Ocean mixing and ice-sheet control of seawater 234U/238U during the last deglaciation

Enhanced subglacial discharge from Antarctica during meltwater pulse 1A

Subglacial discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) likely played a crucial role in the loss of the ice sheet and the subsequent rise in sea level during the last deglaciation. However, no direct proxy is currently available to document subglacial discharge from the AIS, which leaves significant gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions between subglacial discharge and ice-sheet stability. Here we present deep-sea coral 234U/238U records from the Drake Passage in the Southern Ocean to track subglacial discharge from the AIS. Our findings reveal distinctively higher seawater 234U/238U values from 15,400 to 14,000 years ago, corresponding to the period of the highest iceberg-rafted debris flux and the occurrence of the meltwater pulse 1A event. This correlation suggests a causal link between enhanced subglacial discharge, synchronous retreat of the AIS, and the rapid rise in sea levels. The enhanced subglacial discharge and subsequent AIS retreat appear to have been preconditioned by a stronger and warmer Circumpolar Deep Water, thus underscoring the critical role of oceanic heat in driving major ice-sheet retreat.

Mid- to late Holocene sea-level rise recorded in Hells Bells 234U/238U ratio and geochemical composition

Hells Bells are underwater secondary carbonates discovered in sinkholes (cenotes) southeast of Cancun on the north-eastern Yucatán peninsula, Mexico. These authigenic calcite precipitates, reaching a length of up to 4 m, most likely grow in the pelagic redoxcline. Here we report on detailed ²³⁰Th/U-dating and in-depth geochemical and stable isotope analyses of specimens from cenotes El Zapote, Maravilla and Tortugas. Hells Bells developed since at least ~ 8000 years ago, with active growth until present day. Initial (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) activity ratios (δ²³⁴U₀) in Hells Bells calcite decreas from 55 to 15‰ as sea level converges toward its present state. The temporal evolution of the geochemistry and isotope composition of Hells Bells calcites thus appears to be closely linked to sea-level rise and reflects changing hydrological conditions (desalinization) of the aquifer. We suggest that decelerated leaching of excess ²³⁴U from the previously unsaturated bedrock traces Holocene relative sea-level rise. Considering this proxy, the resulting mean sea-level reconstruction contains half as much scatter, i.e. improves by a factor of two, when compared to previously published work for the period between 8 and 4 ky BP.

Terrestrial evidence for ocean forcing of Heinrich events and subglacial hydrologic connectivity of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

During the last glacial period, the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) underwent episodes of rapid iceberg discharge, recorded in ocean sediments as "Heinrich events" (HEs). Two competing models attempt to describe the stimulus for HEs via either internal ice sheet oscillations or external ocean-climate system forcing. We present a terrestrial record of HEs from the northeastern LIS that strongly supports ocean-climate forcing. Subglacial carbonate precipitates from Baffin Island record episodes of subglacial melting coincident with the three most recent HEs, resulting from acceleration of nearby marine-terminating ice streams. Synchronized ice stream acceleration over Baffin Island and Hudson Strait is inconsistent with internal ice sheet oscillations alone and indicates a shared ocean-climate stimulus to coordinate these different glaciological systems. Isotopic compositions of these precipitates record widespread subglacial groundwater connectivity beneath the LIS. Extensive basal melting and flushing of these aquifers during the last HE may have been a harbinger for terminal deglaciation.

Rapid coupling between solid earth and ice volume during the Quaternary

The solid earth plays a major role in controlling Earth's surface climate. Volcanic degassing of carbon dioxide (CO2) and silicate chemical weathering are known to regulate the evolution of climate on a geologic timescale (> 106 yr), but the relationship between the solid earth and the shorter (< 105 yr) fluctuations of Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles is still under debate. Here we show that the seawater osmium isotope composition (187Os/188Os), a proxy for the solid earth's response to climate change, has varied during the past 300,000 years in association with glacial-interglacial cycles. Our marine Os isotope mass-balance simulation reveals that the observed 187Os/188Os fluctuation cannot be explained solely by global chemical weathering rate changes corresponding to glacial-interglacial climate changes, but the fluctuation can be reproduced by taking account of short-term inputs of (1) radiogenic Os derived from intense weathering of glacial till during deglacial periods and (2) unradiogenic Os derived from enhanced seafloor hydrothermalism triggered by sea-level falls associated with increases of ice sheet volume. Our results constitute the first evidence that ice sheet recession and expansion during the Quaternary systematically and repetitively caused short-term (< 105 yr) solid earth responses via chemical weathering of glacial till and seafloor magmatism. This finding implies that climatic changes on < 105 yr timescales can provoke rapid feedbacks from the solid earth, a causal relationship that is the reverse of the longer-term (> 106 yr) causality that has been conventionally considered.

Rapid shifts in circulation and biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean during deglacial carbon cycle events

The Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in regulating atmospheric CO₂ on centennial to millennial time scales. However, observations of sufficient resolution to explore this have been lacking. Here, we report high-resolution, multiproxy records based on precisely dated deep-sea corals from the Southern Ocean. Paired deep (∆¹⁴C and δ¹¹B) and surface (δ¹⁵N) proxy data point to enhanced upwelling coupled with reduced efficiency of the biological pump at 14.6 and 11.7 thousand years (ka) ago, which would have facilitated rapid carbon release to the atmosphere. Transient periods of unusually well-ventilated waters in the deep Southern Ocean occurred at 16.3 and 12.8 ka ago. Contemporaneous atmospheric carbon records indicate that these Southern Ocean ventilation events are also important in releasing respired carbon from the deep ocean to the atmosphere. Our results thus highlight two distinct modes of Southern Ocean circulation and biogeochemistry associated with centennial-scale atmospheric CO₂ jumps during the last deglaciation.

Ice retreat in Wilkes Basin of East Antarctica during a warm interglacial

Efforts to improve sea level forecasting on a warming planet have focused on determining the temperature, sea level and extent of polar ice sheets during Earth's past interglacial warm periods^1-3. About 400,000 years ago, during the interglacial period known as Marine Isotopic Stage 11 (MIS11), the global temperature was 1 to 2 degrees Celsius greater² and sea level was 6 to 13 metres higher^1,3. Sea level estimates in excess of about 10 metres, however, have been discounted because these require a contribution from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet³, which has been argued to have remained stable for millions of years before and includes MIS11^4,5. Here we show how the evolution of ²³⁴U enrichment within the subglacial waters of East Antarctica recorded the ice sheet's response to MIS11 warming. Within the Wilkes Basin, subglacial chemical precipitates of opal and calcite record accumulation of ²³⁴U (the product of rock-water contact within an isolated subglacial reservoir) up to 20 times higher than that found in marine waters. The timescales of ²³⁴U enrichment place the inception of this reservoir at MIS11. Informed by the ²³⁴U cycling observed in the Laurentide Ice Sheet, where ²³⁴U accumulated during periods of ice stability⁶ and was flushed to global oceans in response to deglaciation⁷, we interpret our East Antarctic dataset to represent ice loss within the Wilkes Basin at MIS11. The ²³⁴U accumulation within the Wilkes Basin is also observed in the McMurdo Dry Valleys brines^8-10, indicating¹¹ that the brine originated beneath the adjacent East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The marine origin of brine salts¹⁰ and bacteria¹² implies that MIS11 ice loss was coupled with marine flooding. Collectively, these data indicate that during one of the warmest Pleistocene interglacials, the ice sheet margin at the Wilkes Basin retreated to near the precipitate location, about 700 kilometres inland from the current position of the ice margin, which-assuming current ice volumes-would have contributed about 3 to 4 metres¹³ to global sea levels.

Glacial-interglacial Nd isotope variability of North Atlantic Deep Water modulated by North American ice sheet

The Nd isotope composition of seawater has been used to reconstruct past changes in the contribution of different water masses to the deep ocean. In the absence of contrary information, the Nd isotope compositions of endmember water masses are usually assumed constant during the Quaternary. Here we show that the Nd isotope composition of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), a major component of the global overturning ocean circulation, was significantly more radiogenic than modern during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and shifted towards modern values during the deglaciation. We propose that weathering contributions of unradiogenic Nd modulated by the North American Ice Sheet dominated the evolution of the NADW Nd isotope endmember. If water mass mixing dominated the distribution of deep glacial Atlantic Nd isotopes, our results would imply a larger fraction of NADW in the deep Atlantic during the LGM and deglaciation than reconstructed with a constant northern endmember.

The Nd isotope composition of seawater has been used to reconstruct past changes in the various contributions of different water masses to the deep ocean, with the isotope signatures of endmember water masses generally assumed to have been stable during the Quaternary. Here, the authors show that deep water produced in the North Atlantic had a significantly more radiogenic Nd signature during the Last Glacial Maximum compared to today.

A drop in Sahara dust fluxes records the northern limits of the African Humid Period

Northern and eastern Africa were exposed to significantly wetter conditions relative to present during the early Holocene period known as the African Humid Period (AHP), although the latitudinal extent of the northward expansion of the tropical rain belt remains poorly constrained. New records of ²³⁰Th_xs-normalized accumulation rates in marine sediment cores from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are combined with existing records of western Africa dust and terrestrial records across the Sahara Desert, revealing that fluxes of dust transported east from the Sahara decreased by at least 50% during the AHP, due to the development of wetter conditions as far north as ~22°N. These results provide the first quantitative record of sediment and dust accumulation rates in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the past 20 kyrs and challenge the paradigm of vast vegetative cover across the north and northeastern Sahara Desert during the AHP.

Marine sediment cores from east of Africa show that Sahara dust fluxes decreased by at least 50% between the last deglaciation and the mid Holocene, while the Northern Sector of the Red Sea remained unchanged. This constrains the African Humid Period impact to have extended up to ca. 22°N, across a more limited region than previously thought.

The silicon cycle impacted by past ice sheets

Globally averaged riverine silicon (Si) concentrations and isotope composition (δ³⁰Si) may be affected by the expansion and retreat of large ice sheets during glacial−interglacial cycles. Here we provide evidence of this based on the δ³⁰Si composition of meltwater runoff from a Greenland Ice Sheet catchment. Glacier runoff has the lightest δ³⁰Si measured in running waters (−0.25 ± 0.12‰), significantly lower than nonglacial rivers (1.25 ± 0.68‰), such that the overall decline in glacial runoff since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) may explain 0.06–0.17‰ of the observed ocean δ³⁰Si rise (0.5–1.0‰). A marine sediment core proximal to Iceland provides further evidence for transient, low-δ³⁰Si meltwater pulses during glacial termination. Diatom Si uptake during the LGM was likely similar to present day due to an expanded Si inventory, which raises the possibility of a feedback between ice sheet expansion, enhanced Si export to the ocean and reduced CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere, because of the importance of diatoms in the biological carbon pump.

The role ice sheets play in the silica cycle over glacial−interglacial timescales remains unclear. Here, based on the measurement of silica isotopes in Greenland meltwater and a nearby marine sediment core, the authors suggest expanding ice sheets considerably increased isotopically light silica in the oceans.

Coherent deglacial changes in western Atlantic Ocean circulation

Abrupt climate changes in the past have been attributed to variations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) strength. However, the exact timing and magnitude of past AMOC shifts remain elusive, which continues to limit our understanding of the driving mechanisms of such climate variability. Here we show a consistent signal of the ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th proxy that reveals a spatially coherent picture of western Atlantic circulation changes over the last deglaciation, during abrupt millennial-scale climate transitions. At the onset of deglaciation, we observe an early slowdown of circulation in the western Atlantic from around 19 to 16.5 thousand years ago (ka), consistent with the timing of accelerated Eurasian ice melting. The subsequent weakened AMOC state persists for over a millennium (~16.5–15 ka), during which time there is substantial ice rafting from the Laurentide ice sheet. This timing indicates a role for melting ice in driving a two-step AMOC slowdown, with a positive feedback sustaining continued iceberg calving and climate change during Heinrich Stadial 1.

The exact timing and magnitude of past changes in Atlantic Ocean circulation, and its relation to abrupt climate changes remains elusive. Here, the authors show a spatially coherent picture of western Atlantic circulation changes, which reveals a two-step AMOC slowdown at the beginning of the deglacial period.

Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) in seawater of the northern Arabian Gulf - Baseline measurements

This study focuses on creating baseline for ²³⁸U, ²³⁵U, ²³⁴U, ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po and ⁴⁰K concentrations in the northern Arabian Gulf. The respective concentration ranges were 0.047-0.050, 0.00186-0.00198, 0.054-0.057, 0.00085-0.00092, 0.00051-0.00062 and 18.6-19.1Bql^-1. These results suggest that the levels are generally comparable to other marine waters in the northern hemisphere. There were no hot spots observed from oil and gas industry. These data will serve as a baseline to gauge possible future inputs of TENORMs in the northern Gulf. A positive and linear correlation was observed between ^238,234U, ⁴⁰K isotopes and seawater salinity. The results also suggest significant fractionation between ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb, attributed to rapid removal of ²¹⁰Po by biota compared to ²¹⁰Pb. The mean residence time for ²¹⁰Po in the study area was 371days. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁸U/²³⁵U activity ratios in seawater samples vary between 1.14-1.15, and 0.038-0.040. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio is similar to the expected composition of seawater (1.148±0.002) and 0.0462.