Haug, Gerald H. et al. (2001): Role of Panama uplift on oceanic freshwater balance

Leg/Site/Hole:
ODP 138
ODP 165
ODP 138 851
ODP 165 999
Identifier:
2001-021643
georefid

Creator:
Haug, Gerald H.
Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule, Department of Earth Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
author

Tiedemann, Ralf
Geomar, Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany
author

Zahn, Rainer
Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
author

Ravelo, A. Christina
University of California at Santa Cruz, United States
author

Identification:
Role of Panama uplift on oceanic freshwater balance
2001
Geology (Boulder)
Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States
29
3
207-210
Comparison between planktic foraminiferal oxygen isotope records from the Caribbean Sea (Ocean Drilling Program [ODP] Site 999) and the equatorial east Pacific (ODP Site 851) suggests an increase in Caribbean surface-water salinity between 4.7 and 4.2 Ma. The modern Atlantic-Pacific salinity contrast of about 1 per mil became fully established at 4.2 Ma as reflected by a 0.5 per mil planktic foraminifera (super 18) O enrichment in the Caribbean Sea. This is interpreted as the result of restricted surface-water exchange between the tropical Atlantic and Pacific in response to the shoaling of the Central American seaway. As a consequence, the Atlantic and Pacific surface-ocean circulation regime changed, as did the freshwater balance between the major ocean basins. Simultaneous shifts in benthic carbon isotope records in the Caribbean Sea suggest an intensification in North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. These results indicate that the Panamanian isthmus formation caused several new ocean-atmosphere feedback mechanisms that have affected climate since the early Pliocene.
English
Serial
Coverage:Geographic coordinates:
North:12.4437
West:-110.3419East: -78.4422
South:2.4612

Stratigraphy; Atlantic Ocean; biostratigraphy; Caribbean Sea; Cenozoic; Central America; chemostratigraphy; East Pacific; Equatorial Pacific; feedback; Foraminifera; fresh water; Invertebrata; isotope ratios; isotopes; Leg 138; Leg 165; marine sediments; microfossils; Neogene; North Atlantic; O-18/O-16; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP Site 851; ODP Site 999; oxygen; Pacific Ocean; paleo-oceanography; paleocirculation; paleoclimatology; paleocurrents; paleogeography; paleosalinity; Panama; planktonic taxa; Protista; salt water; sediments; stable isotopes; Tertiary; thermohaline circulation; tropical environment; uplifts;

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