Late Miocene to Pleistocene paleoceanographic records from the Feni and Gardar Drifts: Pliocene reduction in abyssal flow

Magnetic fabric analyses from two North Atlantic drift deposits provide proxies for determining relative variations in the strength of abyssal flow over the last 10 my. The data show a cessation of current-controlled sedimentation at the shallower Feni Drift (2417 m) at the time of onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (2.6 Ma). Drift formation ended nearly 2 my earlier (4.2 Ma) at the deeper Gardar Drift (3220 m), implying stepwise reduction in deep-water flow. Relatively light delta18O values at the deeper Gardar Drift indicate a warmer, thus also more salty, water mass site prior to 6 Ma. We interpret this as representing Mediterranean Sea water, which flowed north at depths greater than that of the Feni Drift Site. The supply of Mediterranean Water to the North Atlantic was shut off as the Gibraltar Straits closed, causing the Messinian salinity crisis, and never returned to that position in the water column after the Mediterranean opened again.

Organic geochemistry records from two Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum sections in Denmark

Analysis of sediments deposited at different latitudes around the world during the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ~56 Ma) have revealed a globally profound warming phase, regionally varying from 5-8 °C. Such records from Europe have not yet been obtained. We studied the variations in sea surface and continental mean annual air temperatures (SST and MAT, respectively) and the distribution patterns and stable carbon isotopes of higher plant derived n-alkanes in two proximal PETM sections (Fur and Store Bælt, Denmark) from the epicontinental North Sea Basin. A negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) of 4-7 per mil was recorded in land plant derived n-alkanes, similar to what has been observed for other PETM sections. However, differences observed between the two proximal sites suggest that local factors, such as regional vegetation and precipitation patterns, also influenced the CIE. The presence of S-bound isorenieratene derivatives at the onset of the PETM and increased organic carbon contents points to a rapid shift in depositional environment; from well oxygenated to anoxic and sulfidic. These euxinic conditions are comparable with those during the PETM in the Arctic Ocean. SSTs inferred from TEX86 show relatively low temperatures followed by an increase of ~7 °C across the PETM. At the Fur section, a remarkably similar temperature record was obtained for MAT using the MBT'/CBT proxy. However, the MAT record of the Store Bælt section did not reveal this warming.

Down-core sedimentary Sr-Nd isotope records from two Cape Basin sediment cores in the South Atlantic: GeoB3603-2 (Meteor cruise M34/1) and MD02-2594 (Marion Dufresne cruise MD128)

We report down-core sedimentary Nd isotope (epsilon Nd) records from two South Atlantic sediment cores, MD02-2594 and GeoB3603-2, located on the western South African continental margin. The core sites are positioned downstream of the present-day flow path of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and close to the Southern Ocean, which makes them suitable for reconstructing past variability in NADW circulation over the last glacial cycle. The Fe-Mn leachates epsilon Nd records show a coherent decreasing trend from glacial radiogenic values towards less radiogenic values during the Holocene. This trend is confirmed by epsilon Nd in fish debris and mixed planktonic foraminifera, albeit with an offset during the Holocene to lower values relative to the leachates, matching the present-day composition of NADW in the Cape Basin. We interpret the epsilon Nd changes as reflecting the glacial shoaling of Southern Ocean waters to shallower depths combined with the admixing of southward flowing Northern Component Water (NCW). A compilation of Atlantic epsilon Nd records reveals increasing radiogenic isotope signatures towards the south and with increasing depth. This signal is most prominent during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and of similar amplitude across the Atlantic basin, suggesting continuous deep water production in the North Atlantic and export to the South Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. The amplitude of the epsilon Nd change from the LGM to Holocene is largest in the southernmost cores, implying a greater sensitivity to the deglacial strengthening of NADW at these sites. This signal impacted most prominently the South Atlantic deep and bottom water layers that were particularly deprived of NCW during the LGM. The epsilon Nd variations correlate with changes in 231Pa/230Th ratios and benthic d13C across the deglacial transition. Together with the contrasting 231Pa/230Th: epsilon Nd pattern of the North and South Atlantic, this indicates a progressive reorganization of the AMOC to full strength during the Holocene.