Open AccessAtlantic Ocean circulation during the Younger Dryas: Insights from a new Cd/Ca record from the western subtropical South Atlantic
Author(s) -
Came Rosemarie E.,
Oppo Delia W.,
Curry William B.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/2003pa000888
Subject(s) - younger dryas , north atlantic deep water , thermohaline circulation , oceanography , geology , gulf stream , allerød oscillation , atlantic multidecadal oscillation , glacial period , tropical atlantic , shutdown of thermohaline circulation , holocene , atlantic equatorial mode , ocean current , paleontology , sea surface temperature
Benthic foraminiferal Cd/Ca from an intermediate depth, western South Atlantic core documents the history of southward penetration of North Atlantic Intermediate Water (NAIW). Cd seawater estimates (Cd W ) for the last glacial are consistent with the production of NAIW and its export into the South Atlantic. At ∼14.5 ka concurrently with the onset of the Bølling‐Allerød to Younger Dryas cooling, the NAIW contribution to the South Atlantic began to decrease, marking the transition from a glacial circulation pattern to a Younger Dryas circulation. High Cd W in both the deep North Atlantic and the intermediate South Atlantic imply reduced export of deep and intermediate water during the Younger Dryas and a significant decrease in northward oceanic heat transport. A modern circulation was achieved at ∼9 ka, concurrently with the establishment of Holocene warmth in the North Atlantic region, further supporting a close linkage between deepwater variability and North Atlantic climate.