Geosecs North Atlantic radiocarbon and tritium results

Radiocarbon data for 11 stations and tritium data for 16 stations in the North Atlantic Ocean from 74°N to 3°N are presented. For radiocarbon, normal errors inΔ¹⁴C are± 4‰, and in tritium,± 0.09TU or± 3%, whichever is larger. There is a remarkable, but not simply linear, correlation between oceanic bomb transients in¹⁴C and³H. The deep convective mixing in the Greenland Sea is reflected in substantial bomb tracer penetration to all depths, with residence time for the deep, cold core water that seems to be 20 to 30 years. The outflow in the bottom layer southward over the sills of the Denmark Strait and Faroe Passage carries significant tritium concentration, at least to 40°N. Complicated, but coherent, profile structures in the subtropical Atlantic suggest effects of large-scale lateral advection. In particular, a pronounced minimum in both¹⁴C and³H might be associated with the Antarctic intermediate water.