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Changes in deep ocean ventilation are commonly invoked as the primary cause of lower glacial atmospheric CO₂. The water mass structure of the glacial deep Atlantic Ocean and the mechanism by which it may have sequestered carbon remain elusive. Here we present neodymium isotope measurements from cores throughout the Atlantic that reveal glacial–interglacial changes in water mass distributions. These results demonstrate the sustained production of North Atlantic Deep Water under glacial conditions, indicating that southern-sourced waters were not as spatially extensive during the Last Glacial Maximum as previously believed. We demonstrate that the depleted glacial δ¹³C values in the deep Atlantic Ocean cannot be explained solely by water mass source changes. A greater amount of respired carbon, therefore, must have been stored in the abyssal Atlantic during the Last Glacial Maximum. We infer that this was achieved by a sluggish deep overturning cell, comprised of well-mixed northern- and southern-sourced waters.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Last Glacial Maximum, North Atlantic Deep Water, CO2, carbon sequestration
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Oceanography
Research Field:	Chemical oceanography
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Marine systems and management
Objective Field:	Measurement and assessment of marine water quality and condition
UTAS Author:	Noble, TL (Dr Taryn Noble)
ID Code:	114341
Year Published:	2016
Web of Science® Times Cited:	72
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2017-02-14
Last Modified:	2018-03-28
Downloads:	63 View Download Statistics