Equatorial Pacific peak in biological production regulated by nutrient and upwelling during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene cooling.

Etourneau, Johan, Robinson, R. S., Martinez, P. and Schneider, Ralph (2013) Equatorial Pacific peak in biological production regulated by nutrient and upwelling during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene cooling. Open Access Biogeosciences (BG), 10 (8). pp. 5663-5670. DOI 10.5194/bgd-10-5535-2013.

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Abstract

The largest increase in export production in the eastern Pacific of the last 5.3Myr (million years) occurred between 2.2 and 1.6Myr, a time of major climatic and oceanographic reorganization in the region. Here, we investigate the causes of this event using reconstructions of export production, nutrient supply and oceanic conditions across the Pliocene–Pleistocene in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) for the last 3.2Myr. Our results indicate that the export production peak corresponds to a cold interval marked by high nutrient supply relative to consumption, as revealed by the low bulk sedimentary 15N/ 14N (δ15N) and alkenone-derived sea surface temperature (SST) values. This ∼0.6 million year long episode of enhanced delivery of nutrients to the surface of the EEP was predominantly initiated through the upwelling of nutrient-enriched water sourced in high latitudes. In addition, this phenomenon was likely promoted by the regional intensification of upwelling in response to the development of intense Walker and Hadley atmospheric circulations. Increased nutrient consumption in the polar oceans and enhanced denitrification in the equatorial regions restrained nutrient supply and availability and terminated the high export production event.

Document Type: Article
Additional Information: Times Cited: 1 Etourneau, J. Robinson, R. S. Martinez, P. Schneider, R.
Research affiliation: Kiel University
Kiel University > Kiel Marine Science
OceanRep > The Future Ocean - Cluster of Excellence
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Copernicus Publications (EGU)
Projects: Future Ocean
Date Deposited: 08 Jul 2014 09:11
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2019 21:06
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/24909

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