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North Atlantic thermohaline circulation during the past 20,000 years linked to high-latitude surface temperature

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Abstract

During a surface cooling event 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, higher Cd/Ca and lower 13C/12C ratios are observed in benthic foraminifera shells from rapidly accumulating western North Atlantic sediments. Data from sediment cores show that marked nutrient depletion of intermediate waters occurs in association with reduced glacial North Atlantic Deep Water flux. It is proposed that cold high-latitude sea surface temperatures enhance intermediate-water formation at the expense of deep-water formation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

    Edward A. Boyle

  2. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Lloyd Keigwin

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  1. Edward A. Boyle
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  2. Lloyd Keigwin
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Boyle, E., Keigwin, L. North Atlantic thermohaline circulation during the past 20,000 years linked to high-latitude surface temperature. Nature 330, 35–40 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/330035a0

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