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Biological and physical controls in the Southern Ocean on past millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 changes

Author

Listed:
  • Julia Gottschalk

    (Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, University of Cambridge)

  • Luke C. Skinner

    (Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, University of Cambridge)

  • Jörg Lippold

    (Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern)

  • Hendrik Vogel

    (Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern)

  • Norbert Frank

    (Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg)

  • Samuel L. Jaccard

    (Institute of Geological Sciences and Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern)

  • Claire Waelbroeck

    (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CNRS-CEA-UVSQ, Université de Paris-Saclay)

Abstract

Millennial-scale climate changes during the last glacial period and deglaciation were accompanied by rapid changes in atmospheric CO2 that remain unexplained. While the role of the Southern Ocean as a 'control valve' on ocean–atmosphere CO2 exchange has been emphasized, the exact nature of this role, in particular the relative contributions of physical (for example, ocean dynamics and air–sea gas exchange) versus biological processes (for example, export productivity), remains poorly constrained. Here we combine reconstructions of bottom-water [O2], export production and 14C ventilation ages in the sub-Antarctic Atlantic, and show that atmospheric CO2 pulses during the last glacial- and deglacial periods were consistently accompanied by decreases in the biological export of carbon and increases in deep-ocean ventilation via southern-sourced water masses. These findings demonstrate how the Southern Ocean's 'organic carbon pump' has exerted a tight control on atmospheric CO2, and thus global climate, specifically via a synergy of both physical and biological processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Gottschalk & Luke C. Skinner & Jörg Lippold & Hendrik Vogel & Norbert Frank & Samuel L. Jaccard & Claire Waelbroeck, 2016. "Biological and physical controls in the Southern Ocean on past millennial-scale atmospheric CO2 changes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms11539
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11539
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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastien Moreau & Tore Hattermann & Laura Steur & Hanna M. Kauko & Heidi Ahonen & Murat Ardelan & Philipp Assmy & Melissa Chierici & Sebastien Descamps & Tilman Dinter & Tone Falkenhaug & Agneta Fran, 2023. "Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense blooms and food webs in the eastern Weddell Gyre," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. 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 & Ji, 2024. "Ice sheet and precession controlled subarctic Pacific productivity and upwelling over the last 550,000 years," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

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