Investigating North Atlantic circulation changes during Late Quaternary interglacial periods

北大西洋是了解全球气候动态的关键区域。北大西洋环流的变率与过去温暖期（间冰期）的气候突变事件有关，包括当前的间冰期（全新世，~11.700年-今天），但这些变化的性质和因果机制尚未得到充分阐明。该项目将利用北大西洋亚极地地区战略性地点的网络来调查以前间冰期海洋变化的空间格局并探索其起源。不同的古海洋学指标，包括动物有孔虫组合、浮冰碎屑和可分类的淤泥，以及钕和碳同位素，将用于研究过去45万年间冰期表层和深海环流的变化。将上述记录结合起来，可以确定系统阈值，以及短期（如百年）和长期（千年）间冰期海洋环流变率的基本模式和机制，以及间冰期开始和结束时发生的机制。这些约束条件将提供关于北大西洋环流稳定性的新见解，为气候模式模拟提供信息，并提高我们预测气候突变事件的能力。

The North Atlantic is a key region for understanding global climate dynamics. Variability in North Atlantic circulation has been linked with abrupt climate events during past warm periods (interglacials), including the current interglacial (Holocene, ~11.700 years - today), but the nature and causal mechanisms of these changes have not yet been fully elucidated. This project will use a network of strategically located sites in the subpolar North Atlantic to investigate the spatial pattern of ocean changes during previous interglacials and explore their origin. Different palaeoceanographic proxies, including faunal foraminiferal assemblages, ice-rafted debris, and sortable silt, as well as neodymium and carbon isotopes, will be used to investigate changes in the surface and deep ocean circulation for interglacial intervals of the last 450,000 years. The combination of the above records will allow the identification of system thresholds as well as the underlying patterns and mechanisms involved in interglacial variability of ocean circulation on both short (i.e., centennial) and long (multi-millennial) timescales, and the mechanisms occurring during the onset and end of interglacials. These constraints will provide new insights on the stability of North Atlantic circulation, informing climate model simulations and improving our ability to forecast abrupt climate change events.