A high-resolution record of Southern Ocean intermediate water radiocarbon over the past 30,000 years

• Published in: Earth and Planetary Science Letters
• Main Authors: Hines, Sophia K. V., Southon, John R., Adkins, Jess F.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science Bv
• Subjects: geo; envir; Antarctic; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2015.09.038; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64466.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64467.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64468.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64469.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64470.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/64471.pdf; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00497/60838/

The circulation of intermediate waters plays an important role in global heat and carbon transport in the ocean and changes in their distribution are closely tied to glacial-interglacial climate change. Coupled radiocarbon and U/Th measurements on deep-sea Desmophyllum dianthus corals allow for the reconstruction of past intermediate water ventilation. We present a high-resolution time series of Antarctic Intermediate Water radiocarbon from 44 corals spanning 30 ka through the start of the Holocene, encompassing the transition into the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the last deglaciation. Corals were collected south of Tasmania from water depths between 1430 and 1950 m with 80% of them between 1500 and 1700 m, giving us a continuous record from a narrow depth range. The record shows three distinct periods of circulation: the MIS 3-2 transition, the LGM/Heinrich Stadial 1 (extending from similar to 22 to 16 kyr BP), and the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR). The MIS 3-2 transition and the ACR are characterized by abrupt changes in intermediate water radiocarbon while the LGM time period generally follows the atmosphere at a constant offset, in support of the idea that the LGM ocean was at steady state for its C-14 distribution. Closer inspection of the LGM time period reveals a 40 parts per thousand jump at similar to 19 ka from an atmospheric offset of roughly 230 parts per thousand to 190 parts per thousand, coincident with an observed 10-15 m rise in sea level and a southward shift of the Subantarctic and Polar Fronts, an abrupt change not seen in deeper records. During the ACR time period intermediate water radiocarbon is on average less offset from the atmosphere (similar to 110 parts per thousand) and much more variable. This variability has been captured within the lifetimes of three individual corals with changes of up to 35 parts per thousand over similar to 40 yr, likely caused by the movement of Southern Ocean fronts. This surprising result of relatively young and variable intermediate water radiocarbon ...