1. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK
2. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
3. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, USA
4. Present addresses: Laboratoire des Bio-Indicateurs Actuels et Fossiles, Angers University, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France (P.D.); Alfred Wegener Institute, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany (G.K.).

Correspondence to: Stephen Barker¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.B. (Email: barkers3@cf.ac.uk).

Abstract

The asynchronous relationship between millennial-scale temperature changes over Greenland and Antarctica during the last glacial period has led to the notion of a bipolar seesaw which acts to redistribute heat depending on the state of meridional overturning circulation within the Atlantic Ocean. Here we present new records from the South Atlantic that show rapid changes during the last deglaciation that were instantaneous (within dating uncertainty) and of opposite sign to those observed in the North Atlantic. Our results demonstrate a direct link between the abrupt changes associated with variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the more gradual adjustments characteristic of the Southern Ocean. These results emphasize the importance of the Southern Ocean for the development and transmission of millennial-scale climate variability and highlight its role in deglacial climate change and the associated rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

1. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3YE, UK
2. British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
3. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964-8000, USA
4. Present addresses: Laboratoire des Bio-Indicateurs Actuels et Fossiles, Angers University, 49045 Angers Cedex 01, France (P.D.); Alfred Wegener Institute, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany (G.K.).

Correspondence to: Stephen Barker¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.B. (Email: barkers3@cf.ac.uk).

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