title: Rapid reductions in North Atlantic Deep Water during the peak of the last interglacial period.
abstract: Deep ocean circulation has been considered relatively stable during interglacial periods, yet little is known about its behavior on submillennial time scales. Using a subcentennially resolved epibenthic foraminiferal δ(13)C record, we show that the influence of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) was strong at the onset of the last interglacial period and was then interrupted by several prominent centennial-scale reductions. These NADW transients occurred during periods of increased ice rafting and southward expansions of polar water influence, suggesting that a buoyancy threshold for convective instability was triggered by freshwater and circum-Arctic cryosphere changes. The deep Atlantic chemical changes were similar in magnitude to those associated with glaciations, implying that the canonical view of a relatively stable interglacial circulation may not hold for conditions warmer and fresher than at present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Allégaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Eirik Vinje
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Galaasen
authors.forename: Ulysses S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Ninnemann
authors.forename: Nil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Irvalı
authors.forename: Helga Kikki F
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kleiven
authors.forename: Yair
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kissel
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hodell
mesh_terms: D001267:Atlantic Ocean; D057232:Global Warming; D046448:Ice Cover; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*