Active Nordic Seas deep-water formation during the last glacial maximum

The Nordic Seas are the primary location where the warm waters of the North Atlantic Current densify to form North Atlantic Deep Water, which plays a key part in the modern Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The formation of dense water in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean and resulting ocean circulation changes were probably driven by and contributed to the regional and global climate of the last glacial maximum (LGM). Here we map the source and degree of mixing of deep water in the Nordic Seas and through the Arctic Gateway (Yermak Plateau) over the past 35 thousand years using neodymium isotopes (epsilon Nd) measured on authigenic phases in deep-sea sediments with a high spatial and temporal resolution. We find that a large-scale reorganization of deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas took place between the LGM (23-18 thousand years ago) and the rapid climate shift that accompanied the subsequent deglaciation (18-10 thousand years ago). We show that homogeneous epsilon Nd signatures across a wide range of sites support LGM deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas. In contrast, during the deglaciation, disparate and spatially variable epsilon Nd values are observed leading to the conclusion that deep-water formation may have been reduced during this time. Deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas that helps to drive the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation was vigorous during the last glacial maximum, much as it is today, and declined during deglaciation, according to neodymium isotope records.

Automated summary

Neodymium isotope records reveal significant changes in deep-water formation and ocean circulation in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean over the past 350,000 years. Deep-water formation was vigorous during the last glacial maximum but declined during deglaciation.