Another Nail in the Coffin of the Glacial-Age Isolated Abyssal Reservoir Scenario
Abstract
Radiocarbon-age differences were determined for coexisting G. sacculifer-mixed benthic-foraminifera pairs from six glacial-age samples from an equatorial Pacific core at 4.4 km water depth. The results range from 1.6 to 2.8 kyrs and average 2.2 kyrs. Age differences based on P. obliquiloculata, N. dutertrei and G. tumida range from 0.1 to 1.5 kyrs and average 0.8 kyrs. Although the data set is certainly imperfect, as the sedimentation rate for this core averages only 2 cm kyr-1, biases resulting from bioturbation are to be expected. Despite these inadequacies, the results appear to eliminate the possibility that the demise of a salt-stabilized glacial-age isolated abyssal reservoir can be called upon to explain the 15 percent drop in surface ocean and atmospheric 14C to C ratio during the Mystery Interval (17.5 to 14.5 kyr). If the 14C to C decline were to be explained in this way, the expected benthic-planktic age difference would have to be at least 5 kyrs.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2009
- Bibcode:
- 2009AGUFMPP11E..08B
- Keywords:
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- 4900 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY;
- 4901 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY / Abrupt/rapid climate change;
- 4918 PALEOCEANOGRAPHY / Cosmogenic isotopes