Kandiano, Evgeniya S., van der Meer, Marcel T. J., Bauch, Henning A. , Helmke, Jan, Damsté, Jaap S. Sinninghe and Schouten, Stefan (2016) A cold and fresh ocean surface in the Nordic Seas during MIS 11: Significance for the future ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 43 (20). pp. 10929-10937. DOI 10.1002/2016GL070294.

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Abstract

Paleoceanographical studies of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 have revealed higher-than-present
sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the North Atlantic and in parts of the Arctic but lower-than-present SSTs in the Nordic Seas, the main throughflow area of warm water into the Arctic Ocean. We resolve this contradiction by complementing SST data based on planktic foraminiferal abundances with surface salinity
changes using hydrogen isotopic compositions of alkenones in a core from the central Nordic Seas. The data indicate the prevalence of a relatively cold, low-salinity, surface water layer in the Nordic Seas during most of MIS 11. In spite of the low-density surface layer, which was kept buoyant by continuous melting of surrounding glaciers, warmer Atlantic water was still propagating northward at the subsurface
thus maintaining meridional overturning circulation. This study can help to better constrain the impact of continuous melting of Greenland and Arctic ice on high-latitude ocean circulation and climate.

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