Deep sea ventilation of the northeastern Atlantic during the last 15,000 years

Sea surface temperature and salinity estimates reconstructed from a core (5 6/-10/36) collected on the. Barra Fan, northwest Scotland (56 degrees 43 'N , 09 degrees 19 'W; water depth 1320 m) show a series of rapid oscillations during the last deglacial period that are very similar to those observed i n the delta O-18 records from Greenland ice cores. These records indicate t hat the transport of heat and salt toward the Nordic Seas was highest durin g the Bolling period. A nearby deeper water core (57/-11/59) on the distal margin of the Barra Fa n (57 degrees 01 'N, 10 degrees 01 'W, water depth 2089 m) allows us to stu dy the response of the delta C-13 record of the benthic foraminifera Cibici doides wuellerstorfi through the deglacial interval at a century/decadal sc ale. By comparing the sea surface temperature, salinity and benthic records at this site with other Atlantic Ocean records, we evaluate the timing of deep sea ventilation with changes in surface water characteristics. The ben thic delta C-13 evidence suggests that NADW formation strengthened during t he Bolling-Allerod period and ventilation was at least as strong as it has been for much of the Holocene. Maximum deep water formation was essentially coincident with the maximum northward transport of heat and salt, but pred ates the transition in delta C-13 Which is recorded in the deep western Atl antic. Deep water ventilation of this site was reduced during the Younger D ryas period. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.