Forcing of Atlantic Equatorial and Subpolar Millennial Cycles by Precession

TitleForcing of Atlantic Equatorial and Subpolar Millennial Cycles by Precession
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1996
AuthorsMcIntyre, A, Molfino, B
JournalScience
Volume274
Issue5294
Pagination1867-70
Date PublishedDec 13
ISBN Number1095-9203 (Electronic)0036-8075 (Linking)
Abstract

Abundance cycles of the marine alga Florisphaera profunda centered on a period of 7600 carbon-14 years (8400 calendar years) are present in high-resolution records from the equatorial Atlantic spanning 0 to 45,000 years ago. These cycles correlate with Heinrich events 1 through 5, which document rapid changes in continental ice melting around the subpolar North Atlantic. These variations in F. profunda are a direct response to modulation in zonal wind-driven divergence produced by a precessional component of orbital variation during a time of reduced eccentricity modulation.

URLhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8943191
DOI10.1126/science.274.5294.1867