Bipolar Seesaw of Atmospheric CO2 Between North Pacific and Southern Ocean at Millennial Timescales
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The interhemispheric relation of deep‐water ventilation and surface‐ocean productivity may have played a prominent role in past atmospheric CO2 regulation. However, how these processes vary on orbital‐millennial timescales remains poorly understood. Here, we present high‐resolution proxy data and model simulations on the variability of biological productivity and deep water circulation for the abyssal northwestern Pacific Ocean spanning 20–60 kyr. We found that enhanced surface productivity increased during Heinrich Stadials (HS) and long term, caused by intensified westerly winds and associated dust fertilization, implying CO2 extraction from the atmosphere and increased nutrient supply to the euphotic zone. A similar increase in productivity for the Southern Ocean during Heinrich events implies enhanced upwelling and exhalation of CO2 to the atmosphere, indicative for an interhemispheric carbon cycle seesaw on millennial time scales. However, the longer‐term global cooling demonstrates that deep ocean carbon storage and degassing was predominantly modulated by the North Pacific Ocean.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl115758
Institutions: Southern University of Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources, First Institute of Oceanography, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Australian National University, Laoshan Laboratory, University of California, Davis, Nanjing Normal University, University of Exeter, University of Toyama, British Antarctic Survey, University of Bonn, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Freie Universität Berlin, Heidelberg University, Sun Yat-sen University, University of Nottingham, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou)
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tongji University, State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology
OpenAlex ID: W4412048288