Gulf Stream intensification after the early Pliocene shoaling of the Central American Seaway

Auderset, Alexandra, Martínez-García, Alfredo, Tiedemann, Ralf, Hasenfratz, Adam P., Eglinton, Timothy I., Schiebel, Ralf, Sigman, Daniel M. and Haug, Gerald H. (2019) Gulf Stream intensification after the early Pliocene shoaling of the Central American Seaway. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 520 (8), 268-278. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2019.05.022).

Abstract

The shoaling of the Central American Seaway (CAS) around 4.6 Ma (million years ago) is thought to have enhanced the Gulf Stream, strengthening the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and potentially influencing the evolution of Pliocene climate. Paleoclimate records indicate a buildup of heat and salt in the Caribbean and changes in the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) associated with a major step in the shoaling of the CAS at 4.6 Ma. However, so far, direct evidence supporting an intensification of the Gulf Stream is scarce. Here we report new North Atlantic early Pliocene (5.3–3.9 Ma) records of sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructed using the U^K₃₇ and TEX₈₆ paleotemperature indices. Based on new sediment trap measurements near the study site, we suggest that in this particular region, the two paleothermometers record SST during different seasons: spring for U^K₃₇ ' and summer for TEX₈₆. At 4.6 and 4.2 Ma, our results indicate substantial increases in SST and salinity during summer but not spring, pointing to a significant intensification of the Gulf Stream and its extension, the North Atlantic Current, after the shoaling of the CAS. The divergence of the U^K₃₇ ' and TEX₈₆ temperature trends in those intervals suggests that the Gulf Stream intensification contributed to the strong North Atlantic seasonality that is observed today.

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Contributors

Author: Alexandra Auderset

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