sequestration of respired carbon would also lower the amount of 14C in the deep sea. We show that Pacific Deep Water δ13CDIC did not decrease relative to the surface ocean and Δ14C was only ∼50‰ lower during the late glacial. Model simulations of the hypothesized ventilation change during deglaciation lead to large increases in δ13CDIC, Δ14C, and ε14C that are not recorded in observations. 

ABSTRACT There is a growing database of radiocarbon ( 14 C) reconstructions from biogenic carbonate taken from marine sediment cores being used to investigate changing ocean circulation and carbon cycling at the end of the last great ice age. Reported here are 14 C results from a marine core taken in the Makassar Straits of the western equatorial Pacific that was intended to test whether there was evidence of geologic carbon release to the ocean during the glacial termination. A thorough investigation of planktic and benthic 14 C ages with stable isotopes and CT-scans revealed extensive burrowing in the upper 2 m of the core that displaced younger sediments downward by more than half a meter into the glacial section of the core. The vertical displacement is evident in both planktic and benthic fossils. However, the extent of displacement and the stratigraphic disturbance became evident only after multiple measurements of different species and genera. A CT-scan prior to sampling would be an effective screening tool to avoid sampling problem cores such as this.