2014 Articles

231Pa/230Th evidence for a weakened but persistent Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during Heinrich Stadial 1

Bradtmiller, Louisa I.; McManus, Jerry F.; Robinson, Laura F.

The strength of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is believed to affect the climate over glacial-interglacial and millennial timescales. The marine sedimentary ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th ratio is a promising paleocirculation proxy, but local particle effects may bias individual reconstructions. Here we present new Atlantic sedimentary ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th data from the Holocene, the last glacial maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1, a period of abrupt cooling ca. 17,500 years ago. We combine our results with published data from these intervals to create a spatially distributed sedimentary ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th database. The data reveal a net ²³¹Pa deficit during each period, consistent with persistent ²³¹Pa export. In highly resolved cores, Heinrich ²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th ratios exceed glacial ratios at nearly all depths, indicating a significant reduction, although not cessation, of overturning during Heinrich Stadial 1. These results support the inference that weakened overturning was a driver of Heinrich cooling, while suggesting that abrupt climate oscillations do not necessarily require a complete shutdown of overturning.