Skip to main content

IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

Onset of strong Iceland-Scotland overflow water 3.6 million years ago
Sinnesael, M.; Karatsolis, B.; Pearson, P.N.; Briais, A.; Hemming, S.R.; LeVay, L.J.; Jones, T.; Cui, Y.; Di Chiara, A.; Dodd, J.P.; Dwyer, D.; Eason, D.E.; Friedman, S.A.; Hanson, E.; Hochmuth, K.; Ibrahim, H.E.; Jasper, C.E.; Lee-Takeda, S.; LeBlanc, D.E.; Lindsay, M.R.; McNamara, D.D.; Modestou, S.E.; Morris, M.A.; Murton, B.J.; O'Connell, S.; Pasquet, G.; Qian, S.; Rosenthal, Y.; Satolli, S.; Suzuki, T.; Thulasi, T.; Wade, B.S.; White, N.J.; Wu, T.; Yang, A.Y.; Parnell-Turner, R.E. (2025). Onset of strong Iceland-Scotland overflow water 3.6 million years ago. Nature Comm. 16(1): 4323. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59265-5
In: Nature Communications. Nature Publishing Group: London. ISSN 2041-1723; e-ISSN 2041-1723, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Author keywords
    meridional overturning circulation;atlantic;drifts;convection;isthmus;climate;closure;record;panama

Authors  Top 
  • Sinnesael, M., more
  • Karatsolis, B.
  • Pearson, P.N.
  • Briais, A.
  • Hemming, S.R.
  • LeVay, L.J.
  • Jones, T.
  • Cui, Y.
  • Di Chiara, A.
  • Dodd, J.P.
  • Dwyer, D.
  • Eason, D.E.
  • Friedman, S.A.
  • Hanson, E.
  • Hochmuth, K.
  • Ibrahim, H.E.
  • Jasper, C.E.
  • Lee-Takeda, S.
  • LeBlanc, D.E.
  • Lindsay, M.R.
  • McNamara, D.D.
  • Modestou, S.E.
  • Morris, M.A.
  • Murton, B.J.
  • O'Connell, S.
  • Pasquet, G.
  • Qian, S.
  • Rosenthal, Y.
  • Satolli, S.
  • Suzuki, T.
  • Thulasi, T.
  • Wade, B.S.
  • White, N.J.
  • Wu, T.
  • Yang, A.Y.
  • Parnell-Turner, R.E.

Abstract
    North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), the return flow component of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is a major inter-hemispheric ocean water mass with strong climate effects but the evolution of its source components on million-year timescales is poorly known. Today, two major NADW components that flow southward over volcanic ridges to the east and west of Iceland are associated with distinct contourite drift systems that are forming off the coast of Greenland and on the eastern flank of the Reykjanes (mid-Atlantic) Ridge. Here we provide direct records of the early history of this drift sedimentation based on cores collected during International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) Expeditions 395C and 395. We find rapid acceleration of drift deposition linked to the eastern component of NADW, known as Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water at 3.6 million years ago (Ma). In contrast, the Denmark Strait Overflow Water feeding the western Eirik Drift has been persistent since the Late Miocene. These observations constrain the long-term evolution of the two NADW components, revealing their contrasting independent histories and allowing their links with climatic events such as Northern Hemisphere cooling at 3.6 Ma, to be assessed.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors