Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation
Understanding of the role of ocean circulation on climate during the Late Cretaceous is contingent on the ability to reconstruct its modes and evolution. Geochemical proxies used to infer modes of past circulation provide conflicting interpretations for the reorganization of the ocean circulation th...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1108046c49484114a26873c313ada976 2023-05-15T18:25:52+02:00 Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation J.-B. Ladant C. J. Poulsen F. Fluteau C. R. Tabor K. G. MacLeod E. E. Martin S. J. Haynes M. A. Rostami 2020-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 https://doaj.org/article/1108046c49484114a26873c313ada976 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.clim-past.net/16/973/2020/cp-16-973-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/1108046c49484114a26873c313ada976 Climate of the Past, Vol 16, Pp 973-1006 (2020) Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 2022-12-31T10:24:06Z Understanding of the role of ocean circulation on climate during the Late Cretaceous is contingent on the ability to reconstruct its modes and evolution. Geochemical proxies used to infer modes of past circulation provide conflicting interpretations for the reorganization of the ocean circulation through the Late Cretaceous. Here, we present climate model simulations of the Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma) and Maastrichtian (72.1–66.1 Ma) stages of the Cretaceous with the CCSM4 earth system model. We focus on intermediate (500–1500 m) and deep (> 1500 m) ocean circulation and show that while there is continuous deep-water production in the southwestern Pacific, major circulation changes occur between the Cenomanian and Maastrichtian. Opening of the Atlantic and Southern Ocean, in particular, drives a transition from a mostly zonal circulation to enhanced meridional exchange. Using additional experiments to test the effect of deepening of major ocean gateways in the Maastrichtian, we demonstrate that the geometry of these gateways likely had a considerable impact on ocean circulation. We further compare simulated circulation results with compilations of ε Nd records and show that simulated changes in Late Cretaceous ocean circulation are reasonably consistent with proxy-based inferences. In our simulations, consistency with the geologic history of major ocean gateways and absence of shift in areas of deep-water formation suggest that Late Cretaceous trends in ε Nd values in the Atlantic and southern Indian oceans were caused by the subsidence of volcanic provinces and opening of the Atlantic and Southern oceans rather than changes in deep-water formation areas and/or reversal of deep-water fluxes. However, the complexity in interpreting Late Cretaceous ε Nd values underscores the need for new records as well as specific ε Nd modeling to better discriminate between the various plausible theories of ocean circulation change during this period. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Southern Ocean Pacific Indian Climate of the Past 16 3 973 1006 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 J.-B. Ladant C. J. Poulsen F. Fluteau C. R. Tabor K. G. MacLeod E. E. Martin S. J. Haynes M. A. Rostami Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
topic_facet |
Environmental pollution TD172-193.5 Environmental protection TD169-171.8 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
Understanding of the role of ocean circulation on climate during the Late Cretaceous is contingent on the ability to reconstruct its modes and evolution. Geochemical proxies used to infer modes of past circulation provide conflicting interpretations for the reorganization of the ocean circulation through the Late Cretaceous. Here, we present climate model simulations of the Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma) and Maastrichtian (72.1–66.1 Ma) stages of the Cretaceous with the CCSM4 earth system model. We focus on intermediate (500–1500 m) and deep (> 1500 m) ocean circulation and show that while there is continuous deep-water production in the southwestern Pacific, major circulation changes occur between the Cenomanian and Maastrichtian. Opening of the Atlantic and Southern Ocean, in particular, drives a transition from a mostly zonal circulation to enhanced meridional exchange. Using additional experiments to test the effect of deepening of major ocean gateways in the Maastrichtian, we demonstrate that the geometry of these gateways likely had a considerable impact on ocean circulation. We further compare simulated circulation results with compilations of ε Nd records and show that simulated changes in Late Cretaceous ocean circulation are reasonably consistent with proxy-based inferences. In our simulations, consistency with the geologic history of major ocean gateways and absence of shift in areas of deep-water formation suggest that Late Cretaceous trends in ε Nd values in the Atlantic and southern Indian oceans were caused by the subsidence of volcanic provinces and opening of the Atlantic and Southern oceans rather than changes in deep-water formation areas and/or reversal of deep-water fluxes. However, the complexity in interpreting Late Cretaceous ε Nd values underscores the need for new records as well as specific ε Nd modeling to better discriminate between the various plausible theories of ocean circulation change during this period. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J.-B. Ladant C. J. Poulsen F. Fluteau C. R. Tabor K. G. MacLeod E. E. Martin S. J. Haynes M. A. Rostami |
author_facet |
J.-B. Ladant C. J. Poulsen F. Fluteau C. R. Tabor K. G. MacLeod E. E. Martin S. J. Haynes M. A. Rostami |
author_sort |
J.-B. Ladant |
title |
Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
title_short |
Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
title_full |
Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
title_fullStr |
Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Paleogeographic controls on the evolution of Late Cretaceous ocean circulation |
title_sort |
paleogeographic controls on the evolution of late cretaceous ocean circulation |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 https://doaj.org/article/1108046c49484114a26873c313ada976 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Pacific Indian |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Pacific Indian |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Climate of the Past, Vol 16, Pp 973-1006 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.clim-past.net/16/973/2020/cp-16-973-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9324 https://doaj.org/toc/1814-9332 doi:10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 1814-9324 1814-9332 https://doaj.org/article/1108046c49484114a26873c313ada976 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-973-2020 |
container_title |
Climate of the Past |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
973 |
op_container_end_page |
1006 |
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1766207556772954112 |