geochemical study of sediments suggests that, during recent glacial periods, the Arctic Ocean was completely isolated from the world ocean, with fresh water filling the basin for thousands of years.

230 Th normalization is a valuable paleoceanographic tool for reconstructing high ‐ resolution sediment fl uxes during the late Pleistocene (last ~500,000 years). As its application has expanded to ever more diverse marine environments, the nuances of 230 Th systematics, with ux Th ( fi to focusing or winnowing Th

230Th-normalization is a valuable paleoceanographic tool for reconstructing high-resolution sediment fluxes during the late Pleistocene (last ~500,000 years). As its application has expanded to ever more complex marine environments, the nuances of 230Th systematics, with regards to particle type, particle size, lateral advective/diffusive redistribution, and other processes, have emerged. We synthesized over 1000 sedimentary records of 230Th from across the global ocean at two time slices, the Late Holocene (0-5000 years ago, or 0-5 ka) and the Last Glacial Maximum (18.5-23.5 ka), and investigated the spatial structure of 230Th-normalized mass fluxes. On a global scale, sedimentary mass fluxes were significantly higher during the Last Glacial Maximum (1.79-2.17 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence) relative to the Holocene (1.48-1.68 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence). We then examined the potential confounding influences of boundary scavenging, nepheloid layers, hydrothermal scavenging, size dependent sediment fractionation, and carbonate dissolution on the efficacy of 230Th as a constant flux proxy. Anomalous 230Th behavior is sometimes observed proximal to hydrothermal ridges and in continental margins where high particle fluxes and steep continental slopes can lead to the combined effects of boundary scavenging and nepheloid interference. Notwithstanding these limitations, we found that 230Th-normalization is a robust tool for determining sediment mass accumulation rates in the majority of pelagic (> 1000 m) marine settings.

The Labrador Sea is a vital region for the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), where overflow waters from the Nordic Seas mix with locally produced Labrador Sea Water (LSW), before exiting to the interior of the Atlantic Ocean. The dynamical sedimentary proxy of mean sortable silt size (SS¯) can give information on past changes in deep water circulation speed and the strength of AMOC. We have produced SS¯ records from two core sites at depths between 1500 and 2000 m on the continental slope east of Newfoundland, to reconstruct changes in intermediate depth water circulation speed, including Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water and Labrador Sea Water over the past 22,000 years. Increases in SS¯ appear to coincide with much of the deglaciation as well as the mid-late Holocene. End-member modeling suggests that ice-rafted debris (IRD) is an important factor in interpreting SS¯ during the deglaciation. We find that a robust increase in SS¯ is likely unrelated to IRD during the past 5 ka, and probably reflects increased flow at intermediate depths due to local production of LSW strengthening as Nordic Seas overflows weakened at this depth. Our results highlight both the complications of producing SS¯ records in IRD-rich, slope environments and the promise that this proxy nevertheless has for reconstructing dynamical changes in deep ocean currents.

While substantial changes in thermohaline circulation related to deglacial climate variability are well established, the role of this circulation in Holocene climate variability remains uncertain. Here we use two dynamical proxies, Pa-231/Th-230 ratios and mean sortable silt size (SS) to reconstruct Holocene bottom water circulation at the intermediate-depth Carolina Slope. We find no substantial change in deep current speed or Pa-231 export at this site during the Holocene, suggesting consistent Pa-231 export via the Deep Western Boundary Current. (SS) over bar shows increasing millennial-scale variability in the middle-late Holocene, which may reflect Labrador Sea Water contribution to current speed. We conclude that deepwater export from the North Atlantic has remained remarkably stable during the Holocene, decoupled from changing rates of specific water masses, while production of these water masses varied at millennial to centennial time scales. The persistence of the large-scale overturning may reflect the ocean's stabilizing influence on Holocene climate. Plain Language Summary Atlantic overturning circulation affects Earth's climate by moving heat and salt northward and carrying cold deep water southward. Learning how this circulation has behaved during the last 12,000 years, when climate resembled modern-day climate, can potentially aid in predicting future climate behavior. We investigated how fast the intermediate-depth circulation in the Atlantic moved using a sediment core from the North American continental margin. The overturning circulation has carried the isotope protactinium-231 away from our site at a very constant rate for the past 12,000 years, even when new water masses started contributing to the circulation. No baseline change in the size of silt moved by bottom currents (and thus no baseline change in current speed) occurred during the last 12,000 years, but short-term changes in silt size did occur during the past 6,000 years. Local current speed varied during individual climate events, which might reflect how fast particular water masses are formed in the North Atlantic, but the rate of overall deep circulation of the basin is determined by the combined strength of all these water masses, which has remained stable. Circulation stability may have helped to drive the stable climate the Earth has enjoyed for the last 12,000 years.

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the primary driver of interannual climate variability in the tropics and subtropics. Despite substantial progress in understanding ocean-atmosphere feedbacks that drive ENSO today, relatively little is known about its behavior on centennial and longer timescales. Paleoclimate records from lakes, corals, molluscs and deep-sea sediments generally suggest that ENSO variability was weaker during the mid-Holocene (4-6 kyr BP) than the late Holocene (0-4 kyr BP). However, discrepancies amongst the records preclude a clear timeline of Holocene ENSO evolution and therefore the attribution of ENSO variability to specific climate forcing mechanisms. Here we present delta O-18 results from a U-Th dated speleothem in Malaysian Borneo sampled at sub-annual resolution. The delta O-18 of Borneo rainfall is a robust proxy of regional convective intensity and precipitation amount, both of which are directly influenced by ENSO activity. Our estimates of stalagmite 8180 variance at ENSO periods (2-7 yr) show a significant reduction in interannual variability during the mid Holocene (3240-3380 and 5160-5230 yr BP) relative to both the late Holocene (2390-2590 yr BP) and early Holocene (6590-6730 yr BP). The Borneo results are therefore inconsistent with lacustrine records of ENSO from the eastern equatorial Pacific that show little or no ENSO variance during the early Holocene. Instead, our results support coral, mollusc and foraminiferal records from the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that show a mid-Holocene minimum in ENSO variance. Reduced mid-Holocene interannual delta O-18 variability in Borneo coincides with an overall minimum in mean delta O-18 from 3.5 to 5.5 kyr BP. Persistent warm pool convection would tend to enhance the Walker circulation during the mid-Holocene, which likely contributed to reduced ENSO variance during this period. This finding implies that both convective intensity and interannual variability in Borneo are driven by coupled airsea dynamics that are sensitive to precessional insolation forcing. Isolating the exact mechanisms that drive long-term ENSO evolution will require additional high-resolution paleoclimatic reconstructions and further investigation of Holocene tropical climate evolution using coupled climate models. (C) 2016 vier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ratios of the radionuclides thorium-230 and protactinium-231 in sediment record ongoing export of 231Pa from the deep central Arctic Ocean and may indicate continuous deep-water exchange between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans throughout the past 35,000 years. Through the production of sea ice and its contributions to the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, the Arctic Ocean has a major influence on the global climate system. Here, Sharon Hoffmann et al. measure protactinium-231/thorium-230 isotope ratios in seven ocean sediment cores to examine patterns of particle-reactive element deposition during glacial, deglacial and interglacial conditions. They find that the Arctic Ocean has consistently exported water to the Atlantic Ocean during the past 35,000 years. This contrasts with many other areas, where glacial–deglacial climate changes are associated with profound shifts in ocean circulation. The Arctic Ocean has an important role in Earth’s climate, both through surface processes1 such as sea-ice formation and transport, and through the production and export of waters at depth that contribute to the global thermohaline circulation2,3. Deciphering the deep Arctic Ocean’s palaeo-oceanographic history is a crucial part of understanding its role in climatic change. Here we show that sedimentary ratios of the radionuclides thorium-230 (230Th) and protactinium-231 (231Pa), which are produced in sea water and removed by particle scavenging on timescales of decades to centuries, respectively4, record consistent evidence for the export of 231Pa from the deep Arctic and may indicate continuous deep-water exchange between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans throughout the past 35,000 years. Seven well-dated box-core records provide a comprehensive overview of 231Pa and 230Th burial in Arctic sediments during glacial, deglacial and interglacial conditions. Sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios decrease nearly linearly with increasing water depth above the core sites, indicating efficient particle scavenging in the upper water column and greater influence of removal by lateral transport at depth. Although the measured 230Th burial is in balance with its production in Arctic sea water, integrated depth profiles for all time intervals reveal a deficit in 231Pa burial that can be balanced only by lateral export in the water column. Because no enhanced sink for 231Pa has yet been found in the Arctic, our records suggest that deep-water exchange through the Fram strait may export 231Pa. Such export may have continued for the past 35,000 years, suggesting a century-scale replacement time for deep waters in the Arctic Ocean since the most recent glaciation and a persistent contribution of Arctic waters to the global ocean circulation.

We report 15N/14N ratios of porewater nitrate in sediments from the Bering Sea basin, where microbial nitrate reduction has been identified as a significant sink for fixed nitrogen (N). Strong 15N enrichment in porewater nitrate is observed as one goes deeper in the sediments and nitrate concentration [NO3-] decreases (δ15N generally reaches 25–35‰). Analysis of profiles with a one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model yields organism-scale isotope effects for dissimilatory nitrate reduction (εcell) of 11‰ to 30‰, in the same range as measured in previous studies of cultures and the marine and lacustrine water column. Estimates of εcell, while uncertain, show a negative correlation with bottom water [O2]; we propose that this relates to the [NO3-] at the depth of denitrification. The N isotope effect at the scale of nitrate sediment–water exchange (εapp) is ∼0‰ in two unreactive deep sites and is typically <3‰ at more reactive sites at various depths. εapp is much lower than εcell because nitrate consumption is nearly complete at the sediment depth of denitrification, minimizing the escape of 15N-enriched nitrate from the sediments. In reactive sediments, this is due to rapid denitrification, while in less reactive sediments, it is due to greater diffusive distances for nitrate to the depth of denitrification. The data suggest that low bottom water [O2] tends to yield more complete expression of εcell at the sediment–water scale, due to higher [NO3-] at the depth of denitrification. While porewater ammonium-N isotopes were not measured, our porewater model suggests that, in sediments with high organic matter supply and/or low-[O2] bottom waters, the efflux and subsequent oxidation of ammonium enriched in 15N by incomplete nitrification can significantly enhance the total net isotope effect of sedimentary N loss (εsed, equivalent to εapp but including ammonium fluxes). Model analysis of representative sedimentary environments suggests a global mean εsed of ∼4‰ (∼2‰ if restricted to seafloor below 1km depth).

In most of the global ocean, the radionuclide thorium-230 is removed from the water column by adsorption onto particles and deposition in seafloor sediments, at a rate approximately in balance with its local production by the decay of uranium dissolved in seawater, allowing its use in assessing rates of marine processes. However, several previous studies have suggested that the flux of 230Th to the sediments of the Central Arctic is far too small to balance its production in the overlying water column. If this is so, 230Th produced in the low particle-flux Central Arctic basins would be deposited elsewhere, either by boundary scavenging at the margins or by export from the Arctic to lower latitudes. In order to evaluate this possibility, we compare the expected 230Th production and measured inventories for five sites in the Western Arctic, combining previously published 230Th data with reported AMS radiocarbon dates, and find no evidence for a substantial deficit of 230Th in these sediments. Instead, we find evidence for near balance in the 230Th budget during both the Holocene and late glacial periods. These intervals are separated by a brief deglacial period of apparently higher sedimentation rates and 230Th deposition. During the Holocene, the average sedimentary inventory of 230Th at these sites is largely within 30% of the water column production, in good agreement with observations and model results from other ocean basins.

On the basis of the normalization to phosphate, a significant amount of nitrate is missing from the deep Bering Sea (BS). Benthic denitrification has been suggested previously to be the dominant cause for the BS nitrate deficit. We measured water column nitrate 15N/14N and 18O/16O as integrative tracers of microbial denitrification, together with pore water‐derived benthic nitrate fluxes in the deep BS basin, in order to gain new constraints on the mechanism of fixed nitrogen loss in the BS. The lack of any nitrate isotope enrichment into the deep part of the BS supports the benthic denitrification hypothesis. On the basis of the nitrate deficit in the water column with respect to the adjacent North Pacific and a radiocarbon‐derived ventilation age of ∼50 years, we calculate an average deep BS (>2000 m water depth) sedimentary denitrification rate of ∼230 μmol N m−2 d−1 (or 1.27 Tg N yr−1), more than 3 times higher than high‐end estimates of the average global sedimentary denitrification rate for the same depth interval. Pore water‐derived estimates of benthic denitrification were variable, and uncertainties in estimates were large. A very high denitrification rate measured from the base of the steep northern slope of the basin suggests that the elevated average sedimentary denitrification rate of the deep Bering calculated from the nitrate deficit is driven by organic matter supply to the base of the continental slope, owing to a combination of high primary productivity in the surface waters along the shelf break and efficient down‐slope sediment focusing along the steep continental slopes that characterize the BS.

New evidence from North Atlantic deep-sea sediment cores suggests that rhyolitic glass shards in Ash Zone 1 and in the Vedde Ash may not have been produced by the same eruption as has been widely assumed. Our argument is based on (1) a marine ice-rafted deposit approximately 1000 years older than the Vedde Ash contains rhyolitic shards with the same major element chemistry as the Vedde Ash itself and (2) coincidence of Ash Zone 1 with an abrupt increase in discharge of glacial icebergs into the North Atlantic. Hence, we cannot rule out the possibility that Vedde-like rhyolitic glasses were erupted onto Icelandic glaciers before eruption of the Vedde Ash, stored in the glacial ice, then dispersed by icebergs into the North Atlantic and deposited partly or entirely as Ash Zone 1. While not disproving that Ash Zone 1 and the Vedde Ash came from the same eruption, our findings indicate that further study is needed to establish the exact relation between the two ash deposits.

Surface winds and surface ocean hydrography in the subpolar North Atlantic appear to have been influenced by variations in solar output through the entire Holocene. The evidence comes from a close correlation between inferred changes in production rates of the cosmogenic nuclides carbon-14 and beryllium-10 and centennial to millennial time scale changes in proxies of drift ice measured in deep-sea sediment cores. A solar forcing mechanism therefore may underlie at least the Holocene segment of the North Atlantic's “1500-year” cycle. The surface hydrographic changes may have affected production of North Atlantic Deep Water, potentially providing an additional mechanism for amplifying the solar signals and transmitting them globally.