Late Glacial to Holocene radiocarbon constraints on North Pacific Intermediate Water ventilation and deglacial atmospheric CO2 sources

Radiocarbon reconstructions of past ocean ventilation rates constrain oceanic sources and sinks of CO2 and mechanisms of subsurface hypoxia. Here, 14C in coexisting benthic and planktonic foraminifera from a sediment core 682 m deep off Southeast Alaska documents paleoventilation over the past ?17,000 years?17,000 years. A chronology based on calibrated planktonic foraminiferal dates, consistent with independent terrestrial dates for regional glacial retreat, yields deglacial projection ages moderately greater than those of the Holocene, suggesting comparatively limited ventilation. The observed Holocene increase of apparent ventilation at intermediate depths tracks inundation of the Bering Strait between ?11,800?11,800 and 13,200 years13,200 years ago, suggesting that flooding of continental shelves and export of low-salinity surface waters to the Arctic enhanced intermediate water formation in the North Pacific. An abrupt increase in the benthic–planktonic radiocarbon age gradient, implying homogenization of abyssal radiocarbon in deep and intermediate waters, aligns with the younger of two episodes of rapid rise of atmospheric CO2 and depletion of atmospheric View the MathML source?C14 during deglaciation (?11,500–13,000 years?11,500–13,000 years ago), suggesting the North Pacific as a possible pathway for venting of oceanic CO2 to the atmosphere during the second half of the deglacial transition

A 17,000 yr paleomagnetic secular variation record from the southeast Alaskan margin: regional and global correlations

High-resolution sedimentary records on two cores from the Gulf of Alaska margin allow development of a ∼17,400-yr reconstruction of paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV). General agreement between the two records on their independent chronologies confirms that local PSV is recorded, demonstrating that such archives, notwithstanding complexities due to variable sedimentary regimes, deposition rates, and diagenetic conditions, provide meaningful information on past changes of the geomagnetic field. Comparisons with other independently dated sedimentary paleomagnetic records from the NE Pacific indicate largely coherent inclination records that in combination create a NE Pacific sedimentary inclination anomaly stack (NEPSIAS) capturing the common signal over an area spanning >30° longitude and latitude from Alaska through Oregon to Hawaii. Comparisons of NEPSIAS with high quality declination records from the northern North Atlantic (NNA) show that negative (shallow) inclination anomalies in NEPSIAS are associated with eastward NNA declinations while positive (steep) inclination anomalies in NEPSIAS are associated with westward NNA declinations. Comparison of these directional records to regional geomagnetic intensities over the past ∼3000 yrs in North America and back nearly 8000 yrs in the Euro/Mediterranean region, are consistent with a driving mechanism of oscillations in the relative strength of the North American and Euro/Mediterranean flux lobes. The persistence of these dynamics through the Holocene implicates a long-lived organizing structure likely imposed on the geomagnetic field by the lower mantle and/or inner core. These observations underscore a fundamental connection between directional PSV in the North Pacific with that of the North Atlantic, supporting the potential for long-distance correlation of directional PSV as a chronostratigraphic tool

Orbital-scale benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope stratigraphy at the northern Bering Sea Slope Site U1343 (IODP Expedition 323) and its Pleistocene paleoceanographic significance

A continuous composite oxygen isotope (δ18O) stratigraphy from benthic foraminifera in the Bering Sea was reconstructed in order to provide insight into understanding sea-ice evolution in response to Northern Hemisphere Glaciation. Oxygen isotope records from multiple species of benthic foraminifera at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 323 Site U1343 (54°33.4'N, 176°49.0'E, water depth 1950 m) yield a highly refined orbital-scale age model spanning the last 1.2 Ma, and a refined age model between 1.2 and 2.4 Ma. An inter-species calibration was used to define species offsets and to successfully obtain a continuous composite benthic δ18O record, correlated with the global composite benthic δ18O stack curve LR04 to construct an orbital-scale age model. The consistency of the benthic δ18O stratigraphy with biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy confirms the reliability of both methods for constraining age. The time difference between cyclic changes in sedimentary physical properties and glacial–interglacial cycles since 0.8 Ma is notable, and suggests that physical properties alone cannot be used to construct an orbital-scale age model. Amplitude changes in physical properties and a significant drop in the linear sedimentation rate during glacials after 0.9 Ma indicate that the glacial sea-ice edge extended beyond the Bering Sea Slope (Site U1343) at this time

The connectivity of the Bering Strait as a tool for reconstructing past sea level and ice sheets

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