Reconstruction of Pacific Ocean bottom water salinity during the Last Glacial Maximum

Knowledge of salinity in the deep ocean is important for understanding past ocean circulation and climate. Based on sedimentary pore fluid chloride measurements of a single Pacific site, Adkins et al. () suggested that, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Pacific deep bottom water was saltier...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inGeophysical research letters Vol. 41; no. 8; pp. 2914 - 2920
Main Authors Insua, Tania Lado, Spivack, Arthur J., Graham, Dennis, D'Hondt, Steven, Moran, Kathryn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 28.04.2014
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Subjects
Bottom water
Chlorides
Circulation
Climate
Fluid dynamics
High resolution
Ice ages
Last Glacial Maximum
Latitude
Marine
Ocean bottom
Ocean circulation
Ocean currents
Ocean floor
Oceanography
Oceans
Pacific Ocean
paleoceanography
Profiles
Reconstruction
Salinity
Salinity effects
Salinity profiles
Sea level
Water
Water circulation
Water salinity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Knowledge of salinity in the deep ocean is important for understanding past ocean circulation and climate. Based on sedimentary pore fluid chloride measurements of a single Pacific site, Adkins et al. () suggested that, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Pacific deep bottom water was saltier than expected based on lower sea level alone. Here we present high‐resolution salinity profiles from five sites in the South, Equatorial, and North Pacific Ocean. Our study greatly constrains understanding of LGM salinity in the Pacific Ocean. Our results show that LGM chloride concentrations of deep Pacific bottom water were 4.09 ± 0.4% greater than today's values. Pacific Ocean bottom water salinity was also indistinguishable from being homogeneous across the wide range of latitudes studied here. These LGM salinity reconstructions are on average slightly higher (~1.4 to 1% higher) than expected from sea level of the time, which is generally inferred to have been ~120 to ~135 m lower than today. Key Points LGM salinity of Pacific bottom water was 4.09 ± 0.4% greater than todayThe salinity of bottom waters was homogeneous across latitudes studiedBased on sea level, salinity reconstructions were higher than expected values
Bibliography:ArticleID:GRL51585
istex:FA282D60FC2FE5FC4FC61DD918B56AD6AE5FE565
ReadmeFigure S1Text S1
ark:/67375/WNG-LFL1PV1M-4
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2014GL059575