A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

Climate during the last glacial period was marked by abrupt instability on millennial timescales that included large swings of temperature in and around Greenland (Daansgard-Oeschger events) and smaller, more gradual changes in Antarctica (AIM events). Less is known about the existence and nature of similar variability during older glacial periods, especially during the early Pleistocene when glacial cycles were dominantly occurring at 41 kyr intervals compared to the much longer and deeper glaciations of the more recent period. Here, we report a continuous millennially resolved record of stable isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifera at IODP Site U1385 (the "Shackleton Site") from the southwestern Iberian margin for the last 1.5 million years, which includes the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our results demonstrate that millennial climate variability (MCV) was a persistent feature of glacial climate, both before and after the MPT. Prior to 1.2 Ma in the early Pleistocene, the amplitude of MCV was modulated by the 41 kyr obliquity cycle and increased when axial tilt dropped below 23.5° and benthic δ18O exceeded ∼3.8 ‰ (corrected to Uvigerina), indicating a threshold response to orbital forcing. Afterwards, MCV became focused mainly on the transitions into and out of glacial states (i.e. inceptions and terminations) and during times of intermediate ice volume. After 1.2 Ma, obliquity continued to play a role in modulating the amplitude of MCV, especially during times of glacial inceptions, which are always associated with declining obliquity. A non-linear role for obliquity is also indicated by the appearance of multiples (82, 123 kyr) and combination tones (28 kyr) of the 41 kyr cycle. Near the end of the MPT (∼0.65 Ma), obliquity modulation of MCV amplitude wanes as quasi-periodic 100 kyr and precession power increase, coinciding with the growth of oversized ice sheets on North America and the appearance of Heinrich layers in North Atlantic sediments. Whereas the planktic δ18O of Site U1385 shows a strong resemblance to Greenland temperature and atmospheric methane (i.e. Northern Hemisphere climate), millennial changes in benthic δ18O closely follow the temperature history of Antarctica for the past 800 kyr. The phasing of millennial planktic and benthic δ18O variation is similar to that observed for MIS 3 throughout much of the record, which has been suggested to mimic the signature of the bipolar seesaw - i.e. an interhemispheric asymmetry between the timing of cooling in Antarctica and warming in Greenland. The Iberian margin isotopic record suggests that bipolar asymmetry was a robust feature of interhemispheric glacial climate variations for at least the past 1.5 Ma despite changing glacial boundary conditions. A strong correlation exists between millennial increases in planktic δ18O (cooling) and decreases in benthic δ13C, indicating that millennial variations in North Atlantic surface temperature are mirrored by changes in deep-water circulation and remineralization of carbon in the abyssal ocean. We find strong evidence that climate variability on millennial and orbital scales is coupled across different timescales and interacts in both directions, which may be important for linking internal climate dynamics and external astronomical forcing. Copyright

Fast and slow components of interstadial warming in the North Atlantic during the last glacial

AbstractThe abrupt nature of warming events recorded in Greenland ice-cores during the last glacial has generated much debate over their underlying mechanisms. Here, we present joint marine and terrestrial analyses from the Portuguese Margin, showing a succession of cold stadials and warm interstadials over the interval 35–57 ka. Heinrich stadials 4 and 5 contain considerable structure, with a short transitional phase leading to an interval of maximum cooling and aridity, followed by slowly increasing sea-surface temperatures and moisture availability. A climate model experiment reproduces the changes in western Iberia during the final part of Heinrich stadial 4 as a result of the gradual recovery of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. What emerges is that Greenland ice-core records do not provide a unique template for warming events, which involved the operation of both fast and slow components of the coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice system, producing adjustments over a range of timescales.</jats:p

Anatomy of Heinrich Layer 1 and its role in the last deglaciation

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning and X-ray computed tomography data were measured every 1 mm to study the structure of Heinrich Event 1 during the last deglaciation at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1308. Heinrich Layer 1 comprises two distinct layers of ice-rafted detritus (IRD), which are rich in detrital carbonate (DC) and poor in foraminifera. Each DC layer consists of poorly sorted, coarse-grained clasts of IRD embedded in a dense, fine-grained matrix of glacial rock flour that is partially cemented. The radiocarbon ages of foraminifera at the base of the two layers indicate a difference of 1400 $^{14}$C years, suggesting that they are two distinct events, but the calendar ages depend upon assumptions made for surface reservoir ages. The double peak indicates at least two distinct stages of discharge of the ice streams that drained the Laurentide Ice Sheet through Hudson Strait during HE1 or, alternatively, the discharge of two independent ice streams containing detrital carbonate. Heinrich Event 1.1 was the larger of the two events and began at ~16.2 ka (15.5–17.1 ka) when the polar North Atlantic was already cold and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) weakened. The younger peak (H1.2) at ~15.1 ka (14.3 to 15.9 ka) was a weaker event than H1.1 that was accompanied by minor cooling. Our results support a complex history for Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) with reduction in AMOC during the early part (~20–16.2 ka) possibly driven by melting of European ice sheets, whereas the Laurentide Ice Sheet assumed a greater role during the latter half (~16.2–14.7 ka).This research used data acquired at the XRF Core Scanner Lab at the MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Germany. This research used samples provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Funding for this research was provided by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) to Hodell. The NERC Radiocarbon Facility supported two radiocarbon dates, and Wally Broecker generously supported the remainder with funding from the Comer Family Foundation. Research by Rodríguez-Tovar and Dorador was financed by Project CGL2015-66835-P. B.M. acknowledges support from the CSIC-Ramón y Cajal postdoctoral programme RYC-2013-14073. J.F.E. would like to acknowledge funding under ERC Advanced grant 320750- Nanopaleomagnetism

Endless Forams: >34,000 modern planktonic foraminiferal images for taxonomic training and automated species recognition using convolutional neural networks

Planktonic foraminiferal species identification is central to many paleoceanographic studies, from selecting species for geochemical research to elucidating the biotic dynamics of microfossil communities relevant to physical oceanographic processes and interconnected phenomena such as climate change. However, few resources exist to train students in the difficult task of discerning amongst closely related species, resulting in diverging taxonomic schools that differ in species concepts and boundaries. This problem is exacerbated by the limited number of taxonomic experts. Here we document our initial progress toward removing these confounding and/or rate‐limiting factors by generating the first extensive image library of modern planktonic foraminifera, providing digital taxonomic training tools and resources, and automating species‐level taxonomic identification of planktonic foraminifera via machine learning using convolution neural networks. Experts identified 34,640 images of modern (extant) planktonic foraminifera to the species level. These images are served as species exemplars through the online portal Endless Forams (endlessforams.org) and a taxonomic training portal hosted on the citizen science platform Zooniverse (zooniverse.org/projects/ahsiang/endless‐forams/). A supervised machine learning classifier was then trained with ~27,000 images of these identified planktonic foraminifera. The best‐performing model provided the correct species name for an image in the validation set 87.4% of the time and included the correct name in its top three guesses 97.7% of the time. Together, these resources provide a rigorous set of training tools in modern planktonic foraminiferal taxonomy and a means of rapidly generating assemblage data via machine learning in future studies for applications such as paleotemperature reconstruction

Clumped isotope analysis of zoned calcite cement, Carboniferous, Isle of Man

Sequential analyses of δ13C, δ18O and Δ47 values of calcite and dolomite deposited in millimetre‐sized cavities are reported from the Ronaldsway Member packstones, Isle of Man. The Ronaldsway brachiopods have δ13C values of ca +2.3‰ and δ18O values of ca −7.2‰; carbon is like predicted Carboniferous values, while oxygen values are more negative. The brachiopods show preserved microstructure but have marginal alteration and a streaky cathodoluminescence pattern. Crinoid ossicles have δ13C values of ca +2.3‰ and one with a δ18O value of ca −3.1‰, compatible with Carboniferous marine precipitates; three samples have δ18O values of ca −6.5‰ and are 18O‐depleted. Calcite stages 1 and 2 have δ13C values ca +3.2‰ and δ18O values ca −2.5‰, compatible with Carboniferous sea water. Stage 1 and 2 have non‐luminescent to orange CL zones. Stage 1 and early stage 2 contain red luminescent dolomite micro crystals generated during Mg calcite stabilisation. The Δ47 values for stage 1 and 2 cements indicate temperatures of 86 and 105°C that occurred after the stabilisation of Mg calcite. Stage 3–8 zoned cements preserve their original growth surfaces and their δ13C and δ18O values suggest precipitation during burial and exhumation. The Δ47 values of the brachiopods and crinoids indicate temperatures between 85 and 140°C indicating they were either recrystallised at high temperatures or affected by solid state reordering. To evaluate these alternatives two quantitative models, water–rock reaction and reordering models are performed. The allochems and cements are progressively altered by porewater towards the fluid‐buffered behaviour. The quantitative evaluation of calcite and dolomite solid‐state reordering suggests the elevated clumped isotopic temperatures are produced by interaction with hydrothermal fluids. This study improves understanding by applying previously untried techniques; further Δ47 data and quantifying elemental variations would help further interpretation but the poorly documented post‐depositional history is a drawback

A 1.5-million-year record of orbital and millennial climate variability in the North Atlantic

Abstract. Climate during the last glacial period was marked by abrupt instability on millennial timescales that included large swings of temperature in and around Greenland (Daansgard–Oeschger events) and smaller, more gradual changes in Antarctica (AIM events). Less is known about the existence and nature of similar variability during older glacial periods, especially during the early Pleistocene when glacial cycles were dominantly occurring at 41 kyr intervals compared to the much longer and deeper glaciations of the more recent period. Here, we report a continuous millennially resolved record of stable isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifera at IODP Site U1385 (the “Shackleton Site”) from the southwestern Iberian margin for the last 1.5 million years, which includes the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our results demonstrate that millennial climate variability (MCV) was a persistent feature of glacial climate, both before and after the MPT. Prior to 1.2 Ma in the early Pleistocene, the amplitude of MCV was modulated by the 41 kyr obliquity cycle and increased when axial tilt dropped below 23.5∘ and benthic δ18O exceeded ∼3.8 ‰ (corrected to Uvigerina), indicating a threshold response to orbital forcing. Afterwards, MCV became focused mainly on the transitions into and out of glacial states (i.e. inceptions and terminations) and during times of intermediate ice volume. After 1.2 Ma, obliquity continued to play a role in modulating the amplitude of MCV, especially during times of glacial inceptions, which are always associated with declining obliquity. A non-linear role for obliquity is also indicated by the appearance of multiples (82, 123 kyr) and combination tones (28 kyr) of the 41 kyr cycle. Near the end of the MPT (∼0.65 Ma), obliquity modulation of MCV amplitude wanes as quasi-periodic 100 kyr and precession power increase, coinciding with the growth of oversized ice sheets on North America and the appearance of Heinrich layers in North Atlantic sediments. Whereas the planktic δ18O of Site U1385 shows a strong resemblance to Greenland temperature and atmospheric methane (i.e. Northern Hemisphere climate), millennial changes in benthic δ18O closely follow the temperature history of Antarctica for the past 800 kyr. The phasing of millennial planktic and benthic δ18O variation is similar to that observed for MIS 3 throughout much of the record, which has been suggested to mimic the signature of the bipolar seesaw – i.e. an interhemispheric asymmetry between the timing of cooling in Antarctica and warming in Greenland. The Iberian margin isotopic record suggests that bipolar asymmetry was a robust feature of interhemispheric glacial climate variations for at least the past 1.5 Ma despite changing glacial boundary conditions. A strong correlation exists between millennial increases in planktic δ18O (cooling) and decreases in benthic δ13C, indicating that millennial variations in North Atlantic surface temperature are mirrored by changes in deep-water circulation and remineralization of carbon in the abyssal ocean. We find strong evidence that climate variability on millennial and orbital scales is coupled across different timescales and interacts in both directions, which may be important for linking internal climate dynamics and external astronomical forcing. NER

Quantification of paleo-aquifer changes using clumped isotopes in subaqueous carbonate speleothems

Here we track the water-table position and temperature of the Mount San Giovanni aquifer (Iglesiente-Sulcis mining district, SW Sardinia, Italy) during the past 600 ka by determining the ages (U-Th dating) and stable isotope compositions (δ18O, δ13C and Δ47) of a variety of subaqueous carbonate speleothems (e.g. calcite spars, dogtooth calcite crystals and calcite coatings). Clumped isotopes (Δ47) provide quantitative estimates of carbonate formation temperatures (and thus water temperatures) that are independent of the oxygen isotope composition of water (δ18Ow). Then, the δ18Ow of the paleo-water has been reconstructed from the clumped isotope temperature (TΔ47) and the δ18O of the carbonate (δ18Oc). We find that high-temperature calcite spars formed already before 600 ka at temperatures above ~120 oC. Lower-temperature spars (~70 oC) precipitated at ~400 ka, and cold-water subaqueous speleothems (~10-20 oC) formed in perched ponds at different levels of the karst systems between 410 ka and 110 ka, while coeval precipitation of subaerial flowstones occurred in the upper levels of the shallower caves until 82 ka. We infer that the groundwater level dropped by ~120 m from ~400 to ~250 ka, with a relatively rapid rate of ~0.8 mm/y. Considering the tectonic stability of Sardinia during the Quaternary, this high rate derives from climate driven geomorphological processes at the surface rather than tectonic uplifting. The δ18O values of the paleo-aquifer water range from -6.0±0.7 ‰ during MIS 5c, and similar to modern cave water values (-5.1 ‰), to -7.7±0.4 ‰ during the colder MIS 8. These values indicate that the groundwater reflected the δ18O signal of meteoric water, with no significant contributions from metasomatism and metamorphic waters. The observed δ18Ow variability can be explained by glacial/interglacial paleoclimate changes affecting rainfall δ18O (and thus groundwater δ18O). We conclude that clumped isotope thermometry on subaqueous carbonate speleothems is a powerful tool for tracking paleo-aquifer temperatures and δ18Ow reconstructions.NERC NE/M003752/