Search for European Projects

Past Interglacial Climates at Key Sites: Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity Reconstructions from the Northern North Atlantic during MIS 5e and MIS 11 (PICKS)
Start date: Feb 11, 2013, End date: Feb 10, 2015 PROJECT  FINISHED 

"The northern North Atlantic ocean represents a key region in the Quaternary climate system because changes in the intensity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) occurring here, finally determine glacial-interglacial global changes. The AMOC intensity is mainly conditioned by a combination of sea surface temperatures and salinities of the warm water inflow (the North Atlantic Current and the Norwegian Current) as well as its geographical pattern. Previous sea surface temperature reconstructions based on foraminiferal abundances and alkenones have revealed strong dissimilarities in temporal and geographical patterns of the northward warm water transfer in the Holocene compared to its two potential analogues MIS 5e and MIS 11c. The aim of this project is to reconstruct sea surface salinities and temperatures in the northern North Atlantic during these two past interglacials using novel methods based on the hydrogen isotopic composition of alkenones and the lipid membrane composition of the marine prokaryote Thaumarchaea, respectively. The main question which we would like to address is if deglaciation effects in the Nordic seas could result in restrictions of the warm water inflow and changes in the configuration of warm water advection in this region. Our results will have implications for the modelling of AMOC functioning and, therefore, on climate prediction."
Up2Europe Ads

Coordinator

Details