Abstract
THE suggestion1 that changes in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) production are linked through surface heat flux to the atmospheric temperature over Greenland is supported by earlier indications2,3 that NADW production decreased during glacial times, and by the subsequent finding4–6 that it declined during the Younger Dryas cool period at the end of the last glaciation. Changes in North Atlantic surface temperatures have been found7 to mirror high-frequency temperature changes recorded in Greenland ice cores over the past 80 kyr, but the connection to abyssal circulation has yet to be established, except for one or two isolated oscillations8,9. Here we present carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of benthic foraminifera in a high-resolution North Atlantic deep-sea sediment core for the period 70–130 kyr ago. These data allow us to reconstruct the history of NADW production, which shows a close correlation with Greenland climate variability for much of this time interval, suggesting that the climate influence of NADW variability was widespread. We see no evidence, however, for changes in NADW production during substage 5e (the Eemian interglacial period), in contrast with recent ice-core data10 which suggest severe climate instability in Greenland during this time period. Our results may support suggestions, based on data from a second ice core, that this apparent instability is an artefact caused by ice flow11. Alternatively, the Eemian climate instability may have had a different origin from the subsequent climate events.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Broecker, W. S., Peteet, D. M. & Rind, D. Nature 315, 21–26 (1985).
Curry, W. B. & Lohmann, G. P. Quat. Res. 18, 218–235 (1982).
Boyle, E. A. & Keigwin, L. D. Science 218, 784–787 (1982).
Boyle, E. A. & Keigwin, L. D. Nature 330, 35–40 (1987).
Keigwin, L. D., Jones, G. A., Lehman, S. J. & Boyle, E. A. J. geophys. Res. 96, 16811–16826 (1991).
Lehman, S. J. & Keigwin, L. D. Nature 356, 757–762 (1992).
Bond, G. et al. Nature 365, 143–147 (1993).
Boyle, E. & Rosener, P. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 89, 113–124 (1990).
Keigwin, L. D. & Jones, G. A. J. geophys. Res. 99, 12397–12410 (1994).
GRIP Members Nature 364, 203–207 (1993).
Grootes, P. M. et al. Nature 366, 552–554 (1993).
Flood, R. D., thesis, WHOI/MIT Joint Program in Oceanography (1978).
Amos, A. F. et al. Deep-Sea Res. 18, 145–165 (1971).
Martinson, D. G. et al. Quat. Res. 27, 1–29 (1987).
Chappell, J. & Shackleton, N. J. Nature 324, 137–140 (1986).
Mangerud, J. et al. Nature 277, 189–192 (1979).
Shackleton, N. J. in The Fate of Fossil Fuel CO2 in the Oceans (eds Andersen, N. R. & Malahoff, A.) 401–427 (Plenum, New York, 1977).
Curry, W. B., Duplessy, J. C., Labeyrie, L. & Shackleton, N. J. Paleoceanography 3, 317–341 (1988).
Kroopnick, P. M. Deep-Sea Res. 32, 57–84 (1985).
Duplessy, J. C. & Shackleton, N. J. Nature 316, 500–507 (1985).
Oppo, D. W. & Fairbanks, R. G. Earth planet Sci. Lett. 86, 1–15 (1987).
Boyle, E. A. & Keigwin, L. D. Earth planet. Sci. Lett. 76, 135–150 (1985/86).
Dansgaard, W. et al. Nature 364, 218–220 (1993).
Woillard, G. M. Quat. Res. 9, 1–21 (1978).
de Beaulieu, J.-L. & Reille, M. Quat. Sci. Rev. 11, 431–438 (1992).
Adam, D. P. et al. Geology 9, 373–377 (1981).
Reille, M. et al. in Start of a Glacial (eds Kukla, G. & Went, E.) (Nato ASI Ser. No. 13, Springer, Berlin, 1992).
Pons, A. et al. Quat. Sci. Rev. 11, 439–448 (1992).
Tzedakis, P. C. Nature 364, 437–440 (1993).
Sowers, T. et al. Paleoceanography 8, 737–766 (1993).
Seret, G. in Paleoclimatic Research and Models (ed. Ghazi, A.) 139–143 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983).
Hansen, J. et al. in Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity (eds Hansen, J. E. & Takahashi, T.) 130–163 (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington DC, 1984).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keigwin, L., Curry, W., Lehman, S. et al. The role of the deep ocean in North Atlantic climate change between 70 and 130 kyr ago. Nature 371, 323–326 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/371323a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/371323a0
This article is cited by
-
Reconstruction of deglaciation of Northern Mongolia for the last 330 ka BP, inferred from ostracod stable isotope records from Lake Khubsugul
Environmental Earth Sciences (2015)
-
Higher Laurentide and Greenland ice sheets strengthen the North Atlantic ocean circulation
Climate Dynamics (2015)
-
Overview and significance of a 250 ka paleoclimate record from El’gygytgyn Crater Lake, NE Russia
Journal of Paleolimnology (2006)
-
The possible pivotal role of the eastward dust transport from Central Asia in the global temperature decrease
Chinese Science Bulletin (2006)
-
Two climatic states and feedbacks on thermohaline circulation in an Earth system model of intermediate complexity
Climate Dynamics (2005)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.