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Rapid Atlantification along the Fram Strait at the beginning of the 20th century.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Muschitiello, Francesco 
Mollenhauer, Gesine  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5138-564X
Miserocchi, Stefano  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6315-8919
Langone, Leonardo 

Abstract

The recent expansion of Atlantic waters into the Arctic Ocean represents undisputable evidence of the rapid changes occurring in this region. Understanding the past variability of this “Atlantification” is thus crucial in providing a longer perspective on the modern Arctic changes. Here, we reconstruct the history of Atlantification along the eastern Fram Strait during the past 800 years using precisely dated paleoceanographic records based on organic biomarkers and benthic foraminiferal data. Our results show rapid changes in water mass properties that commenced in the early 20th century—several decades before the documented Atlantification by instrumental records. Comparison with regional records suggests a poleward expansion of subtropical waters since the end of the Little Ice Age in response to a rapid hydrographic reorganization in the North Atlantic. Understanding of this mechanism will require further investigations using climate model simulations.

Description

Keywords

37 Earth Sciences, 3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, 3705 Geology

Journal Title

Sci Adv

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2375-2548
2375-2548

Volume Title

7

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)