title: The polar ocean and glacial cycles in atmospheric CO(2) concentration.
abstract: Global climate and the atmospheric partial pressure of carbon dioxide () are correlated over recent glacial cycles, with lower during ice ages, but the causes of the changes are unknown. The modern Southern Ocean releases deeply sequestered CO(2) to the atmosphere. Growing evidence suggests that the Southern Ocean CO(2) 'leak' was stemmed during ice ages, increasing ocean CO(2) storage. Such a change would also have made the global ocean more alkaline, driving additional ocean CO(2) uptake. This explanation for lower ice-age , if correct, has much to teach us about the controls on current ocean processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geosciences, Guyot Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA. sigman@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sigman
authors.forename: Mathis P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hain
authors.forename: Gerald H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Haug
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis* / Q000266:history* / Q000378:metabolism; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000378:metabolism; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D046448:Ice Cover; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide