Coralline algal Barium as indicator for 20th century northwestern North Atlantic surface ocean freshwater variability

Hetzinger, S.; Halfar, J.; Zack, T.; Mecking, J. V.; Kunz, B. E.; Jacob, D. E.; Adey, W. H.. 2013 Coralline algal Barium as indicator for 20th century northwestern North Atlantic surface ocean freshwater variability. Scientific Reports, 3 (1). 10.1038/srep01761

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Abstract/Summary

During the past decades climate and freshwater dynamics in the northwestern North Atlantic have undergone major changes. Large-scale freshening episodes, related to polar freshwater pulses, have had a strong influence on ocean variability in this climatically important region. However, little is known about variability before 1950, mainly due to the lack of long-term high-resolution marine proxy archives. Here we present the first multidecadal-length records of annually resolved Ba/Ca variations from Northwest Atlantic coralline algae. We observe positive relationships between algal Ba/Ca ratios from two Newfoundland sites and salinity observations back to 1950. Both records capture episodical multi-year freshening events during the 20th century. Variability in algal Ba/Ca is sensitive to freshwater-induced changes in upper ocean stratification, which affect the transport of cold, Ba-enriched deep waters onto the shelf (highly stratified equals less Ba/Ca). Algal Ba/Ca ratios therefore may serve as a new resource for reconstructing past surface ocean freshwater changes.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1038/srep01761
ISSN:	2045-2322
Date made live:	21 Nov 2019 19:54 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/525952

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