Paleomagnetic record from Academician Ridge, Lake Baikal: a reversal excursion at the base of marine oxygen isotope stage 6

Paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic studies on a hydraulic piston core (Ver98-1, St.6) from Academician Ridge, Lake Baikal showed the occurrence of a reversal excursion at 670-696 cm depth, which is at the base of marine oxygen isotope stage 6. A correlation of X-ray CT values, as a proxy of relative density, to the marine oxygen isotope record provides an age of 177-183 ka for this reversal excursion. It can be correlated with other excursion records from Lake Baikal, found in Core 287-K2 from Academician Ridge [King et al., Russ. Geol. Geophys. 34 (1993) 148-162] and in core BDP93-1 drilled on the Buguldeika saddle [BDP-93, Quat. Int. 37 (1997) 3-17]. We correlate the Lake Baikal reversal excursion with a well documented excursion in the Brunhes Chron, the Iceland Basin event (186-189 ka) from ODP Sites 983 and 984 in the North Atlantic [Channell, J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 22937-22951]. Also the relative paleointensity record agrees well with that from ODP Site 983 [Channell, J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 22937-22951]. The Lake Baikal excursion and the Iceland Basin event correspond to the minimum of relative intensity at 188 ka in Sint-800 [Guyodo and Valet, Nature 399 (1999) 249-252]. We argue that it is distinct from the Jamaica/Pringle Falls excursion, estimated at 205-215 ka [Langereis et al., Geophys. J. Int. 129 (1997) 75-94]. This is supported by the recalibration of the age of another excursion found in Core St.16 in Lake Baikal [Sakai et al., Bull. Nagoya Univ. Furukawa Mus. 13 (1997) 11-22] with an age of ∼223 ka, which is close to the age of the Jamaica/Pringle Falls excursion, as suggested earlier [King et al., Russ. Geol. Geophys. 34 (1993) 148-162]. The VGP path of the reversal excursion (177-183 ka) consists of a southward swing through the North Atlantic, followed by a loop through Africa and the Indian Ocean. The path morphology is similar to that of the Iceland Basin event from the North Atlantic [Channell, J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 22937-22951].     

Neodymium isotopes in benthic foraminifera: Core-top systematics and a down-core record from the Neogene south Atlantic

Records of the past neodymium (Nd) isotope composition of the deep ocean can resolve ambiguities in the interpretation of other tracers. We present the first Nd isotope data for sedimentary benthic foraminifera. Comparison of the ?_Nd of core-top foraminifera from a depth transect on the Cape Basin side of the Walvis Ridge to published seawater data, and to the modern dissolved SiO₂–?_Nd trend of the deep Atlantic, suggests that benthic foraminifera represent a reliable archive of the deep water Nd isotope composition. Neodymium isotope values of benthic foraminifera from ODP Site 1264A (Angola Basin side of the Walvis Ridge) from the last 8 Ma agree with Fe–Mn oxide coatings from the same samples and are also broadly consistent with existing fish teeth data for the deep South Atlantic, yielding confidence in the preservation of the marine Nd isotope signal in all these archives. The marine origin of the Nd in the coatings is confirmed by their marine Sr isotope values. These important results allow application of the technique to down-core samples.The new ?_Nd datasets, along with ancillary Cd/Ca and Nd/Ca ratios from the same foraminiferal samples, are interpreted in the context of debates on the Neogene history of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) export to the South Atlantic. In general, the ?_Nd and δ¹³C records are closely correlated over the past 4.5 Ma. The Nd isotope data suggest strong NADW export from 8 to 5 Ma, consistent with one interpretation of published δ¹³C gradients. Where the ?_Nd record differs from the nutrient-based records, changes in the pre-formed δ¹³C or Cd/Ca of southern-derived deep water might account for the difference. Maximum NADW-export for the entire record is suggested by all proxies at 3.5–4 Ma. Chemical conditions from 3 to 1 Ma are totally different, showing, on average, the lowest NADW export of the record. Modern-day values again imply NADW export that is about as strong as at any stage over the past 8 Ma.     

Towards a high-resolution,global, deep-sea chronology for the last 750,000 years

Variations in the ratio of¹⁸O/¹⁶O as measured in shells of marine calcareous microfossils are primarily dominated by changes in global ice volume; hence these variations provide a set of global time lines in deep-sea sediments. It is likely that the timing of major changes in oxygen isotope values is strongly influenced, if not controlled, by variations in the geometry of the Earth's orbit. Since the variation of orbital parameters can be accurately calculated, the opportunity exists for transforming this orbital chronology into a geological chronology.Through careful correlation of oxygen isotope records in a set of deep-sea cores from the sub-Antarctic, South Atlantic and equatorial Pacific, we have assembled a composite isotopic section spanning the last 750,000 years with an average sedimentation rate of 2.3 cm/1000 years. A new chronology for this time period was developed by adjusting the ages of the oxygen isotope stage boundaries in this composite section so as to extend the consistent phase relationships that exist between variations in oxygen isotope ratios and changes in obliquity and precession during the last 300,000 years to the entire 750,000-year record. Previously identified difficulties in phase locking precession with the filtered isotopic signal between 365,000 and 465,000 years B.P. have been resolved with the recognition that precessional variations have an average period of 19,000 years and not 23,000 years during this interval. Since this new age model yields the best match between variations in obliquity and precession and their corresponding frequency components in the oxygen isotope record, we believe that it presents the most accurate chronology yet developed for deep-sea sediments.With this new age model providing the time control, power spectral analyses of South Atlantic and sub-Antarctic chemical and biotic indices show that there is a strong tendency for variance to be concentrated at frequencies corresponding to periods of ～ 100,000, 41,000 and 23,000 years.     

Variations in tree ring stable isotope records from northern Finland and their possible connection to solar activity

Within a project on climate in Europe during the past few hundred years we have collected a record on stable isotope ratios ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O in tree ring cellulose from pine trees in northern Finland. The records cover the time interval 1600–2002 AD and have an annual time resolution. The carbon stable isotope record from northernmost Finland correlates quite strongly with local growth period temperature. Statistical analysis of the carbon and oxygen stable isotope records reveals variations in the periods around 100, 11 and 3 years. A century scale connection between the ¹³C/¹²C record and solar activity is most evident. These results based on stable isotope records support previous evidences of a centennial solar-climatic link obtained for northern Finland using tree ring data.     

Transferring radiometric dating of the last interglacial sea level high stand to marine and ice core records

In order to derive a radiometric age marker for the end of the penultimate glacial–interglacial transition, we compiled published U-series isotope measurements on corals from the period extending from stage 6 to the middle of the last interglacial, and computed the corresponding open-system ages using Thompson et al. model (Thompson, W.G., Spiegelman, M.W., Goldstein, S.L., Speed, R.C., An open-system model for U-series age determinations of fossil corals. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 210 (2003) 365–381). We obtain a global mean age of 126 calendar kyr BP (ka) ± 1.7kyr (2σ) for the beginning of the last interglacial sea level high stand. After showing that the phase relationships observed between changes in sea level, North Atlantic benthic and planktonic foraminifera oxygen isotopic records, and atmospheric methane over the last deglaciation were likely also valid over the penultimate deglaciation, we derive an age of 131.2ka ± 2kyr (2σ) for the abrupt increase in atmospheric CH₄ and North Atlantic surface temperature marking the end of the penultimate glacial–interglacial transition. This age is consistent with U–Th dates of the penultimate glacial–interglacial transition recorded in speleothems from sites where speleothems isotopic records are synchronous with North Atlantic temperature records over the last deglaciation. Finally, we show that the phase obtained between the climatic response and northern hemisphere summer insolation is not constant from Termination II to Termination I, implying that northern hemisphere summer insolation alone cannot explain the timing of terminations.     

Precise dating of East-Asian-Monsoon D/O events during 95―56 ka BP: Based on stalagmite data from Shanbao Cave at Shennongjia, China

Based on 23 U/Th analyses and 532 oxygen isotopic data, an averaged 80-a stalagmite oxygen isotopic composition series was established through 95 to 56 thousand years before present (ka BP) from two speleothems in Shanbao Cave, Shennongjia, central China. Shanbao Cave record (referred to as SB record) replicates well with Hulu Cave record, extending the characteristics of millennial oscillations in East-Asian-Summer-Monsoon (EASM) to the past 95 ka. The trend of the SB record generally follows mid-July solar insolation at 65°N, suggesting that mid-high northern latitude insolation, in the first order, controls changes of EASM intensity. Millennial oscillations of EASM recorded in the stalagmites are well related to the Greenland interstadials referred to as Dansgaard/Oeschger (D/O) events from 1 to 22, indicating that rapid ocean-atmosphere reorganization in North Atlantic has a remote effect in EASM. The well-dated D/O events by stalagmites probably provide an absolute calibration for chronologies of Greenland ice cores. The timings of D/O events in the SB record are different variously from those in Greenland ice cores. For D/O 19 and 20, the age offsets between the stalagmites' and the Greenland ice cores' record are significant, larger than the uncertainties of uranium-series dating. The two events in the SB record are younger than those in North GRIP time scale by 1―2 ka, and older than the counterparts in GISP2 by approximately 3―4 ka. A comparison between the SB and Brazil stalagmite record shows an anti-phase relation in millennial-scale monsoon precipitation between the two localities. This supports a mode for the coupled ocean-atmosphere "See-saw".     

The Y. D. and climate abrupt events in the early and middle Holocene: Stalagmite oxygen isotope record from Maolan,Guizhou, China

Changes of climate, especially the abrupt changesof precipitation and temperature lead frequently tograve effect in human productive and living activity.Since the 1950s, results of monitoring indicate thatatmosphere CO2 concentration rises by 1.4×10?6g/gevery year. The atmospheric greenhouse effect leadsprobably to global warming since the 1940s, whichbrings furthermore special attention of scientists andrelevant government organizations in various coun-tries. In the near 20 years, the …     

A quick cooling event of the East Asian monsoon responding to Heinrich Event 1: Evidence from stalagmite δ18O records

Based on TIMS U-series dating results and annual band counting method, an annual-resolution time scale from 17450 to 14420 aBP has been established for a stalagmite from the Hulu Cave at Tangshan, Nanjing. A high-resolution oxygen isotopic record reveals decadral-centural oscillations in air temperature in the East Asian monsoon climate area during the last glacial maximum. The most conspicuous feature in the oxygen isotopic record in the period is the particular cold event synchronized with the last Heinrich event (H1) in the northern Atlantic deep-sea records. This particular cold event, beginning at 16140 ( 100 aBP, shows a rapid cooling down with a magnitude of 7-8℃ in air temperature within 36 years. Furthermore, (6)18O record demonstrates that the event lasted 790 years with gradually warming tendency (10 cycles of air temperature oscillations) after the remarkable cooling down. We believed that this unique pattern of event recorded in the stalagmite ? 8O might be controlled by various factors including changes of insolation at mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere, the southern extend of the last ice-rafted event in the North Atlantic and changes of the Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature.     

Paleomagnetism in deep-sea core A179-15

Core A179-15 from the southern North Atlantic exhibits one of the best paleoclimatic records for the last 25,000 years. This is because it is a high-sedimentation rate core and because it has been analysed at 1 cm intervals by Ericson and Wollin. The core has been used by Mörner for global climatic correlations. The magnetic measurements show a fairly drastic declination excursion at 12,350 B.P., i.e. exactly at the same age as the end of the Gothenburg Magnetic “Flip”. Therefore, the declination excursion in core A179-15 probably represents the end of the Gothenburg Magnetic “Flip” and Excursion. The excursion and a lithologic boundary verify the chronology earlier applied by Mörner.     

Water column characterisation on the Azores platform and at the sea mounts south of the archipelago

This study provides data concerning the hydrography and water chemistry of the Atlantic region between 29-38° N and 27-31° W, and establishes background values for dissolved Cu, Cd, Pb and As. Three water masses were identified: the Eastern North Atlantic Central Water (ENACW), the Mediterranean Water (MW) and the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The ENACW exhibits a clear meridional gradient of temperature and salinity, with comparatively high values at the southern sites and lower values on the Azores platform. The ENACW, which includes the euphotic zone, also had comparatively high concentrations of oxygen and lower concentrations of nutrients and metals. The Cu, Cd and Pb results suggest that new background concentrations for OSPAR Region V (the Wider Atlantic) should be established as follows: 0.15-13nM for Cu, 0.05-1.4nM for Cd and 0.03-5nM for Pb. The background concentrations of As for OSPAR Region V should be 7-28nM.     

A quick cooling event of the East Asian monsoon responding to Heinrich Event 1: Evidence from stalagmite δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O records

Based on TIMS U-series dating results and annual band counting method, an annual-resolution time scale from 17450 to 14420 aBP has been established for a stalagmite from the Hulu Cave at Tangshan, Nanjing. A high-resolution oxygen isotopic record reveals decadral-centural oscillations in air temperature in the East Asian monsoon climate area during the last glacial maximum. The most conspicuous feature in the oxygen isotopic record in the period is the particular cold event synchronized with the last Heinrich event (H1) in the northern Atlantic deep-sea records. This particular cold event, beginning at 16140 ± 100 aBP, shows a rapid cooling down with a magnitude of 7–8°C in air temperature within 36 years. Furthermore, δ¹⁸O record demonstrates that the event lasted 790 years with gradually warming tendency (10 cycles of air temperature oscillations) after the remarkable cooling down. We believed that this unique pattern of event recorded in the stalagmite δ⁸O might be controlled by various factors including changes of insolation at mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere, the southern extend of the last ice-rafted event in the North Atlantic and changes of the Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature.     

Reconciliation of sea-level observations in the Western North Atlantic during the last glacial cycle

A south to north gradient of increasing marine isotope substage (MIS) 5a (∼80 ka BP) sea level has been recorded across the Caribbean and surrounding region. Relative to present, MIS-5a sea levels range from −19 m to more than +3 m between Barbados, Haiti, the Bahamas, Florida, Bermuda and the US Atlantic Coast. In contrast, no gradient in sea level is observed for the last interglacial period MIS-5e (∼128–118 ka BP) at tectonically stable localities in the same region, with deposits generally lying several metres above present. We demonstrate here that these controversial observations are reconciled by taking into account the isostatic response of the Earth to glacial loading and unloading – a fundamental effect that is commonly overlooked in the interpretation of sea-level observations from different locations to define a ‘global sea-level curve’. Furthermore, the observed gradient can be used to place constraints on Earth rheology and is an important indicator of the behaviour of the North American ice sheets during the last glacial cycle.     

Oscillating glacial northern and southern deep water formation from combined neodymium and carbon isotopes

While ocean circulation is driven by the formation of deep water in the North Atlantic and the Circum-Antarctic, the role of southern-sourced deep water formation in climate change is poorly understood. Here we address the balance of northern- and southern-sourced waters in the South Atlantic through the last glacial period using neodymium isotope ratios of authigenic ferromanganese oxides in thirteen deep sea cores from throughout the South Atlantic. The data indicate that northern-sourced water did not reach the Southern Ocean during the late glacial, and was replaced by southern-derived intermediate and deep waters. The high-resolution neodymium isotope record (~ 300 yr sample spacing) from two spliced deep Cape Basin sites indicates that over the last glacial period northern-sourced water mass export to the Southern Ocean was stronger during the major Greenland millennial warming intervals (and Southern Hemisphere cool periods), and particularly during the major interstadials 8, 12, and 14. Northern-sourced water mass export was weaker during Greenland stadials and reached minima during Heinrich Events. The benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopes in the same Cape Basin core reflect a partial control by Southern Hemisphere climate changes and indicate that deep water formation and ventilation occurred in the Southern Ocean during major Greenland cooling intervals (stadials). Together, neodymium isotopes and benthic carbon isotopes provide new information about water mass sourcing and circulation in deep Southern Ocean waters during rapid glacial climate changes. Combining carbon and neodymium isotopes can be used to monitor the relative proportion of northern- and southern-sourced waters in the Cape Basin to gain insight into the processes which control the carbon isotopic composition of deep waters. In this study we show that deep water formation and circulation was more important than biological productivity and nutrient regeneration changes for controlling the carbon isotope chemistry of Antarctic Bottom Water during millennial-scale glacial climate cycles. This observation also lends support to the hypothesis that ocean circulation is linked to interhemispheric climate changes on short timescales, and that ventilation in the glacial ocean rapidly switched between the northern and Southern Hemisphere on millennial timescales.     

The record of paleoclimatic change from stalagmites and the determination of termination II in the south of Guizhou Province,China

A high-resolution climate record from 163.00 kaBP to 113.80 kaBP has been obtained through TIMS-U series dating and carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of the three large stalagmites from two caves in the south of Guizhou Province, China. The record of the oxygen isotopes from the stalagmites reveals that the undulation characteristics between the cooling event of the glacial period and the warming event of the interglacial period in the research area can compare well to those of ice cores, lake sediments, loess and deep sea sediments on the scale of ten-thousand years or millennium time scale. The climate undulation provided by the record of the stalagmites has a coherence with the global changes and a tele-connection to the paleoclimate changes in the north polar region. Our results suggest that the direct dynamics of paleo-monsoon circulation changes reflected in the record of the stalagmites might be caused by changes of the global ice volume, and in turn related to various factors, including the solar radiation strength at the mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the southern extension of the ice-rafted event in the North Atlantic, and changes of the equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature at the low-latitudes. Using °¹⁸O values, we have calculated the temperatures and the results show that the temperature difference between the penultimate glacial period (with an average temperature of 8.1°C, and a minimum temperature range from 0.65°C to-1.43°C at stage 6) and the last interglacial period (with an average temperature of 18.24°C at sub-stage 5e) was about 10°C. This temperature difference from the record of the stalagmites corresponds in general to the record temperature variation (about 10°C) of measured ice cores. The climate records from the three stalagmites in the two caves have shown that the circulation strength of the Asian summer monsoon and the winter monsoon in the penultimate glacial period and the last inter-glacial period had a clear change. With the TIMS-U series method, termination II of the penultimate glacial period has been precisely dated at an age of (129.28± 1.10) kaBP for the three stalagmites in the south of Guizhou Province, China. This borderline age represents the beginning of the last interglacial period or the boundary between the Middle Pleistocene and the Late Pleistocene, and corresponds to the beginning age of the last interglacial period shown by the ice cores and in the SPECMAP curve of the marine oxygen isotopes. The chronology determination of termination II is not only of stratigraphic and chronological significance, but also lays an important foundation for discussing the short time scales of climate oscillation and rapidly changing events of paleoclimate in the circulation region of the East Asian monsoon.     

Astronomical calibration of the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary: Consequences for magnetic remanence acquisition in marine carbonates and the Asian loess sequences

We have compiled 19 records from marine carbonate cores in which the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (MBB) has been reasonably well constrained within the astronomically forced stratigraphic framework using oxygen isotopes. By correlation of the δ¹⁸O data to a timescale based on astronomical forcing, we estimate astronomical ages for each of the MBB horizons. In all but one record the MBB occurs within Stage 19.

Most magnetostratigraphic sections in Asian Loess place the MBB within a loess interval. Since loess deposition is presumed to be associated with glacial intervals, loess horizons should correspond to even-numbered oxygen isotope stages. A glacial age for the MBB is at odds with the results presented here, which firmly place the MBB within interglacial Stage 19. Inconsistency among the many loess sections and between the loess and the marine records suggests that the magnetic interpretation of loess sections may be more complicated than hitherto supposed.

The mean of the Stage 19 age estimates for the MBB is 777.9 ± 1.8 (N = 18). Inclusion of the single Stage 20 age results in a mean of 778.8 ± 2.5 (N = 19). The astronomical age estimate of the MBB compares favorably with an (unweighted) mean of 778.2 ± 3.5 (N = 10) from a compilation of ⁴⁰Ar/39^Ar results of transitional lava flows. Combining the two independent data sets yields a grand mean of 778.0 ± 1.7 (N = 28).

The new compilation shows virtually no trend in placement of the MBB within isotope Stage 19 as a function of sediment accumulation rate. We interpret this to mean that the average depth of remanence acquisition is within a few centimeters of the sediment-water interface.

Separating the cores into two geographic regions (an Indo-Pacific-Caribbean [IPC] Group and an Atlantic Group) results in a significant difference in the position of the mid-point of the reversal with respect to the astronomical time scale. The data presented here suggest a difference of several thousand years between the two regions. This observation could be caused by systematic differences between the two regions in sedimentation rate within the interval of interest, systematic differences in remanence acquisition, or by genuine differences in the timing of the directional changes between the two regions.     

中更新世以来青藏高原RH孔和洛川黄土记录的比较研究

根据若尔盖盆地ＲＨ孔的研究成果,具体地将该孔的２１个阶段和洛川黄土记录进行对比,分析其异同点,探讨了高原不同降升阶段自身环境特点及其对邻近西北干旱区的影响。     

Complicated responses of stalagmite δ 13C to climate change during the last glaciation from Hulu Cave,Nanjing, China

We present a record on carbon stable isotopic composition (δ ¹³C), covering 75 through 10 thousands years ago (ka B.P.), from Hulu Cave, Nanjing. The overlapping d 13C profiles are very similar in pattern and range, indicating that they mainly record climatic signal. During the last glacial-interglacial transition, the >6‰ change of δ ¹³C values implies different contributions of C3 vs. C4 type plants in soils. On millennial scale, however, the increased calcite δ ¹³C during the warm Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events suggests a decrease of dissolved bio-genic CO₂ when water flux rate through soil is large. This correlation between heavier d 13C and higher precipitation is consistent with our previous report on the samples’ stable oxygen isotope records (Wang et al., 2001). Comparison of coeval δ ¹³C and δ ¹⁸O of stalagmites indicates that kinetic fractionation of carbon isotope is closely related to growth rate of stalagmites. This study also shows that local vegetation changes may lag behind precipitation changes by δ700 years during the deglaciation.     

Correlation between high-resolution climate records from a Nanjing stalagmite and GRIP ice core during the last glaciation

A 400-mm-long stalagmite from Tangshan Cave, Nanjing has been analyzed by a high-precision TIMS-U series dating method and also determined for oxygen and carbon stable isotopic compositions. The results provided a high-resolution paleoclimate record for eastern China during a time interval (from 54 000 to 19 000 aBP) of the last glaciation. The continuous record of oxygen-18 variations in the stalagmite, indicating a precipitation history of the East Asian monsoon, shows not only signals of the Heinrich events, but also the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles which are first found in the last glacial climate record of the East Asian monsoon area. Although the stalagmite-based climatic signals match well with the GRIP ice core record, some differences between the two records can be recognized: (1) The last glacial climate changes in eastern China exhibited a long-term remarkably cooling trend, superimposed on which were four successive Bond’s cycles illustrated by the δ¹⁸O curve. This strong cooling tendency may be an effect of the strong summer monsoon event during the MIS 3 over the Tibetan Plateau. (2) There exist some phase differences of 1000–2000 years between the cooling events in the stalagmite-based climate signal and the GRIP ice core record. Such differences should be further verified by calibrations of multiple dating methods     

An exceptionally strengthened East Asian summer monsoon event between 19.9 and 17.1 ka BP recorded in a Hulu stalagmite

A stalagmite-based isotope record (No. H82) from Nanjing Hulu Cave, spanning from 16.5 to 10.3 ka BP, provided strong evidence for a coherence relation between the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and the North Atlantic climates on millennial time scales. Here we extend the high-resolution δ 18O time series back to 22.1 ka BP with additional 7 230Th dates and 573 stable isotope measurements on the lower part of that sample. The new record with a decadal resolution, piecing together with the previous data, p...