790,000 years of millennial-scale Cape Horn Current variability and interhemispheric linkages

Vincent Rigalleau (), Frank Lamy, Nicoletta Ruggieri, Henrik Sadatzki, Helge W. Arz, Stephen Barker, Lester Lembke-Jene, Antje Wegwerth, Gregor Knorr, Igor M. Venancio, Tainã M. L. Pinho, Ralf Tiedemann and Gisela Winckler
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Vincent Rigalleau: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Frank Lamy: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Nicoletta Ruggieri: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Henrik Sadatzki: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Helge W. Arz: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde
Stephen Barker: Cardiff University
Lester Lembke-Jene: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Antje Wegwerth: Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde
Gregor Knorr: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Igor M. Venancio: Universidade Federal Fluminense
Tainã M. L. Pinho: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Ralf Tiedemann: Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research
Gisela Winckler: Columbia University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Millennial-scale variations in the strength and position of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current exert considerable influence on the global meridional overturning circulation and the ocean carbon cycle. The mechanistic understanding of these variations is still incomplete, partly due to the scarcity of sediment records covering multiple glacial-interglacial cycles with millennial-scale resolution. Here, we present high-resolution current strength and sea surface temperature records covering the past 790,000 years from the Cape Horn Current as part of the subantarctic Antarctic Circumpolar Current system, flowing along the Chilean margin. Both temperature and current velocity data document persistent millennial-scale climate variability throughout the last eight glacial periods with stronger current flow and warmer sea surface temperatures coinciding with Antarctic warm intervals. These Southern Hemisphere changes are linked to North Atlantic millennial-scale climate fluctuations, plausibly involving changes in the Atlantic thermohaline circulation. The variations in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current system are associated with atmospheric CO2 changes, suggesting a mechanistic link through the Southern Ocean carbon cycle.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58458-2

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