The Climatic Record of the North Atlantic

Examining sudden changes in climate is an important aspect of paleoclimate and paleoceanographic research. The North Atlantic Ocean is particularly critical, since changes in this region may be related to major changes in the deep ocean ventilation and circulation rates. Additionally, the proximity of large northern hemisphere ice sheets have significant impact on North Atlantic oceanography during glacial times. Study of the oceanographic and climate history revealed in sediments may allow correlation to the climate record recovered from ice coring projects in Greenland. The present award will support study of short timescale variations in the North Atlantic and the evolution of climate during the Pliocene. Previous work at ODP site 609 has revealed variability in sedimentation on a 1000 year time scale, as well as features at a 10,000 year time scale. Work in this award will attempt to map the distribution of these events using existing cores, and will extend the previous study back in time at appropriate DSDP/ODP sites.