quaternary history of the antarctic circumpolar current evidence from the scotia sea within the scotia sea the axis of the antarctic circumpolar current acc is geographically confined and sediments therefore contain a record of palaeo flow speed uncomplicated by acc axis migration we outline holocene and last glacial maximum lgm current controlled sedimentation using data from 3 5 khz profiles cores and current meter moorings geophysical surveys show areas of erosion and deposition controlled by neogene basement topography deposition occurs in mounded sediment drifts or flatter areas where 500 1000 m of sediment overlies acoustic basement 3 5 khz profiles show parallel continuous sub bottom reflectors with highest sedimentation rates in the centre of the drifts and reflectors converging towards marginal zones of non deposition locally on the flanks of continental blocks e g south georgia downslope processes are dominant the absence of mudwaves on the sediment drifts may result from the unsteadiness of acc flow a core transect from the acc axis south to the boundary with the weddell gyre shows a southward decrease in biogenic content controlled by the polar front and the spring sea ice edge both these features lay farther north at lgm the cores have been dated by relative abundance of the radiolarian cycladophora davisiana and by changes in the biogenic ba content a palaeoproductivity indicator sedimentation rates range from 3 to 17 cm ka the grain size of holocene sediments shows a coarsening trend from south to north consistent with strongest bottom current flow near the acc axis though interpretation is complicated by the presence of biogenic grains year long current meter records indicate mean speeds from 7 cm s in the south to 12 cm s in the north with benthic storm frequency increasing northwards lgm sediments are predominantly terrigenous and show a clearer northward coarsening trend with well sorted silts in the northern scotia sea assuming a constant terrigenous source this implies stronger acc flow at the lgm contrasting with weaker weddell gyre flow deduced from earlier work

340 000 year centennial scale marine record of southern hemisphere climatic oscillation in order to investigate rapid climatic changes at mid southern latitudes we have developed centennial scale paleoceanographic records from the southwest pacific that enable detailed comparison with antarctic ice core records these records suggest close coupling of mid southern latitudes with antarctic climate during deglacial and interglacial periods glacial sections display higher variability than is seen in antarctic ice cores which implies climatic decoupling between mid and high southern latitudes due to enhanced circum antarctic circulation structural and temporal similarity with the greenland ice core record is evident in glacial sections and suggests a degree of interhemispheric synchroneity not predicted from bipolar ice core correlations

millennial to decadal scale paleoenvironmental change during the holocene in the palmer deep antarctica as recorded by particle size analysis 1 a record of holocene paleoenvironmental variability from the antarctic peninsula has been produced using sediment cores from site 1098 gathered on ocean drilling project leg 178 the results provide an accurate and continuous record of biotic and sedimentologic responses to holocene environmental change holes 1098b and 1098c were used to produce the first ultrahigh resolution record of grain size variability for the past 13 000 years we utilized samples every 2 5 cm at 3 5 yr cm 1 which involved the analysis of 1466 samples from two holes at the site particle size was measured on uniform suspensions of dispersed particles using a laser diffraction method the particles are mainly grains of silt 65 85 and clay 15 35 size the analyses revealed that in most intervals biotic particles in the form of diatom frustules mostly spores dominate the silt component which is inversely reflected by magnetic susceptibility ms in intervals of the core that deviate from this relationship it was found that the ms signal correlated with medium to fine or coarse silt that was dominated by terrigenous rather than a biogenic diatom component spectral analyses of the variability in clay and medium fine silt content over the last 9000 calendar years reveal cycles of 1800 400 200 100 70 60 and 50 years the analyses revealed that particle size specifically medium fine silt is an excellent proxy for environmental change in the palmer deep region such changes may be forced by solar variability the 200 and 400 year cycles lunar tidal changes the 1800 year cycles and an as yet undetermined multidecadal forcing phenomena that operates in the se pacific sector of the southern ocean

thermally vs seismically induced block displacements in masada rock slopes we compare thermally and seismically induced sliding mechanisms of blocks that are separated from the rock mass by a tension crack and slide along a frictional interface the rock slopes of masada mountain israel are used to demonstrate our approach crack displacement coupled with thermal fluctuations is measured in the west slope of the mountain during two years 2009 11 physical and mechanical lab tests provide the assumed depth of penetration of the heating front during seasonal cycles of exposure as well as the thermal expansion coefficient of the rock mass these along with the shear stiffness of the sliding interface allow us to quantify the expected thermally induced displacement rate of blocks in masada through a proposed wedging ratcheting failure mechanism a distinct block in the east slope of the mountain exhibiting a tension crack opening of 200 mm was monitored for displacement and temperature during a single seasonal cycle in 1998 based on the assumed seismicity of the region and the known topographic site effect along with the laboratory measured frictional resistance and shear stiffness of the sliding interface we subject the mapped geometry of the block in the east face to simulated cycles of earthquake vibrations utilizing the numerical discrete element discontinuous deformation analysis dda method we find that for a time window of 5000 years the observed 200 mm displacement of the east slope block is more likely to have been thermally rather than seismically controlled this result implies that in climatic regions where the temperature amplitude over a seasonal cycle is sufficiently high thermally induced displacements play an important role in rock slope erosion

reappraisal of antarctic seasonal sea ice at the last glacial maximum we used modern analog technique applied to antarctic diatoms to quantitatively reconstruct seasonal sea ice extent at the last glacial maximum winter maximum sea ice limit occurred around 48 s in the atlantic and western indian sectors around 55 s in the eastern indian and western pacific sectors and around 58 60 s in the eastern pacific sector of the southern ocean summer maximum sea ice extents during the last ice age and today are similar which contradicts climap s findings this implies a reduced summer albedo feedback of the southern hemisphere and a greater transfer of heat and moisture from the ocean to the atmosphere than shown by previous qualitative studies

the two step shape and timing of the last deglaciation in antarctica the two step character of the last deglaciation is well recognized in western europe in greenland and in the north atlantic for example in greenland a gradual temperature decrease started at the bolling b around 14 5 ky bp spanned through the allerod a and was followed by the cold younger dryas yd event which terminated abruptly around 11 5 ky bp recent results suggest that this ba yd sequence may have extended throughout all the northern hemisphere but the evidence of a late transition cooling is still poor for the southern hemisphere here we present a detailed isotopic record analyzed in a new ice core drilled at dome b in east antarctica that fully demonstrates the existence of an antarctic cold reversal acr these results suggest that the two step shape of the last deglaciation has a worldwide character but they also point to noticeable interhemispheric differences thus the coldest part of the acr which shows a temperature drop about three times weaker than that recorded during the yd in greenland may have preceded the yd antarctica did not experienced abrupt changes and the two warming periods started there before they started in greenland the links between southern and northern hemisphere climates throughout this period are discussed in the light of additional information derived from the antarctic dust record

late quaternary sea ice history in the indian sector of the southern ocean as recorded by diatom assemblages abstract a modern analog technique mat5201 31 has been applied to fossil diatom assemblages to provide down core estimates of february sea surface temperatures ssts and of sea ice duration over the past 220 000 years at 56 40 s 160 14 e at the core location sea ice progression lagged the sst drop by 1 ka at interglacial glacial transitions and sea ice retreat was almost synchronous to the sst increase at glacial interglacial terminations sea ice increased continuously during glacial periods to reach its maximum extent at the end of glacial times although ssts were almost constant during glacials this indicates that ssts are the major parameter determining the advance and retreat of sea ice at transitions but that the sea ice advance during glacial conditions may be related to positive feedbacks of the ice on albedo air temperature and meridional wind stress the strong correlation r 0 75 between sea ice duration at the core location and the vostok co2 record argues for a control of antarctic sea ice extent on atmospheric co2 concentration via the modification of the ocean to atmosphere gas balance

laminations from the palmer deep a diatom based interpretation 1 highly laminated holocene age diatomaceous sediments are characteristic of the palmer deep western antarctic peninsula ocean drilling program odp leg 178 site 1098 from 10 000 years b p to the present laminations are comprised of several groups of diatoms chaetoceros resting spores the dominant laminae former result from intense spring blooms rhizosolenia proboscia thalassiothrix and corethron are common also the consequence of summer production marked by a well stratified water column each lamination represents a single productivity event but laminations are not necessarily annual high concentrations of a subpolar form of eucampia antarctica in laminations between 9000 and 6700 years b p suggest early holocene warmth a consequence of southward intrusion of more subpolar waters the glacial interglacial transition is distinguished by pairs of laminae most likely deposited annually laminations with an overwhelming dominance of chaetoceros resting spores alternate with more terrigenous laminae representing alternation of intense spring blooms with more mixed deposition during the summer proximity to retreating glacial ice results in the supply of silt and sand that provides a marker bed between successive blooms

southern ocean deglacial record supports global younger dryas abstract in northern hemisphere deglaciation records the transition from the last glacial to the holocene indicates a rapid return to near glacial conditions during the younger dryas whereas their southern hemisphere ice core counterparts record two separate cooling events the antarctic cold reversal and the oceanic cold reversal spatial distribution and relative timing of these events in both hemispheres are central for our understanding of causes and mechanisms of abrupt climate change to date no marine record from the southern mid latitudes conclusively demonstrates that the younger dryas was a significant event in the southern ocean here we present high resolution oxygen isotope and iron content records of a radiocarbon dated sedimentary sequence from the great australian bight which constrains oceanic and atmospheric changes during the last deglaciation oxygen isotopes from planktonic foraminifera indicate two rapid cold reversals between 13 1 and 11 1 kyr bp separated by a brief warming the sedimentary iron content interpreted as a proxy for wind strength indicates a simultaneous change in atmospheric circulation pattern both records demonstrate the existence of cooling events in the southern hemisphere which are synchronous with the northern hemisphere younger dryas cold reversal between 12 9 and 11 5 kyr bp such evidence for the spatial distribution and timing of abrupt climatic fluctuations is essential data for groundtruthing results derived from global climate models

submillennial variations in ocean conditions during deglaciation based on diatom assemblages from the southwest atlantic we present a high resolution paleoceanographic record of deglaciation based on diatom assemblages from a core located just south of the polar front in the southwest atlantic core kc073 is from a sediment drift at the mouth of the falkland trough and contains sediments from the last glacial maximum lgm to present dated using radiocarbon dates on bulk organic matter and radiolarian stratigraphy the site lies along the path of the antarctic circumpolar current acc and immediately downstream of where north atlantic deep water nadw is entrained into the acc significant variations in ocean conditions are reflected in high amplitude changes in diatom concentrations and assemblage composition the diatom assemblage at the lgm indicates that winter sea ice extent was at least 5 farther north than present until at least 19 0 ka calendar years and summer sea ice may have occasionally extended over the site but for the most part it lay to the south during deglaciation chaetoceros resting spores crs dominate the diatom assemblage with valve concentrations in excess of 500 106 valves per gram submillennial scale variations in the numbers of crs and thalassiosira antarctica occur throughout the late deglacial and dominate the changes in diatom concentration we propose that the influx of crs is controlled by the flow of nadw over the falkland plateau as such our data provide unique evidence that nadw impacted on this sector of the southern ocean during deglaciation during the holocene the sedimentation rate dramatically reduced we suggest that the acc flow increased over the site and inhibited settling and winnowed the surface sediments

postglacial marine diatom record of the palmer deep antarctic peninsula odp leg 178 site 1098 1 total diatom abundance 1 late pleistocene to holocene climate variability in the antarctic peninsula is described from ocean drilling program odp leg 178 site 1098 palmer deep using total diatom abundance valves per gram dry sediment as a paleoproductivity proxy diatom frustules are absent in the diamicton at the base of the core which was deposited prior to age calibrated circa 13 2 ka immediately above the diamicton frustules are in low abundance as rare fragments and become increasingly more abundant and well preserved up core a rapid and major increase in productivity after circa 12 8 ka is evident from distinctly laminated sediments that overlie the diamicton the strongly laminated section was deposited during a deglaciation phase that followed the retreat of grounded ice after the last glacial maximum diatom productivity decreased during a climatic cooling and or change in meltwater supply until circa 9 0 ka between 9 0 and 4 4 ka productivity increased steadily again with diatom abundance maxima reached during a mid holocene climatic optimum the optimum is interrupted by a brief cold event of 1000 years duration 6 0 5 0 ka after 4 4 ka productivity generally decreased and the last 500 years have experienced the lowest diatom productivity of the postglacial period the palmer deep sediment is compared to ice core and lake sediment records from other regions around the antarctic peninsula these diverse data sets confirm that the antarctic peninsula has been a region of rapid and variable climate fluctuation since the last glacial maximum

dynamical studies of the mersa matruh gyre intense meander and ring formation events abstract a study of the dynamics of the mersa matruh gyre and the mid mediterranean jet flow system in the southwestern levantine basin is presented data driven simulations in the levantine basin using an eddy resolving quasigeostrophic model initialized with two quasi synoptic hydrographic data sets reveal intense mesoscale meander and ring formation events involving the mid mediterranean jet the mersa matruh gyre and the rhodes gyre the dynamics of these events are quantified via local energy and vorticity budget analyses the dominant processes are investigated and compared with previously studied events in the gulf stream ring and meander region

postglacial marine diatom record of the palmer deep antarctic peninsula odp leg 178 site 1098 2 diatom assemblages 1 the distribution of late pleistocene to holocene diatom assemblages from ocean drilling program odp leg 178 site 1098 palmer deep is described and compared using multivariate statistical methods cluster analysis and analysis of variance five assemblages are identified from site 1098 which are correlated with the climatic zones identified previously in the palmer deep domack et al 2001 a thalassiosira diatom assemblage characterizes the deglaciation phase 13 2 11 0 ka and was deposited during glacial retreat at the end of the regional last glacial maximum a well preserved rhizosolenia assemblage was deposited during a climatic reversal 11 0 9 0 ka and indicates periods of seasonally open water with diatom blooms an open water fragilariopsis kerguelensis assemblage characterizes the mid holocene climatic optimum 9 0 3 7 ka in the neoglacial late holocene 3 7 ka climatic cooling increased sea ice cover and increased wind are inferred from a cocconeis assemblage during the climatic optimum neoglacial transition 4 4 1 8 ka laminae characterized by corethron criophilum were preserved it is uncertain whether the laminae represent short lived interannual bloom events with high settling rates or have been deposited over longer time periods

calibration of cycladophora davisiana events versus oxygen isotope stratigraphy in the subantarctic atlantic ocean a stratigraphic tool for carbonate poor quaternary sediments we calibrated the cycladophora davisiana abundances versus oxygen isotope stratigraphy back to220ka for the subantarctic atlantic ocean the relative abundances of c davisiana and 18omeasurements of benthic and planktic foraminifera have been determined in two sediment cores oxygen isotope stratigraphy has been used to date the c davisiana records and to assignspecmap ages to the c davisiana events comparisons with an existing calibration from thesubantarctic indian ocean show that the c davisiana events b2 c1 c2 d e1 e2 e3 f h i1 and i2occur synchronous within the errors of the oxygen isotope stratigraphy in the indian and the atlanticsectors of the southern ocean larger deviations occur only for events b1 and g furthermore the long term fluctuations in c davisiana abundances have been studied in a sediment core coveringthe last 700kyr based on biostratigraphic extinction levels ages for early brunhes c davisianaevents have been estimated major c davisiana abundance maxima occur approximately every100ka in conjunction with glacial interglacial cycles over the entire record

sequence of events during the last deglaciation in southern ocean sediments and antarctic ice cores variation depends on the age model as 14 c determinations cannot be obtained for the time interval of 29 5 14 5 ka assuming a constant sedimentation rate for this interval our data suggest that sea ice and nutrient changes at about 19 ka b p lead the increase in atmospheric pco2 by approximately 2000 years our diatom based sea ice record is in phase with the sodium record of the vostok ice core which is related to sea ice cover and similarly leads the increase in atmospheric co2 if gas exchange played a major role in determining glacial to interglacial co2 variations then a delay mechanism of a few thousand years is needed to explain the observed sequence of events otherwise the main cause of atmospheric pco2 change must be sought elsewhere rather than in the southern ocean index terms 3344 meteorology and atmospheric dynamics paleoclimatology 4267 oceanography general paleoceanography 4845 oceanography biological and chemical nutrients and nutrient cycling 4870 oceanography biological and chemical stable isotopes 9325 information related to geographic region atlantic ocean keywords biogenic opal stable isotopes diatoms ird last glacial southern ocean

transfer functions between diatom assemblages and surface hydrology in the southern ocean interpretation of the distribution of 31 marine diatom species and two silicoflagellate genera in 28 core tops from the atlantic and west indian sectors of the southern ocean by q mode factor analysis allows definition of three significantly different floral assemblages one associated with subantarctic and two with antarctic waters these three areas are clearly delineated by prominent oceanographic limits the antarctic convergence and the maximum retreat of sea ice during the summer season a set of palaeoecological transfer functions is derived by comparison between the distribution of these associations and surface water hydrological parameters using these equations estimated summer temperatures from core top floral assemblages range from 12 c in the north of the study area to 2 0 c near the southernmost cores the standard errors of estimate are 1 1 c for summer temperatures 1 5 months year for sea ice cover 0 2 mg atp l for sea surface phosphate concentrations numerical tests of these paleoecological equations demonstrate their usefulness to reconstruct the evolution of the surface oceanography of the austral ocean at different periods of the last climatic cycle

pre bomb radiocarbon and the reservoir correction for calcareous marine species in the southern ocean four antarctic marine mollusc shells which were collected alive between 1917 and 1940 were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry to provide the first pre bomb radiocarbon measurements of biogenic carbonates from the southern ocean after correcting for the impact of fossil fuel combustion suess effect radiocarbon activities of the pre bomb shells averaged 149 8 10 4 in contrast the 14c values for post bomb molluscs echinoderms brachiopods and foraminifera averaged 96 1 25 2 these biogenic carbonate 14c values are nearly identical to pre bomb estimates 148 to 152 and post bomb measurements 98 4 22 0 of the surface waters in the southern ocean average radiocarbon ages of the biogenic carbonates before and after 1950 1303 84 years and 811 205 years respectively along with those from seals and penguins indicate that the antarctic marine radiocarbon reservoir has decreased in age by nearly 500 years during the second half of the 20th century marine species and seawater measurements firmly place the radiocarbon reservoir correction at 1300 100 years for calcareous marine fossils which are widespread abundant and well preserved organic materials for interpreting ice sheet climate and sea level impacts on the antarctic marine ecosystem during the holocene

distribution of chaetoceros resting spores in modern peri antarctic sediments abstract one hundred and sixty five surface sediment samples from the southern ocean were examined for distribution and relative abundance of chaetoceros resting spores the contribution of resting spores to the total diatom assemblage ranges from 0 in the subantarctic zone to 95 in the antarctic peninsula sector on the basis of both absolute and relative abundances four biogeographic zones are distinguished 1 the antarctic peninsula sector 2 the embayment systems ross sea and weddell sea 3 the continental shelf zone water depth 2000 m chaetoceros resting spores abundance reaches up to 900 10 6 valves g of dry sediment in the gerlache strait southwest of the antarctic peninsula the hydrology of this region is characterized by an intense stratification of the water column due to sea ice meltwater inputs continental glacial runoffs and thermal warming of the surface water layer the availability of nutrients the lack of vertical mixing in those surface waters having low salinity 2 4 c is thought to be the main pre condition for development of large chaetoceros species blooms we propose that increased relative abundances of chaetoceros resting spores in fossil diatom assemblages from the southern ocean can therefore be used as tracers of water column stratification due to glacial melt water

chronology of the palmer deep site antarctic peninsula a holocene palaeoenvironmental reference for the circum antarctic palmer deep sediment cores are used to produce the first high resolution continuous late pleistocene to holocene time series from the antarctic marine system the sedimentary record is dated using accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon methods on acid insoluble organic matter and foraminiferal calcite fifty four radiocarbon analyses are utilized in the dating which provides a calibrated timescale back to 13 ka bp reliability of resultant ages on organic matter is assured because duplicates produce a standard deviation from the surface age of less than laboratory error i e 50 years in addition surface organic matter ages at the site are in excellent agreement with living calcite ages at the accepted reservoir age of 1260 years for the antarctic peninsula spectral analyses of the magnetic susceptibility record against the age model reveal unusually strong periodicity in the 400 200 and 50 70 year frequency bands similar to other high resolution records from the holocene but so far unique f

dissolution and preservation of antarctic diatoms and the effect on sediment thanatocoenoses abstract comparison of southern ocean diatom populations from i surface ocean production ii underlying antarctic sediments and iii laboratory dissolution experiments demonstrates that dissolution can account for the temporal and spatial variations in sedimentary diatom assemblages observed in southern ocean sediments increasing dissolution causes relative depletions in n kerguelensis k enrichments in t lentiginosa l and slight enrichments in e antarctica a this reflects the relative susceptibility to dissolution of the three species that dominate antarctic sediments we have devised a preservation index for the southern ocean based on the ratio k k l to estimate relative extents of dissolution and applied it to natural assemblages holocene southern ocean sediments display increasing opal preservation toward higher latitudes but south of the antarctic polar front preservation decreases in the order well preserved se indian s atlantic sw indian se pacific poorly preserved dissolution also accounts for the pattern of diatom assemblages in the last glacial maximum lgm sediments of the indian and pacific sectors but in the atlantic increased e antarctica abundances at lgm must have resulted from an increase in surface ocean production of this species holocene and lgm diatoms in atlantic and pacific sector sediments are equally well preserved but in the indian sectors holocene sediments are better preserved than those of lgm age paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic transfer functions derived from factor analyses of variations in the sedimentary abundances of these three diatoms have ignored the effects of differential dissolution on thanatocoenosis and thus should be interpreted with caution

the subantarctic and polar fronts in relation to deep water masses through the southwestern atlantic the two principal fronts within the antarctic circumpolar current acc the subantarctic front saf and the polar front pf are investigated with respect to their spatial patterns and relations to deep water masses from the northern drake passage to the western and southern argentine basin observations from four recent cruises in adjoining and overlapping regions are supplemented with satellite infrared imagery and trajectories from surface drifters east of drake passage the width of the polar frontal zone pfz increases rapidly when the saf turns sharply northward as a part of the falkland malvinas current while the pf remains oriented mainly toward the northeast found within this region of the pfz are mesoscale eddies the upper layers of which consist of subantarctic mode water from the pacific the contrasts in upper layer water properties that identify the saf can be traced the entire length of the falkland current to the brazil falkland confluence zone and then southward to the southern argentine basin there the saf turns eastward and later but perhaps not always merges with the pf north of ewing bank to form a single intense current core strongly influenced by bottom topography at times this eastward current loops southward through a gap in the falkland ridge into the georgia basin thereby supplying relatively warm and salty subantarctic water to the antarctic zone east of the gap the two fronts become separated and are once again distinct features in the vicinity of the islas orcadas rise at depth within drake passage and the western scotia sea the saf and pf are not lateral boundaries between distinct water masses but are instead identified by enhanced vertical displacements of property isopleths with the northward turn of the saf east of drake passage a thick layer of circumpolar deep water cdw is advected over the falkland plateau into the argentine basin there it is joined by waters entering the argentine basin via a deep spreading route through the georgia basin denser cdw deep water from the weddell sea and episodically deep water from the southeastern pacific ocean together these waters form a northward flow off the patagonian shelf that extends from the sea surface to the bottom most of which turns back toward the south with the falkland current return also flowing south along the seaward side of the falkland current return well away from the western boundary is the main core of north atlantic deep water nadw detatched masses of nadw are observed within the cdw at the western boundary as well as within the acc south of the saf in the south central argentine basin