Onset of Mediterranean outflow into the North Atlantic

• Published in: Science
• Main Authors: Hernandez-Molina, F. Javier, Stow, Dorrik A. V., Alvarez-Zarikian, Carlos A., Acton, Gary, Bahr, Andre, Balestra, Barbara, Ducassou, Emmanuelle, Flood, Roger, Flores, Jose-Abel, Furota, Satoshi, Grunert, Patrick, Hodell, David, Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco, Kim, Jin Kyoung, Krissek, Lawrence, Kuroda, Junichiro, Li, Baohua, Llave, Estefania, Lofi, Johanna, Lourens, Lucas, Miller, Madeline, Nanayama, Futoshi, Nishida, Naohisa, Richter, Carl, Roque, Cristina, Pereira, Helder, Goni, Maria Fernanda Sanchez, Sierro, Francisco J., Singh, Arun Deo, Al., Et
• Other Authors: Transferts en milieux poreux, Géosciences Montpellier, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Paleoceanography; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01054316; https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1251306

International audience Sediments cored along the southwestern Iberian margin during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 339 provide constraints on Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) circulation patterns from the Pliocene epoch to the present day. After the Strait of Gibraltar opened (5.33 million years ago), a limited volume of MOW entered the Atlantic. Depositional hiatuses indicate erosion by bottom currents related to higher volumes of MOW circulating into the North Atlantic, beginning in the late Pliocene. The hiatuses coincide with regional tectonic events and changes in global thermohaline circulation (THC). This suggests that MOW influenced Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), THC, and climatic shifts by contributing a component of warm, saline water to northern latitudes while in turn being influenced by plate tectonics.