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Global overturning circulation plays a vital role in atmospheric CO 2 and climate variability during glacial-interglacial (G-I) cycles; however, the exact mechanism remains elusive due to inadequate knowledge on past deep water circulation in the global ocean. Since no deep water is formed in the northern Indian Ocean, it ventilates from the south and acts only as a host for deep water circulation. Absence of any active deep water formation makes the northern Indian Ocean an ideal location to assess the extent of southern source waters and its role on past CO 2 variability during the G-I climate cycles. This study provides the first record of deep water circulation in the Arabian Sea, the northwestern Indian Ocean, during the past 136 ka based on authigenic Nd isotope record (ε Nd). The Arabian Sea ε Nd record shows large variability ranging from −8.8 to −6.5 with more radiogenic values during the glacial stages (MIS 2 & 6) and less radiogenic values during the interglacial stages (MIS 1 & 5) indicating changes in water mass sources. The observation of more radiogenic ε Nd values similar to the glacial Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) indicates enhanced flow of AABW (95–100%) and substantial reduction and/or almost complete retreat of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW, 0–5%) during the glacials, whereas less radiogenic values indicate enhanced flow of NADW (∼20–40%) during the interglacials. The Arabian Sea ε Nd record followed exactly similar pattern to that of the equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO). However, amplitude of their variations differed significantly during the interglacials (MIS 1 & 5); the Arabian Sea ε Nd values were more radiogenic than the EIO. This suggests that during the interglacials, the Arabian Sea received more fraction of AABW through the western pathway, whereas the EIO received more fraction of NADW through the central pathway. This highlights differences in deep water exports from the Southern Ocean to the Arabian Sea and the EIO during the interglacials whereas export of similar water masses and its uniform distribution up to the northern Indian Ocean during the glacials. Our findings of significant G-I changes in AABW and NADW exports to the Indian Ocean and intra-basinal differences in their distribution have important implications for regional biogeochemical processes, paleo-redox conditions in the water column, carbon sink (organic and inorganic) and atmospheric CO 2 variability during the G-I climate transitions. • First record of deep water circulation (DWC) in the Arabian Sea for the past 135 ka. • Nd isotope record indicates significant glacial-inter glacial (G-I) changes in DWC. • Variable export of NADW & AABW via different pathways during interglacial stages. • Enhanced export and uniform distribution of AABW in Indian Ocean during glacials. • G-I changes in AABW-NADW export influenced carbon sink and redox conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing the strength and depth boundary of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the glacial ocean advances our understanding of how OMZs respond to climate changes. While many efforts have inferred better oxygenation of the glacial Arabian Sea OMZ from qualitative indices, oxygenation and vertical extent of the glacial OMZ is not well quantified. Here we present glacial‐Holocene oxygen reconstructions in a depth transect of Arabian Sea cores ranging from 600 to 3,650 m water depths. We estimate glacial oxygen concentrations using benthic foraminiferal surface porosity and benthic carbon isotope gradient reconstructions. Compared to the modern Arabian Sea, glacial oxygen concentrations were approximately 10–15 μmol/kg higher in the shallow OMZ (<1,000 m), and 5–80 μmol/kg lower at greater depths (1,500–3,650 m). Our results suggest that the OMZ in the glacial Arabian Sea was slightly better oxygenated but remained in the upper 1,000 m. We propose that the small increase in oxygenation of the Arabian Sea OMZ during the last glacial period was due to weaker upper ocean stratification induced by stronger winter monsoon winds coupled with an increase in oxygen solubility due to lower temperatures, counteracting the effects of more oxygen consumption resulting from higher primary productivity. Large‐scale changes in ocean circulation may have also contributed to better ventilation of the glacial Arabian Sea OMZ. Key Points: The glacial Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) was slightly weaker but spanned the same depth range as modernEnhanced oxygen supply locally and/or from the Southern Ocean likely explained the weaker OMZ in the glacial Arabian SeaBottom water oxygen in the deep glacial Arabian Sea ranged between 50 and 100 μmol/kg [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau is an important area for studying global climate change, but the answers to many scientific problems remain unknown. Here, we present new information from the lacustrine sedimentary record in the western Tibetan Plateau, related to the third most‐recent glaciations. Continuous sediment data, including sporopollen, particle size, total organic carbon, mass susceptibility, CaCO3, CaSO4, BaSO4 contents and chronological data, were reconstructed and revealed that climate and environmental conditions obviously and distinctly changed between 600 and 700 thousand years ago. In comparison, the data obtained from the Guliya ice core in this area also corresponds to the global glacial climatic characteristics recorded in basin sediments in the eastern and southeastern regions of the plateau and to the information obtained from ice cores in the Antarctic and Arctic regions. In this study, we conclude that the main reason for the glaciations and new tectonic movement must be a geomagnetic polarity reversal 774 thousand years ago (from Matuyama to Brunhes). Indeed, the results of this study suggest that the described reversal event might have influenced the current global climate pattern and will continue to impact climatic changes in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate during the last glacial period was marked by abrupt instability on millennial timescales that included large swings of temperature in and around Greenland (Daansgard–Oeschger events) and smaller, more gradual changes in Antarctica (AIM events). Less is known about the existence and nature of similar variability during older glacial periods, especially during the early Pleistocene when glacial cycles were dominantly occurring at 41 kyr intervals compared to the much longer and deeper glaciations of the more recent period. Here, we report a continuous millennially resolved record of stable isotopes of planktic and benthic foraminifera at IODP Site U1385 (the "Shackleton Site") from the southwestern Iberian margin for the last 1.5 million years, which includes the Middle Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our results demonstrate that millennial climate variability (MCV) was a persistent feature of glacial climate, both before and after the MPT. Prior to 1.2 Ma in the early Pleistocene, the amplitude of MCV was modulated by the 41 kyr obliquity cycle and increased when axial tilt dropped below 23.5 ∘ and benthic δ18O exceeded ∼3.8 ‰ (corrected to Uvigerina), indicating a threshold response to orbital forcing. Afterwards, MCV became focused mainly on the transitions into and out of glacial states (i.e. inceptions and terminations) and during times of intermediate ice volume. After 1.2 Ma, obliquity continued to play a role in modulating the amplitude of MCV, especially during times of glacial inceptions, which are always associated with declining obliquity. A non-linear role for obliquity is also indicated by the appearance of multiples (82, 123 kyr) and combination tones (28 kyr) of the 41 kyr cycle. Near the end of the MPT (∼0.65 Ma), obliquity modulation of MCV amplitude wanes as quasi-periodic 100 kyr and precession power increase, coinciding with the growth of oversized ice sheets on North America and the appearance of Heinrich layers in North Atlantic sediments. Whereas the planktic δ18O of Site U1385 shows a strong resemblance to Greenland temperature and atmospheric methane (i.e. Northern Hemisphere climate), millennial changes in benthic δ18O closely follow the temperature history of Antarctica for the past 800 kyr. The phasing of millennial planktic and benthic δ18O variation is similar to that observed for MIS 3 throughout much of the record, which has been suggested to mimic the signature of the bipolar seesaw – i.e. an interhemispheric asymmetry between the timing of cooling in Antarctica and warming in Greenland. The Iberian margin isotopic record suggests that bipolar asymmetry was a robust feature of interhemispheric glacial climate variations for at least the past 1.5 Ma despite changing glacial boundary conditions. A strong correlation exists between millennial increases in planktic δ18O (cooling) and decreases in benthic δ13C , indicating that millennial variations in North Atlantic surface temperature are mirrored by changes in deep-water circulation and remineralization of carbon in the abyssal ocean. We find strong evidence that climate variability on millennial and orbital scales is coupled across different timescales and interacts in both directions, which may be important for linking internal climate dynamics and external astronomical forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]