A dynamic giant: changes in North Pacific circulation, biogeochemistry, and CO2 over the last ice age
- 1Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland (jwbr@st-andrews.ac.uk)
- 2Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- 3Department of Environmental Studies, Macalester College, Saint Paul, USA
- 4Department of Palaeontology & Stratigraphy, Geological Survey of Austria, Vienna, Austria
- 5Institut für Geowissenschaften, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany
- 6Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
The North Pacific has been thought of as a sleeping giant in Earth’s climate system. Despite being a major reservoir of heat, nutrients, and carbon, the lack of deep water formation in this region today limits the exchange of these properties. Here, using a variety of new and published sediment core data, alongside Earth system modeling, we provide evidence that the North Pacific giant is in fact a dynamic player in Earth’s climate system, with active PMOC during the LGM and deep water formation during HS1. We also demonstrate a persistent Atlantic-Pacific seesaw in deep water formation during rapid climate change events, and discuss the impact of these changes on regional climate and global CO2.
How to cite: Rae, J., Gray, W., Bradtmiller, L., Burke, A., Gebhardt, H., Sarnthein, M., and Thornalley, D.: A dynamic giant: changes in North Pacific circulation, biogeochemistry, and CO2 over the last ice age , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20325, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20325, 2020
