Based on carbon isotope ratios from marine microfossils, researchers report that ventilation of intermediate water from the Sea of Okhotsk, which currently helps prevent the spread of hypoxia in the North Pacific, was significantly reduced before 6,000 years ago, when sea surface temperatures were elevated and sea ice was reduced compared with the present; the authors suggest that similar reductions in ventilation and oxygenation might be expected under future climate warming.
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Article #17-14754: "Rapid shift and millennial-scale variations in Holocene North Pacific Intermediate Water ventilation," by Lester Lembke-Jene, Ralf Tiedemann, Dirk Nürnberg, Xun Gong, and Gerrit Lohmann.
MEDIA CONTACT: Lester Lembke-Jene, Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, GERMANY; tel: +49-179-9148714, +49-471-4831-1736; e-mail: < Lester.Lembke-Jene@awi.de >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences