Abstract
Modern ocean thermohaline-driven circulation influences global climate by transporting heat to high latitudes1,2 and by affecting the exchange of CO2 between ocean and atmosphere3. North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) plays a key role in this circulation, and Quaternary climate cycles have been linked to changes in NADW flow4. General circulation model simulations indicate that before closure, some 3–4 million years ago, of the Central American Isthmus—the narrow strip of land linking North and South America—the direct flow of low-salinity water from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean would have led to a smaller NADW flow5,6. Sedimentation patterns7 and nutrient proxies8–11 support these model results by indicating an increase in NADW flow around the time of isthmus closure, but these records do not allow changes in different NADW sources to be distinguished, and the overall effect of closure on global ocean circulation is poorly known. Here we present Nd, Pb and Sr isotope records preserved by a hydrogenous ferromanganese crust from the NADW flow-path in the western North Atlantic Ocean. These records indicate that the isotopic signal associated with NADW strengthened around 3–4 million years ago showing that deep water that formed in the Labrador Sea made a gradually increasing contribution to NADW flow. These data, taken together with those from the central Pacific Ocean12, indicate an increased NADW flow since isthmus closure, and suggest that the closure established today's general pattern of ocean circulation.
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
Hall, M. M. & Bryden, H. L. Direct estimates and mechanisms of ocean heat transport. Deep-Sea Res. 29, 339–359 (1982).
Rintoul, S. R. South Atlantic interbasin exchange. J. Geophys. Res. 96, 2675–2692 (1991).
Boyle, E. A. The role of vertical chemical fractionation in controlling late Quaternary atmospheric carbon dioxide. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 15701–15714 (1988).
Curry, W. B., Duplessy, J.-C., Labeyrie, L. D. & Shackleton, N. J. Changes in the distribution of δB13C of deep water CO2 between the last glacial and the Holocene. Paleoceanography 3, 317–341 (1988).
Maier-Reimer, E., Mikolajewicz, U. & Crowley, T. J. Ocean General Circulation model sensitivity experiment with an open Central American Isthmus. Paleoceanography 5, 349–366 (1990).
Mikolajewicz, U., Maier-Reimer, E., Crowley, T. J. & Kim, K.-Y. Effect of Drake and Panamian gateways on the circulation of an ocean model. Paleoceanography 8, 409–426 (1993).
Wold, C. N. Cenozoic sediment accumulation on drifts in the northern North Atlantic. Paleoceanography 9, 917–941 (1994).
Miller, K. G. & Fairbanks, R. G. in The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric CO2: Natural Variations Archean to Present (eds Sunquist, E. T. & Broecker, W. S.) 469–486 (Geophys. Monogr. Ser. 32, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington DC, 1985).
Raymo, M. E., Hodell, D. & Jansen, E. Response of deep ocean circulation to initiation of northern hemisphere glaciation (3-2Ma). Paleoceanography 7, 645–672 (1992).
Boyle, E. A. Cadmium: chemical tracer of deep-water paleoceanography. Paleoceanography 3, 471–489 (1988).
Delaney, M. L. Miocene benthic foraminiferal Cd/Ca records: South Atlantic and western equatorial Pacific. Paleoceanography 5, 743–760 (1990).
Ling, H.-F. et al. Evolution of Nd and Pb isotopes in Central Pacific seawater from ferromanganese crusts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 146, 1–12 (1997).
Dickson, R. R. & Brown, J. The production of North Atlantic Deep Water: sources, rates, and pathways. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 12319–12341 (1994).
Broecker, W. S., Blanton, S., Smethie, W. M. & Ostlund, G. Radiocarbon decay and oxygen utilization in the Deep Atlantic Ocean. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 5, 87–117 (1991).
Piepgras, D. J. & Wasserburg, G. J. Rare earth element transport in the western North Atlantic inferred from Nd isotopic observations. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 51, 1257–1271 (1987).
Jacobsen, S. B. & Wasserburg, G. J. Sm-Nd isotopic evolution of chondrites. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 50, 139–155 (1980).
Jeandel, C. Concentration and isotopic composition of Nd in the South Atlantic Ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 117, 581–591 (1993).
Bau, M., Koschinsky, A., Dulski, P. & Hein, J. R. Comparison of the partitioning behaviours of yttrium, rare earth elements, and titanium between hydrogenetic marine ferromanganese crusts and seawater. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 60, 1709–1725 (1996).
Hodell, D. A., Mueller, P. A., McKenzie, J. A. & Mead, G. A. Strontium isotope stratigraphy and geochemistry of the late Neogene ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 92, 165–178 (1989).
Hodell, D. A., Mead, G. A. & Mueller, P. A. Variation in the strontium isotopic composition of seawater (8 Ma to present): Implications for chemical weathering rates and dissolved fluxes to the oceans. Chem. Geol. 80, 291–307 (1990).
Hodell, D. A., Mueller, P. A. & Garrido, J. R. Variations in the strontium isotopic composition of seawater during the Neogene. Geology 19, 24–27 (1991).
Hodell, D. A. & Woodruff, F. Variations in the strontium isotopic ratio of seawater during the Miocene: stratigraphic and geochemical implications. Paleoceanography 9, 405–426 (1994).
von Blanckenburg, F., O'Nions, R. K., Belshaw, N. S., Gibb, A. & Hein, J. R. Global distribution of beryllium isotopes in deep ocean water as derived from Fe–Mn crusts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 141, 213–226 (1996).
Stordal, M. C. & Wasserburg, G. J. Neodymium isotopic study of Baffin Bay water: sources of REE from very old terranes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 77, 259–272 (1986).
Duque-Caro, H. Neogene stratigraphy, paleoceanography and paleobiogeography in northwest South America and the evolution of the Panama seaway. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 77, 203–234 (1990).
Lyle, M., Dadey, K. A. & Farrell, J. W. The Late Miocene (11-8 Ma) eastern pacific carbonate crash: evidence for reorganization of deep-water circulation by the closure of the Panama gateway. Proc. ODP Sci. Res. 121, 821–838 (1995).
Abouchami, W. & Goldstein, S. L. A lead isotopic study of Circum-Antarctic manganese nodules. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 59, 1809–1820 (1995).
Mudie, P. J., De Vernal, A. & Head, M. J. Geological History of the Polar Oceans: Arctic versus Antarctic (eds Bleil, U. & Thiede, J.) 609–646 (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1990).
Mikolajewicz, U. & Crowley, T. J. Response of a coupled ocean energy balance model to restricted flow through the Central American Isthmus. Paleoceanography (in the press).
Piepgras, D. J. & Jacobsen, S. B. The isotopic composition of neodymium in the North Pacific. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 52, 1373–1381 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Burton, K., Ling, HF. & O'Nions, R. Closure of the Central American Isthmus and its effect on deep-water formation in the North Atlantic. Nature 386, 382–385 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/386382a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/386382a0
This article is cited by
-
Late Paleozoic oxygenation of marine environments supported by dolomite U-Pb dating
Nature Communications (2024)
-
Late Miocene onset of the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Nature Geoscience (2024)
-
Calcareous nannofossils identify the age and precipitation rates of manganese deposits of the Mozambique Ridge and Mozambique Basin, SW Indian Ocean
Geo-Marine Letters (2021)
-
Two-step closure of the Miocene Indian Ocean Gateway to the Mediterranean
Scientific Reports (2019)
-
Miocene restriction of the Pacific-North Atlantic throughflow strengthened Atlantic overturning circulation
Nature Communications (2019)
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.