Orbital- and millennial-scale Antarctic Circumpolar Current variability in Drake Passage over the past 140,000 years

Shuzhuang Wu (), Lester Lembke-Jene, Frank Lamy, Helge W. Arz, Norbert Nowaczyk, Wenshen Xiao, Xu Zhang, H. Christian Hass, Jürgen Titschack, Xufeng Zheng, Jiabo Liu, Levin Dumm, Bernhard Diekmann, Dirk Nürnberg, Ralf Tiedemann and Gerhard Kuhn
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Shuzhuang Wu: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Lester Lembke-Jene: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Frank Lamy: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Helge W. Arz: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research
Norbert Nowaczyk: Helmoltz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Wenshen Xiao: State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University
Xu Zhang: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems, (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University
H. Christian Hass: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Jürgen Titschack: MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen
Xufeng Zheng: State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University
Jiabo Liu: Helmoltz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences
Levin Dumm: MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen
Bernhard Diekmann: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Dirk Nürnberg: GEOMAR, Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Ralf Tiedemann: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung
Gerhard Kuhn: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Meeres- und Polarforschung

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation by fostering deep-water upwelling and formation of new water masses. On geological time-scales, ACC variations are poorly constrained beyond the last glacial. Here, we reconstruct changes in ACC strength in the central Drake Passage in vicinity of the modern Polar Front over a complete glacial-interglacial cycle (i.e., the past 140,000 years), based on sediment grain-size and geochemical characteristics. We found significant glacial-interglacial changes of ACC flow speed, with weakened current strength during glacials and a stronger circulation in interglacials. Superimposed on these orbital-scale changes are high-amplitude millennial-scale fluctuations, with ACC strength maxima correlating with diatom-based Antarctic winter sea-ice minima, particularly during full glacial conditions. We infer that the ACC is closely linked to Southern Hemisphere millennial-scale climate oscillations, amplified through Antarctic sea ice extent changes. These strong ACC variations modulated Pacific-Atlantic water exchange via the “cold water route” and potentially affected the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and marine carbon storage.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24264-9

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