Timing and impact of variable Arctic outflow on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

These gateways are shallower than 1500 m and the volume of Arctic overflow will vary directly in response to changes in the relative depth of the passages. Lower sea level during glaciations and periodic increased mantle activity under Iceland, effectively raising land and seafloor, will directly constrain the influx of cold and dense Arctic Water, weakening the NADW and overall AMOC on geological time scales. This project will exploit the capacity of ferromanganese crusts to record the signature of oceanic currents in their stratigraphy to track past changes in the strength, source, and provenance of the NADW components. Using samples from two key localities in the North Atlantic, high-resolution isotope records will be produced to investigate how the NADW varied over the last 20-30 Ma in response to glaciations and mantle pulses. These records will be dated using a new method for time calibration based on astronomical parameters and their influence on the chemical signature of these samples. The information gained will be used to inform future climate models predicting the response of this major oceanic current to disturbances.