The Drake Passage, Agulhas System and the Indonesian Throughflow act as bottlenecks in the global circulation system. Inter-ocean water transports through these gateways redistribute heat and salt between the major ocean basins and thereby act as modulators of the thermohaline circulation. Several international initiatives aim to determine and monitor the amount of inter-ocean exchanges, and study their impact on modern and past global change. The significance of ocean gateway circulation for future climatic developments is not established yet, but paleoceanographic reconstructions and numerical modelling suggest that the dynamics in these regions were pivotal in driving major climatic shifts in the past. This session invites contributions that address latest findings on the inter-ocean exchanges and their implication for the large-scale and global circulation. We invite paleoceanograghic reconstructions spanning the quaternary on all timescales, ocean and climate modelling studies, and modern observations that contribute to our understanding of the role of ocean gateway circulation and ensuing water transports in the global thermohaline circulation and climate. Studies focusing on the contribution of the up- and downstream ocean variability to the gateways dynamics are also welcome.

Solicited speakers: Matthias Prange (Modelling perspectives on Indonesian Flow, Drake, Agulhas and Bering for Holocene and Eem climate evolution) and Rainer Zahn (The Agulhas Current as a modulator of the Atlantic MOC and past climates).