New constraints on European glacial freshwater releases to the North Atlantic Ocean

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Res. Lett; 39; L15601; doi; 10.1029/2012GL052100; Tive; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.635.4443; http://hal-cea.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/72/48/19/PDF/GRL-Eynaud.pdf

[1] During the late Quaternary, both external and internal forcings have driven major climatic shifts from glacial to interglacial conditions. Nonlinear climatic steps character-ized the transitions leading to these extrema, with interme-diate excursions particularly well expressed in the dynamics of the Northern Hemisphere cryosphere. Here we document the impact of these dynamics on the north-eastern North Atlantic Ocean, focussing on the 35–10 ka interval. Sea-surface salinities have been reconstructed quantitatively based on two independent methods from core MD95-2002, recovered from the northern Bay of Biscay adjacent to the axis of the Manche paleoriver outlet and thus in connection with proximal European ice sheets and glaciers. Quantita-tive reconstructions deriving from dinocyst and planktonic foraminiferal analyses have been combined within a robust chronology to assess the amplitude and timing of hydro-logical changes in this region. Our study evidences strong pulsed freshwater discharges which may have impacted