The strength and latitudinal position of the southern westerly winds (SWW) influence mid-latitude precipitation and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Despite the important role the westerlies play in the global climate system, past variability is poorly constrained. Here, we present a geochemical record of hydroclimate change from Lake Von in south-west New Zealand that spans the last 16 000 years. During the Lateglacial and early Holocene, we find stratigraphic and geochemical evidence for three distinct periods of low lake levels that occur during North Atlantic cold events when the Intertropical Convergence Zone is displaced southwards, Southern Ocean upwelling is enhanced and the Antarctic is rapidly warming. We attribute these hydrological changes to southward shifts of the SWW and associated storm tracks that cause arid conditions in southern New Zealand. During the early Holocene, we find evidence for an extended period of low lake levels that are caused by a combination of diminished wind strength, higher air temperatures and reduced seasonality. Finally, we interpret an overall intensification of the SWW after 5500 cal a bp. Our results support the idea that climate mechanisms originating in the high latitudes and the tropics work together to influence the SWW on millennial timescales.
Abstract. Sea ice expansion in the Southern Ocean is believed to have contributed to glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 variability by inhibiting air–sea gas exchange and influencing the ocean's meridional overturning circulation. However, limited data on past sea ice coverage over the last 140 ka (a complete glacial cycle) have hindered our ability to link sea ice expansion to oceanic processes that affect atmospheric CO2 concentration. Assessments of past sea ice coverage using diatom assemblages have primarily focused on the Last Glacial Maximum (∼21 ka) to Holocene, with few quantitative reconstructions extending to the onset of glacial Termination II (∼135 ka). Here we provide new estimates of winter sea ice concentrations (WSIC) and summer sea surface temperatures (SSST) for a full glacial–interglacial cycle from the southwestern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean using the modern analog technique (MAT) on fossil diatom assemblages from deep-sea core TAN1302-96. We examine how the timing of changes in sea ice coverage relates to ocean circulation changes and previously proposed mechanisms of early glacial CO2 drawdown. We then place SSST estimates within the context of regional SSST records to better understand how these surface temperature changes may be influencing oceanic CO2 uptake. We find that winter sea ice was absent over the core site during the early glacial period until MIS 4 (∼65 ka), suggesting that sea ice may not have been a major contributor to early glacial CO2 drawdown. Sea ice expansion throughout the glacial–interglacial cycle, however, appears to coincide with observed regional reductions in Antarctic Intermediate Water production and subduction, suggesting that sea ice may have influenced intermediate ocean circulation changes. We observe an early glacial (MIS 5d) weakening of meridional SST gradients between 42 and 59∘ S throughout the region, which may have contributed to early reductions in atmospheric CO2 concentrations through its impact on air–sea gas exchange.
Abstract. Sea ice expansion in the Southern Ocean is believed to have contributed to glacial-interglacial atmospheric CO2 variability by inhibiting air-sea gas exchange and influencing the ocean’s meridional overturning circulation. However, limited data on past sea ice coverage over the last 140 ka (a complete glacial cycle) have hindered our ability to link sea ice expansion to oceanic processes that affect atmospheric CO2 concentration. Assessments of past sea ice coverage using diatom assemblages have primarily focused on the Last Glacial Maximum (~21 ka) to Holocene, with few quantitative reconstructions extending to the onset of glacial Termination II (~135 ka). Here we provide new estimates of winter sea ice concentrations (wSIC) and summer sea surface temperatures (sSSTs) for a full glacial-interglacial cycle from the southwestern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean using fossil diatom assemblages from deep-sea core TAN1302-96 (59.09° S, 157.05° E, water depth 3099 m). We find that winter sea ice was consolidated over the core site during the latter part of the penultimate glaciation, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 (from at least 140 to 134 ka), when sSSTs were between ~1 and 1.5 °C. The winter sea ice edge then retreated rapidly as sSSTs increased during the transition into the Last Interglacial Period (MIS 5e), reaching ~4.5 °C by 125 ka. As the Earth entered the early glacial stages, sSSTs began to decline around 112 ka, but winter sea ice largely remained absent until ~65 ka during MIS 4, when it was sporadically present but unconsolidated (< 40 % wSIC). WSIC and sSSTs reached their maximum concentration and coolest values by 24.5 ka, just prior to the Last Glacial Maximum. Winter sea ice remained absent throughout the Holocene, while SSSTs briefly exceeded modern values, reaching ~5 °C by 11.4 ka, before decreasing to ~4 °C and stabilizing. The absence of sea ice coverage over the core site during the early glacial period suggests that sea ice may not have been a major contributor to CO2 drawdown at this time. During MIS 5d, we observe a weakening of meridional SST gradients between 42° to 59° S throughout the region, which may have contributed to early reductions in atmospheric CO2 concentrations through its impact on air-sea gas exchange. Sea ice expansion during MIS 4, however, coincides with observed reductions in Antarctic Intermediate Water production and subduction, suggesting that sea ice may have influenced intermediate ocean circulation changes.
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