Extremely poleward shift of Antarctic Circumpolar Current by eccentricity during the Last Interglacial

Lijuan Lu, Xufeng Zheng (), Michael E. Weber, Victoria Peck, Brendan T. Reilly, Zhong Chen, Wen Yan, Tianyu Chen, Hong Yan, Xun Gong, Shuzhuang Wu, Liwei Zheng, Shiming Wan, Yan Du, Lisa Tauxe, Qinghua Yang, Stefanie Brachfeld, Trevor Williams, Yasmina M. Martos, Zhiheng Du, Marga Garcia, Lara F. Pérez, Hu Yang, Bingyue Huang, Jonathan Warnock and Shuh-Ji Kao ()
Additional contact information
Lijuan Lu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xufeng Zheng: Hainan University
Michael E. Weber: University of Bonn
Victoria Peck: British Antarctic Survey
Brendan T. Reilly: University of California at San Diego
Zhong Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wen Yan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tianyu Chen: Nanjing University
Hong Yan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xun Gong: Shandong Academy of Sciences
Shuzhuang Wu: University of Lausanne
Liwei Zheng: Hainan University
Shiming Wan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yan Du: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Lisa Tauxe: British Antarctic Survey
Qinghua Yang: and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)
Stefanie Brachfeld: Montclair State University
Trevor Williams: Texas A&M University
Yasmina M. Martos: Planetary Magnetospheres Laboratory
Zhiheng Du: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Marga Garcia: Spanish Research Council (CSIC)
Lara F. Pérez: Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Aarhus University City 81
Hu Yang: Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai)
Bingyue Huang: Hainan University
Jonathan Warnock: Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Shuh-Ji Kao: Hainan University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) exerts substantial control on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the Southern Ocean, playing a key role in modulating the global carbon cycle and climate. However, the orbital-scale forcing and future changes in the strength and position of the ACC remain elusive. Here, we reconstruct the history of ACC extending back to the Last Interglacial (LIG; 128-113 ka) using sediment cores from the Scotia Sea. Based on high-resolution measurements of sortable silt mean grain size, we find that bottom current speed is synchronized with eccentricity, superimposed by precession. During the LIG when both eccentricity and precession reached their maxima, current speed peaked in the region south of the Southern ACC front, suggesting that the Polar Front shifted ~5° southward. We propose that the low-frequency ACC frontal migration is primarily controlled by eccentricity-driven shifts in the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies, while precession-driven shifts contribute to high-frequency migration. Our findings imply under future orbital-scale scenarios, the ACC position is likely to shift north.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63933-x

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