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Effects of Past Nd Seawater Concentrations on Nd-Isotope Paleocirculation Reconstructions: A Bayesian Approach

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


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Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title>jats:pNeodymium (Nd) isotope ratios are potentially valuable for paleo‐ocean circulation reconstructions because they trace water‐mass transport and mixing in the present‐day oceans. Moreover, the Atlantic and Pacific global end‐member Nd‐isotope values can be constrained through time, and at in‐between sites their proportions vary with past climate changes. However, an important source of uncertainty about Nd‐isotopes' applicability for paleo‐circulation studies arises from the inability to constrain past Nd‐concentrations of the end‐members. Here we address this “paleo‐[Nd] problem” through a Bayesian analysis. Results show that even large variability in end‐member Nd‐concentrations over the Pleistocene is unlikely to significantly impact their concentration ratio, therefore end‐member concentration changes likely have only small impacts on Nd‐isotope ratios at in‐between locations. The results support their applicability to reconstruct past Atlantic paleo‐circulation. In addition, a Nd‐isotope mass balance for Antarctic Bottom Water shows that its present‐day Nd‐isotope values are consistent with the input from its sources.</jats:p>

Description

Publication status: Published


Funder: Storke Endowment of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University

Keywords

3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience, 37 Earth Sciences, 3703 Geochemistry, 3705 Geology, 3706 Geophysics, 14 Life Below Water

Journal Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0094-8276
1944-8007

Volume Title

50

Publisher

American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Sponsorship
NSF (OCE‐14‐36019)