Mohamed M. Ezat

Sea ice and millennial-scale climate variability in the Nordic seas 90 kyr ago to present

In the light of rapidly diminishing sea ice cover in the Arctic during the present atmospheric warming, it is imperative to study the distribution of sea ice in the past in relation to rapid climate change. Here we focus on glacial millennial-scale climatic events (Dansgaard/Oeschger events) using the sea ice proxy IP25 in combination with phytoplankton proxy data and quantification of diatom species in a record from the southeast Norwegian Sea. We demonstrate that expansion and retreat of sea ice varies consistently in pace with the rapid climate changes 90 kyr ago to present. Sea ice retreats abruptly at the start of warm interstadials, but spreads rapidly during cooling phases of the interstadials and becomes near perennial and perennial during cold stadials and Heinrich events, respectively. Low-salinity surface water and the sea ice edge spreads to the Greenland–Scotland Ridge, and during the largest Heinrich events, probably far into the Atlantic Ocean.

Persistent intermediate water warming during cold stadials in the southeastern Nordic seas during the past 65 k.y.

In the Nordic seas, conversion of inflowing warm Atlantic sur face water to deep cold water through convection is closely linked with climate. During the last glacial period, climate underwent rapid millennial-scale variability known as Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events, consisting of warm interstadials and cold stadials. Here we present the first benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca- d 18 O record from the Nordic seas in order to reconstruct the ocean circulation on DO time scales. The record confirms that convection similar to modern took place in the Nordic seas during interstadials with cold bottom water temperatures (BWTs) close to modern temperatures. The results show gradual and pronounced BWT increases of 2–5 °C during stadials, indicating a stop or near stop in convection. The BWT peaks are followed by an abrupt drop in temperature at the onset of interstadials, indicating the abrupt start of convection and renewed generation of cold deep water. The rise in BWT during stadials confirms earlier interpretations of subsurface inflow of warm Atlantic water below a halocline reaching >1.2 km water depth. The results suggest that warm Atlantic water never ceased to flow into the Nordic seas during the glacial period; inflow at the surface during the Holocene and warm interstadials changed to subsurface and intermediate inflow during cold stadials. Our results suggest that it is the vertical shifts in the position of the warm Atlantic water that cause the abrupt surface warmings.

Ventilation history of Nordic Seas overflows during the last (de)glacial period revealed by species-specific benthic foraminiferal 14C dates

Formation of deep water in the high-latitude North Atlantic is important for the global meridional ocean circulation, and its variability in the past may have played an important role in regional and global climate change. Here we study ocean circulation associated with the last (de)glacial period, using water-column radiocarbon age reconstructions in the Faroe-Shetland Channel, southeastern Norwegian Sea, and from the Iceland Basin, central North Atlantic. The presence of tephra layer Faroe Marine Ash Zone II, dated to ~26.7 ka, enables us to determine that the middepth (1179 m water depth) and shallow subsurface reservoir ages were ~1500 and 1100 14C years, respectively, older during the late glacial period compared to modern, suggesting substantial suppression of the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas. During the late Last Glacial Maximum and the onset of deglaciation (~20–18 ka), Nordic Seas overflow was weak but active. During the early deglaciation (~17.5–14.5 ka), our data reveal large differences between 14C ventilation ages that are derived from dating different benthic foraminiferal species: Pyrgo and other miliolid species yield ventilation ages >6000 14C years, while all other species reveal ventilation ages <2000 14C years. These data either suggest subcentennial, regional, circulation changes or that miliolid-based 14C ages are biased due to taphonomic or vital processes. Implications of each interpretation are discussed. Regardless of this “enigma,” the onset of the Bolling-Allerod interstadial (14.5 ka) is clearly marked by an increase in middepth Nordic Seas ventilation and the renewal of a stronger overflow.

Reconstruction of hydrographic changes in the southern Norwegian Sea during the past 135 kyr and the impact of different foraminiferal Mg/Ca cleaning protocols

UiT, Arctic University of Norway, the Mohn Foundation, the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project. Grant Number: 223259

Episodic release of CO2 from the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean during the last 135 kyr

Antarctic ice cores document glacial-interglacial and millennial-scale variability in atmospheric pCO2 over the past 800 kyr. The ocean, as the largest active carbon reservoir on this timescale, is thought to have played a dominant role in these pCO2 fluctuations, but it remains unclear how and where in the ocean CO2 was stored during glaciations and released during (de)glacial millennial-scale climate events. The evolution of surface ocean pCO2 in key locations can therefore provide important clues for understanding the oceans role in Pleistocene carbon cycling. Here we present a 135-kyr record of shallow subsurface pCO2 and nutrient levels from the Norwegian Sea, an area of intense CO2 uptake from the atmosphere today. Our results suggest that the Norwegian Sea probably acted as a CO2 source towards the end of Heinrich stadials HS1, HS4 and HS11, and may have contributed to the increase in atmospheric pCO2 at these times.