Deep circulation changes in the South Atlantic Ocean; response to initiation of Northern Hemisphere glaciation
| Online Access: |
Get full text doi: 10.1029/PA004i005p00565 |
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| Author(s): | Turnau, Rene; Ledbetter, Michael T. |
| Author Affiliation(s): |
Primary: Moss Landing Mar. Lab., Moss Landing, CA, United States |
| Volume Title: | Paleoceanography |
| Source: | Paleoceanography, 4(5), p.565-583. Publisher: American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, United States. ISSN: 0883-8305 CODEN: POCGEP |
| Note: | In English. 39 refs.; illus. incl. 1 table, charts, sketch map |
| Summary: | Particle size statistics (coarsest 1 percentile and mean) of the nonbiogenic silt fraction of samples from Deep Sea Drilling Project sites 514, 516A, 517, 518, and 548 were used to infer relative changes in paleospeed of deep water masses in the Atlantic Ocean during the late Pliocene initiation of northern hemisphere glaciation. Grain size statistics were integrated with previous studies of geochemical and faunal assemblages to examine how climatic forcing regulates deepwater mass paleospeed and stratification. On the basis of between-site comparison of particle size, the late Pliocene was divided into four intervals of deepwater activity: 3.2 to 2.9 Ma, 2.9 to 2.6 Ma, 2.6 to 2.5 Ma, and 2.5 to 2.3 Ma, with pulses of increased paleospeed occurring at 3.15-3.10, 2.85, 2.7, 2.6, and 2.4 Ma. Except for a brief increase in paleospeeds at 3.1 Ma, the first time interval is characterized by low inferred Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) paleospeed corresponding to depleted δ13C and enriched δ18O values in all but the shallowest core. Enriched δ13C and depleted δ18O values in the shallowest core correspond to coarse grain sizes and are inferred to represent a deep and intense Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). The expansion of AABW and AAIW precludes a significant North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) incursion to 30°S at this time. The interval from 2.9 to 2.6 Ma is dominated by climatic cooling and an influx of deep waters originating in the North Atlantic. The introduction of significant volumes of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW), as demonstrated by increased inferred paleospeed at site 548, and an expanding glaciation beginning at 2.9 Ma, resulted in increased paleospeed and an expansion of NADW in the South Atlantic. A pulse of increased inferred paleospeed at 2.7 Ma resulted in the temporary deepening of NADW to the depth of site 518 (presently 3944 m). From 2.9 to 2.6 Ma AABW velocity remained low, but AAIW deepened and intensified. The 2.6-to 2.5-Ma interval represents the retreat of deep water, originating in the North Atlantic, from the depth of site 518 to the depth of site 517 (presently 2963 m). Increased inferred paleospeed at site 518 corresponds with depleted δ13C values and a northward shift in the polar front, thus suggesting the reintroduction of Circumpolar Water to the depth of site 518 and the establishment of a deepwater stratification similar to today's. A continuing trend toward a modern stratification continued into the latest time interval (2.5-2.3 Ma) as inferred deepwater paleospeed at all depths increased in response to the formation of extensive northern hemisphere ice sheets. Copyright 1989 by the American Geophysical Union. |
| Year of Publication: | 1989 |
| Research Program: |
DSDP Deep Sea Drilling Project IPOD International Phase of Ocean Drilling |
| Key Words: | 07 Marine Geology and Oceanography; 24 Surficial Geology, Quaternary Geology; Atlantic Ocean; Cenozoic; DSDP Site 514; DSDP Site 516; DSDP Site 517; DSDP Site 518; DSDP Site 548; Deep Sea Drilling Project; Deep-sea sedimentation; Effects; Foraminifera; Geomorphology; Glacial geology; Glaciation; Grain size; IPOD; Invertebrata; Isotopes; Leg 71; Leg 72; Leg 80; Marine sedimentation; Marine sediments; Marine transport; Microfossils; Neogene; Northern Hemisphere; Ocean circulation; Oceanography; Paleo-oceanography; Paleocirculation; Paleoclimatology; Pliocene; Processes; Protista; Sedimentation; Sediments; South Atlantic; Stable isotopes; Statistical analysis; Tertiary; Textures; Thermohaline circulation; Upper Pliocene |
| Coordinates: |
S460246
S460246
W0265118
W0265118 S301636 S301635 W0351706 W0351707 S305649 S305648 W0380228 W0380229 S295826 S295825 W0380807 W0380808 N485456 N485459 W0120950 W0120951 |
| Record ID: | 1990010006 |
| Copyright Information: | GeoRef, Copyright 2017 American Geosciences Institute. |