Millennial-scale oscillation of denitrification intensity in the Arabian Sea during the late Quaternary and its potential influence on atmospheric N2O and global climate
A. Suthhof et al., Millennial-scale oscillation of denitrification intensity in the Arabian Sea during the late Quaternary and its potential influence on atmospheric N2O and global climate, GLOBAL BIOG, 15(3), 2001, pp. 637-649
The intensity of denitrification in the Arabian Sea during the last 65 kyr
is reconstructed using high-resolution delta N-15 records of three sediment
cores in conjunction with other geochemical tracers for water column oxyge
nation and productivity. The results reveal a close link to the Greenland i
ce core record with low or absent water column denitrification during the L
ast Glacial Maximum, the stadials, and at the time of the Heinrich Events i
ncluding the Younger Dryas. In contrast, denitrification was high during th
e Holocene and the interstadials. The intensification of denitrification is
related to stronger SW monsoonal upwelling, which enhances organic matter
flux and degradation, resulting in a strengthening of the midwater oxygen d
eficiency, Such a combination of enhanced upwelling and denitrification has
also been implied for the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP), where the
se events occur during the Holocene and to some extent during the interstad
ials, too. Today, the Arabian Sea and the ETNP together contribute substant
ially to the global marine water column denitrification, and a significant
fraction of the ocean-atmosphere N2O flux originates from these areas. Chan
ges in N2O emissions from these areas could thus have effected the recently
described stadial/interstadial variations in the atmospheric concentration
of this greenhouse gas as deduced from ice cores. Moreover, denitrificatio
n is the major sink for oceanic nitrate and provides a primary control for
the oceanic nutrient inventory, which in turn influences global primary pro
ductivity and CO2 sequestration by the biological pump. Short-term switches
between a nondenitrification mode and a denitrification mode in these mari
ne regions therefore have an impact on global climate.