Onset of strong Iceland-Scotland overflow water 3.6 million years ago

Matthias Sinnesael (), Boris-Theofanis Karatsolis, Paul N. Pearson, Anne Briais, Sidney R. Hemming, Leah J. LeVay, Tom Dunkley Jones, Ying Cui, Anita Di Chiara, Justin P. Dodd, Deepa Dwyer, Deborah E. Eason, Sarah A. Friedman, Emma Hanson, Katharina Hochmuth, Halima E. Ibrahim, Claire E. Jasper, Saran Lee-Takeda, Danielle E. LeBlanc, Melody R. Lindsay, David D. McNamara, Sevasti E. Modestou, Margaret A. Morris, Bramley J. Murton, Suzanne OConnell, Gabriel Pasquet, Sheng-Ping Qian, Yair Rosenthal, Sara Satolli, Takuma Suzuki, Thena Thulasi, Bridget S. Wade, Nicholas J. White, Tao Wu, Alexandra Y. Yang and Ross E. Parnell-Turner
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Matthias Sinnesael: 77 avenue Denfert-Rochereau
Boris-Theofanis Karatsolis: 752 36
Paul N. Pearson: Gower Street
Anne Briais: Rue Dumont d’Urville
Sidney R. Hemming: Columbia University
Leah J. LeVay: 1000 Discovery Drive
Tom Dunkley Jones: University of Birmingham
Ying Cui: 1 Normal Ave.
Anita Di Chiara: Via di Vigna Murata 605
Justin P. Dodd: 180 Stadium Drive
Deepa Dwyer: Jefferson Way
Deborah E. Eason: 1680 East–West Road
Sarah A. Friedman: Georgia Southern University
Emma Hanson: University of Birmingham
Katharina Hochmuth: University of Tasmania
Halima E. Ibrahim: Department of Earth Sciences Binghamton University
Claire E. Jasper: Columbia University
Saran Lee-Takeda: The University of Tokyo
Danielle E. LeBlanc: 140 Commonwealth Avenue
Melody R. Lindsay: 60 Bigelow Drive
David D. McNamara: 4 Brownlow Street
Sevasti E. Modestou: Northumbria University
Margaret A. Morris: San Diego
Bramley J. Murton: National Oceanography Centre
Suzanne OConnell: 265 Church Street
Gabriel Pasquet: Avenue De l’Université
Sheng-Ping Qian: Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)
Yair Rosenthal: 71 Dudley Road
Sara Satolli: Via dei Vestini 31
Takuma Suzuki: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)
Thena Thulasi: National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)
Bridget S. Wade: Gower Street
Nicholas J. White: Madingley Road
Tao Wu: Zhejiang University
Alexandra Y. Yang: 511 Kehua Street Tianhe District
Ross E. Parnell-Turner: San Diego

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), the return flow component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is a major inter-hemispheric ocean water mass with strong climate effects but the evolution of its source components on million-year timescales is poorly known. Today, two major NADW components that flow southward over volcanic ridges to the east and west of Iceland are associated with distinct contourite drift systems that are forming off the coast of Greenland and on the eastern flank of the Reykjanes (mid-Atlantic) Ridge. Here we provide direct records of the early history of this drift sedimentation based on cores collected during International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) Expeditions 395C and 395. We find rapid acceleration of drift deposition linked to the eastern component of NADW, known as Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water at 3.6 million years ago (Ma). In contrast, the Denmark Strait Overflow Water feeding the western Eirik Drift has been persistent since the Late Miocene. These observations constrain the long-term evolution of the two NADW components, revealing their contrasting independent histories and allowing their links with climatic events such as Northern Hemisphere cooling at 3.6 Ma, to be assessed.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59265-5

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