A model-data assessment of the role of Southern Ocean processes in the last glacial termination

Abstract

Abstract. The Southern Ocean has been identified as a key player for the global atmospheric temperature and pCO 2 rise across the last glacial termination. One leading hypothesis for explaining the initial pCO 2 step of 38 ppm (Mystery Interval 17.5−14.5 ka) is enhanced upwelling of Southern Ocean deep water that had stayed isolated from surface layers for millennia, thereby accumulating carbon from remineralisation of organic matter. However, the individual influences involved in this interplay of processes are not fully understood. A credible explanation for this remarkable climate change must also be able to