Constraining the Variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Holocene

Abstract

There is a converging body of evidence supporting a measurable slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) as climate warms and Northern Hemisphere ice sheets inexorably shrink. Within this context, we assess the variability of the AMOC during the Holocene based on a marine sediment core retrieved from the deep northwest Atlantic, which sensitively recorded large-scale deglacial transitions in deep water circulation. While there is a diffuse notion of Holocene variability in Labrador and Nordic Seas overturning, we report a largely invariable deep water circulation for the last ~11,000 years, even during the meltwater pulse associated with the 8.2-ka event. Sensitivity tests along with high-resolution 231Pa/230Th data constrain the duration and the magnitude of possible Holocene AMOC variations. The generally constant baseline during the Holocene suggests attenuated natural variability of the large-scale AMOC on submillennial timescales and calls for compensating effects involving the upstream components of North Atlantic Deep Water.