Ventilation changes in the western North Pacific since the last glacial period

• Published in: Climate of the Past
• Main Authors: Okazaki, Y., Sagawa, T., Asahi, H., Horikawa, K., Onodera, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh 2012
• Subjects: Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00274/38497/36964.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-17-2012; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00274/38497/

We reconstructed the ventilation record of deep water at 2100m depth in the mid-latitude western North Pacific over the past 25 kyr from radiocarbon measurements of coexisting planktic and benthic foraminiferal shells in sediment with a high sedimentation rate. The C-14 data on fragile and robust planktic foraminiferal shells were concordant with each other, ensuring high quality of the reconstructed ventilation record. The radiocarbon activity changes were consistent with the atmospheric record, suggesting that no massive mixing of old carbon from the abyssal reservoir occurred throughout the glacial to deglacial periods. margin of the North Pacific, in a deep western boundary current analogous to the present one in the North Atlantic. However, our knowledge of paleo-ventilation, particularly in water deeper than 2000m in the western North Pacific, is limited because of poor preservation of foraminiferal shells in sediment. Here we present a detailed account of ventilation changes in the mid-latitude western North Pacific based on radiocarbon records from coexisting planktic and benthic foraminifera in sediment with high sedimentation rates. Because our ventilation reconstruction is based on radiocarbon data from multiple planktic species in the mid to high-latitude western North Pacific, our record provides robust evidence for the ventilation history in the region.