Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar
South Mudd 365
A millennial-scale stagnation of Southern Ocean circulation in a past warm climate
Christopher Hayes,
Postdoctoral Fellow,
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
New observations from Southern Ocean sediments reveal a spike in authigenic uranium 127,000 years ago, during a period of greater than present warmth. This proxy reflects decreased oxygenation of deep water and therefore a weakening of the Antarctic ocean circulation. Such a change in circulation may have significant implications for predicting how atmospheric CO2 will respond to future climate scenarios. In this talk, I'll review these new observations of the paleo-stagnation event and discuss some implicated causes and mechanisms including the bipolar seesaw and melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
For more information, please contact Kathy Young by phone at 626-395-8732 or by email at [email protected].
Event Series
Environmental Science and Engineering Seminar