Ice sheet and precession controlled subarctic Pacific productivity and upwelling over the last 550,000 years

Zhengquan Yao (), Xuefa Shi (), Qiuzhen Yin (), Samuel Jaccard, Yanguang Liu, Zhengtang Guo, Sergey A. Gorbarenko, Kunshan Wang, Tianyu Chen, Zhipeng Wu, Qingyun Nan, Jianjun Zou, Hongmin Wang, Jingjing Cui, Anqi Wang, Gongxu Yang, Aimei Zhu, Aleksandr Bosin, Yuriy Vasilenko and Yonggui Yu
Additional contact information
Zhengquan Yao: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Xuefa Shi: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Qiuzhen Yin: Université catholique de Louvain
Samuel Jaccard: University of Lausanne
Yanguang Liu: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Zhengtang Guo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Sergey A. Gorbarenko: Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Science
Kunshan Wang: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Tianyu Chen: Nanjing University
Zhipeng Wu: Université catholique de Louvain
Qingyun Nan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianjun Zou: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Hongmin Wang: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Jingjing Cui: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Anqi Wang: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Gongxu Yang: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Aimei Zhu: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR
Aleksandr Bosin: Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Science
Yuriy Vasilenko: Far East Branch of Russian Academy of Science
Yonggui Yu: Shandong Key Laboratory of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources Development, First Institute of Oceanography, MNR

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The polar oceans play a vital role in regulating atmospheric CO2 concentrations (pCO2) during the Pleistocene glacial cycles. However, despite being the largest modern reservoir of respired carbon, the impact of the subarctic Pacific remains poorly understood due to limited records. Here, we present high-resolution, 230Th-normalized export productivity records from the subarctic northwestern Pacific covering the last five glacial cycles. Our records display pronounced, glacial-interglacial cyclicity superimposed with precessional-driven variability, with warm interglacial climate and high boreal summer insolation providing favorable conditions to sustain upwelling of nutrient-rich subsurface waters and hence increased export productivity. Our transient model simulations consistently show that ice sheets and to a lesser degree, precession are the main drivers that control the strength and latitudinal position of the westerlies. Enhanced upwelling of nutrient/carbon-rich water caused by the intensification and poleward migration of the northern westerlies during warmer climate intervals would have led to the release of previously sequestered CO2 from the subarctic Pacific to the atmosphere. Our results also highlight the significant role of the subarctic Pacific in modulating pCO2 changes during the Pleistocene climate cycles, especially on precession timescale ( ~ 20 kyr).

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47871-8

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