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Role of the tropical Atlantic for the interhemispheric heat transport during the last deglaciation

During the last deglaciation abrupt millennial-scale perturbations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation massively altered the interhemispheric heat distribution affecting, for example, continental ice volume and hydroclimate. If and how the related cross-equatorial heat transport was c...

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Main Authors: Meier, Karl J. F. (Author) , Bahr, André (Author) , Chiessi, Cristiano Mazur (Author) , Albuquerque, Ana Luiza (Author) , Raddatz, Jacek (Author) , Friedrich, Oliver (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 23 April 2021
In: Paleoceanography and paleoclimatology
Year: 2021, Volume: 36, Issue: 5, Pages: 1-14
ISSN:2572-4525
DOI:10.1029/2020PA004107
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Author Notes:Karl J.F. Meier, André Bahr, Cristiano M. Chiessi, Ana Luiza Albuquerque, Jacek Raddatz, and Oliver Friedrich
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Summary:During the last deglaciation abrupt millennial-scale perturbations of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation massively altered the interhemispheric heat distribution affecting, for example, continental ice volume and hydroclimate. If and how the related cross-equatorial heat transport was controlled by the interplay between the southward-flowing Brazil Current (BC) and northward-flowing North Brazil Current (NBC) remains controversial. To assess the role of tropical heat transport during the last deglaciation, we obtained a high-resolution foraminiferal Mg/Ca-based sea surface temperature (SST) record from the BC domain at 21.5°S. The data reveal a yet undocumented warming of at least 4.6°C of the BC during Heinrich Stadial 1 at ∼16 ka indicating massive oceanic heat accumulation in the tropical South Atlantic. Simultaneously, a strongly diminished NBC prevented the release of this excess heat into the northern tropics. The observed magnitude of heat accumulation substantially exceeds numerical model simulations, stressing the need to further scrutinize atmospheric and oceanic heat transport during extreme climatic events.
Item Description:Gesehen am 04.08.2021
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:2572-4525
DOI:10.1029/2020PA004107

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