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Earth science

Ocean circulation and rapid climate change

Nature volume 517, pages 30–31 (2015)Cite this article

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High-resolution data on ocean circulation during the last glacial cycle suggest that the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water and associated heat transport may be more stable than previously thought. See Letter p.73

The concept of multiple modes of ocean circulation during the last glacial period developed from nutrient-based proxy data, such as carbon isotopes in ancient marine sediments, which indicate that deep waters in the North Atlantic were young, and therefore locally sourced, during interstadial events. This young water was confined to shallower depths during cooler, stadial events, and was replaced by older water, presumably sourced from the Southern Ocean, during Heinrich stadials. Although nutrient proxies provide information about the age of a water mass, they can be altered by biological processes and cannot be used to identify water-mass sources or the strength of circulation. By contrast, the ratio of isotopes of neodymium (143Nd/144Nd) — reported as εNd, the deviation of this ratio from a mean chemical composition, known as the Chondritic Uniform Reservoir, in parts per 10,000 — are quasi-conservative tracers of water mass that clearly distinguish between North Atlantic Deep Water (εNd about −13.5; ref. 5) and water sourced from the Southern Ocean (εNd about −9; ref. 6). In addition, the ratio of protactinium to thorium isotopes (213Pa/230Th) monitors the strength of circulation, such that higher ratios indicate slower circulation.

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Figure 1: Icebergs raft past Augpilagtoq, Greenland.

George F. Mobley/Natl Geogr./Getty

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  1. Ellen E. Martin is in the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA.,

    Ellen E. Martin

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  1. Ellen E. Martin
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Correspondence to Ellen E. Martin.

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Martin, E. Ocean circulation and rapid climate change. Nature 517, 30–31 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14084

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