The Neodymium Isotope Fingerprint of Adélie Coast Bottom Water

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Lambelet, M, van de Flierdt, Tina, Butler, ECV, Bowie, AR, Rintoul, SR, Watson, RJ, Remenyi, T, Lannuzel, D, Warner, M, Robinson, Laura, Bostock, HC, Bradtmiller, LI
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: neodymium isotopes; Adélie Land Bottom Water; Australian sector of the Southern Ocean; Adélie Coast; Antarctic; East Antarctica; Indian; Pacific; Ross Sea; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1983/21ff4919-b853-45e3-ae82-876e61126ab4; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/21ff4919-b853-45e3-ae82-876e61126ab4; https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080074; https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/178858553/Lambelet_et_al_2018_Geophysical_Research_Letters.pdf

Adélie Land Bottom Water (ALBW), a variety of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formed off the Adélie Land coast of East Antarctica, ventilates the abyssal layers of the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean as well as the eastern Indian and Pacific oceans. We present the first dissolved neodymium (Nd) isotope and concentration measurements for ALBW. The summertime signature of ALBW is characterized by ε Nd = -8.9, distinct from Ross Sea Bottom Water, and similar to Weddell Sea Bottom Water. Adélie Land Shelf Water, the precursor water mass for wintertime ALBW, features the least radiogenic Nd fingerprint observed around Antarctica to date (ε Nd = -9.9). Local geology around Antarctica is important in setting the chemical signature of individual varieties of AABW, evident from the shelf water signature, which should be considered in the absence of direct wintertime observations.