Radiocarbon Variability in the Western North Atlantic During the Last Deglaciation

We present a detailed history of glacial to Holocene radiocarbon in the deep western North Atlantic from deep-sea corals and paired benthic-planktonic foraminifera. The deglaciation is marked by switches between radiocarbon-enriched and -depleted waters, leading to large radiocarbon gradients in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Robinson, Laura F., Adkins, Jess F., Keigwin, Lloyd D., Southon, John, Fernandez, Diego P., Wang, S-L, Scheirer, Daniel S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2005
Subjects:
North Atlantic
Planktonic foraminifera
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1114832
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1114832
Description
Summary:We present a detailed history of glacial to Holocene radiocarbon in the deep western North Atlantic from deep-sea corals and paired benthic-planktonic foraminifera. The deglaciation is marked by switches between radiocarbon-enriched and -depleted waters, leading to large radiocarbon gradients in the water column. These changes played an important role in modulating atmospheric radiocarbon. The deep-ocean record supports the notion of a bipolar seesaw with increased Northern-source deep-water formation linked to Northern Hemisphere warming and the reverse. In contrast, the more frequent radiocarbon variations in the intermediate/deep ocean are associated with roughly synchronous changes at the poles.

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