| Summary: | The transition from the warm, “greenhouse” conditions of the Pliocene to the cold, “icehouse” conditions of the Pleistocene marks a significant development in climate history. The deep-ocean is the largest dynamic reservoir of heat and carbon dioxide in the climate system that is accessible on timescales of Plio-Pleistocene climate change. Therefore, changes in the state of the deep-ocean may have played an important role in large scale Plio-Pleistocene climate change via variability in the meridional overturning circulation of the Atlantic (AMOC). In this thesis, paleoceanographic reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Atlantic deep-water circulation are presented from the perspective of Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1264 (2505m depth) & 1267 (4350m depth), situated at ~30oS in the Southeast Atlantic. Reconstructions are based on high-resolution (~<5,000 year time-step), down-core measurements of oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) stable isotope ratios in benthic foraminifera. During the Pliocene, widespread high δ13C values in the Atlantic and at Sites 1264 & 1267 indicate low nutrient conditions and active deep-water renewal. The early Pliocene closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) (~4.7-4.2 Ma) is considered to have been influential in establishing strong deep-water formation in the North Atlantic. Evaluation of δ13O and δ13C records from Site 1264 and throughout the North Atlantic, however, indicate that the CAS closure event had only a limited impact outside of the Caribbean Basin. Meanwhile, during the interval ~3.6-2.7 Ma, δ13C-gradients between Sites 1264-1267 are near zero and suggest strong North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) prevalence in the Southeast Atlantic, similar to or stronger than the modern situation. The transition into Pleistocene style glacial-interglacial cycles at ~2.7 Ma is associated with a reduction of NADW prevalence in the Atlantic, particularly during glacials and at depth. At ~2.4 Ma, δ18O and δ13C records from Sites 1264 & 1267 reveal marked changes in deep-water ...
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