The influence of deep water circulation on the distribution of 231Pa and 230Th in the Pacific Ocean
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UNIL restricted access
State: Public
Version: Final published version
License: Not specified
Serval ID
serval:BIB_03652657FA22
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
The influence of deep water circulation on the distribution of 231Pa and 230Th in the Pacific Ocean
Journal
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
ISSN
0012-821X
Publication state
Published
Issued date
15/01/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
554
Pages
116674
Language
english
Abstract
Sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios have been used in the Atlantic Ocean as a proxy to reconstruct past changes in the strength and geometry of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), stemming from the southward export of 231Pa by the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). However, deep waters in the Pacific Ocean have a longer residence time, so that Pacific sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios are more strongly affected by particle/boundary scavenging, which obscures the influence of deep water circulation. The goal of this study is to examine how the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (PMOC) affects the distribution of 231Pa and 230Th in the water column and sediment of the Pacific Ocean, and to explore whether sedimentary 231Pa/230Th ratios could provide useful constraints on past changes of the deep Pacific circulation. We examine the existing Pacific sedimentary 231Pa/230Th database and demonstrate that the Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation (PMOC) has a distinctive influence on the distribution of sedimentary 231Pa/230Th. Using a 2D scavenging model with a simplified representation of the Pacific deep water circulation, we show that Pacific sedimentary 231Pa/230Th could potentially provide information on past variability in PMOC.
Keywords
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous), Space and Planetary Science, Geochemistry and Petrology, Geophysics
Funding(s)
Swiss National Science Foundation / Projects / PP00P2_172915
Swiss National Science Foundation / Careers / PP00P2_144811
Create date
28/11/2020 11:42
Last modification date
29/11/2020 6:25