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A review of the deep and surface currents around Eirik Drift, south of Greenland: Comparison of the past with the present

A review of the deep and surface currents around Eirik Drift, south of Greenland: Comparison of the past with the present
A review of the deep and surface currents around Eirik Drift, south of Greenland: Comparison of the past with the present
The global Thermohaline Circulation (THC) is primarily driven by the cooling and sinking of northward flowing North Atlantic surface waters in the Nordic Seas to form North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) that flows southward as a component of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). It is widely accepted that major freshwater injections have disrupted the formation of NADW in the past, causing widespread cooling over the North Atlantic. Eirik Drift, a contourite south of Greenland, was formed from deposition of sediments carried in the DWBC, so contains information about DWBC variability. Before now, the spatial and temporal variability of the surface and deep water currents, and their relationship with the associated sedimentation have not been fully understood. Here, we present a review of the key findings from the RAPID Cape Farewell project at Eirik Drift, a multi-disciplinary study which included hydrographic profiles, sub-bottom and sea-floor geophysical data, and multi-proxy analyses of a marine sediment core. We use these previously published results to further elucidate the oceanographic processes above Eirik Drift and relate these results to the sedimentation patterns. We also resolve, using a down-core record of NADW flow intensity, how bottom currents in this region changed in association with freshwater forcing during the last deglaciation.
Thermohaline Circulation, Eirik Drift, Deep Western Boundary Current, North Atlantic Deep Water
0921-8181
244-254
Stanford, J.D.
ec911ce0-c35d-4fd8-9479-b142dfaf1c2e
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Bacon, S.
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Holliday, N.P.
358b0b33-f30b-44fd-a193-88365bbf2c79
Stanford, J.D.
ec911ce0-c35d-4fd8-9479-b142dfaf1c2e
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Bacon, S.
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Holliday, N.P.
358b0b33-f30b-44fd-a193-88365bbf2c79

Stanford, J.D., Rohling, E.J., Bacon, S. and Holliday, N.P. (2011) A review of the deep and surface currents around Eirik Drift, south of Greenland: Comparison of the past with the present. Global and Planetary Change, 79, 244-254. (doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.02.001).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The global Thermohaline Circulation (THC) is primarily driven by the cooling and sinking of northward flowing North Atlantic surface waters in the Nordic Seas to form North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) that flows southward as a component of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC). It is widely accepted that major freshwater injections have disrupted the formation of NADW in the past, causing widespread cooling over the North Atlantic. Eirik Drift, a contourite south of Greenland, was formed from deposition of sediments carried in the DWBC, so contains information about DWBC variability. Before now, the spatial and temporal variability of the surface and deep water currents, and their relationship with the associated sedimentation have not been fully understood. Here, we present a review of the key findings from the RAPID Cape Farewell project at Eirik Drift, a multi-disciplinary study which included hydrographic profiles, sub-bottom and sea-floor geophysical data, and multi-proxy analyses of a marine sediment core. We use these previously published results to further elucidate the oceanographic processes above Eirik Drift and relate these results to the sedimentation patterns. We also resolve, using a down-core record of NADW flow intensity, how bottom currents in this region changed in association with freshwater forcing during the last deglaciation.

Full text not available from this repository.

More information

Published date: 7 November 2011
Keywords: Thermohaline Circulation, Eirik Drift, Deep Western Boundary Current, North Atlantic Deep Water
Organisations: Marine Physics and Ocean Climate, Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate
Learn more about Ocean and Earth Science research

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 189541
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/189541
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.02.001
ISSN: 0921-8181
PURE UUID: 9c355c2d-2d4e-4d8d-b1e8-239e00450a50
ORCID for E.J. Rohling: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5349-2158

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 02 Jun 2011 13:17
Last modified: 03 Dec 2019 02:02

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Contributors

Author: J.D. Stanford
Author: E.J. Rohling ORCID iD
Author: S. Bacon
Author: N.P. Holliday

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