A pervasive link between Antarctic ice core and subarctic Pacific sediment records over the past 800 kyrs

S. L. Jaccard, E. D. Galbraith, Daniel Mikhail Sigman, G. H. Haug

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69 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recently developed XRF core-scanning methods permit paleoceanographic reconstructions on timescales similar to those of ice-core records. We have investigated the distribution of biogenic barium (Ba/Al), opal and carbonate (Ca/Al) in a sediment core retrieved from the abyssal subarctic Pacific (ODP 882, 50°N, 167°E, 3244 m) over an interval that spans the full length of the EPICA Dome C (EDC) ice-core record. Ba/Al and biogenic opal show a strong resemblance to the EDC δD and CO2, with generally high concentrations during interglacials and lower values during ice ages of the past 800 kyrs. The sedimentary Ba/Al and biogenic opal are most easily interpreted as indicating a reduced sinking flux of organic matter from the surface ocean during cold periods. The Ba/Al maxima during peak interglacials are accompanied by transient Ca/Al peaks in these otherwise carbonate-devoid sediments, which are best explained by a deepening of the calcite lysocline, presumably due to reduced storage of respired CO2 in the deep North Pacific. For most of the "luke-warm" interglacials noted between 420 and 750 ka in EDC, the Ba/Al peaks in ODP 882 are also lower, further strengthening the evidence for a simple physical link between global climate and the biogeochemistry of the subarctic Pacific.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)206-212
Number of pages7
JournalQuaternary Science Reviews
Volume29
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Archaeology
  • Archaeology
  • Geology

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