Last glacial and meltwater interbasin water exchanges and sedimentation inthe world ocean

Modeling the global ocean thermohaline conveyor at present, at the Last Gla cial Maximum, and at a subsequent meltwater event is revisited using a comb ination of an ocean global circulation model and a sediment transport model . The modeled changes of sediment deposition rates, linked to the changes o f the global deep-ocean thermohaline circulation, provide a better understa nding of the glacial-to-interglacial variability of thermohaline currents, and help to identify the regions of the world ocean that are most sensitive to the glacial and meltwater impacts. In addition to the well-known local changes of the conveyor in the Atlantic Ocean during the last glaciation an d subsequent meltwater events, the simulations show the global character of these impacts, detected as far from the North Atlantic as the Indian and t he southwestern Pacific Oceans. However, the numerical experiments challeng e the idea of a global conveyor-like deep flow strongly connecting the surf ace waters of northern parts of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans at either glacial or meltwater intervals.