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The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is thought to be relatively vigorous and stable during Interglacial periods on multimillennial (equilibrium) timescales. However, recent proxy (δ13C benthic) reconstructions suggest that higher frequency variability in deep water circulation may have been common during some interglacial periods, including the Last Interglacial (LIG, 130–115 ka). The origin of these isotope variations and their implications for past AMOC remain poorly understood. Using iLOVECLIM, an Earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC) allowing the computation of δ13CDIC and direct comparison to proxy reconstructions, we perform a transient experiment of the LIG (125–115 ka) forced only by boundary conditions of greenhouse gases and orbital forcings. The model simulates large centennial‐scale variations in the interior δ13CDIC of the North Atlantic similar in timescale and amplitude to changes resolved by high‐resolution reconstructions from the LIG. In the model, these variations are caused by changes in the relative influence of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and southern source water (SSW) and are closely linked to large (∼50%) changes in AMOC strength provoked by saline input and associated deep convection areas south of Greenland. We identify regions within the subpolar North Atlantic with different sensitivity and response to changes in preformed δ13CDIC of NADW and to changes in NADW versus SSW influence, which is useful for proxy record interpretation. This could explain the relatively large δ13C gradient (∼0.4%0) observed at ∼3 km water depth in the subpolar North Atlantic at the inception of the last glacial. Key Points: Similar variations of bottom water δ13C to that depicted by data reconstructions are simulated in the North Atlantic for the LIG periodChanges in AMOC strength may be a key process in distributing δ13C in the ocean interiorMagnitude of local bottom water δ13C response depends on position relative to water mass geometry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geochemistry of Arctica islandica shells provides an opportunity to reconstruct intra-annual resolution climate records in temperate latitudes, and the annual banding allows close temporal constraint. Stable isotope analyses of carbon and oxygen from an Arctica islandica live-collected at 6 m depth from Irvine Bay, UK are presented. Seawater temperature ranges reconstructed from shell δ18O agree, within error, with instrumental sea surface temperature measurements. The saw-tooth profile of the seasonal δ18O signal (compared with the sinusoidal seawater temperature) indicates that shell accretion rate is not constant throughout the year. Modelling the expected δ18O profile from water temperature, salinity and shell growth rate suggest that A. islandica at this site has significant variation in the shell extension rate during the year. Material deposited during shell damage shows a positive shift in δ18O. A strong ontogenetic effect is seen in δ18C and damage to the shell is associated with a significant (>0.5‰) and sustained shift of δ18C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last interglacial (LIG; ~130 to ~118 thousand years ago, ka) was the last time global sea level rose well above the present level. Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) contributions were insufficient to explain the highstand, so that substantial Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) reduction is implied. However, the nature and drivers of GrIS and AIS reductions remain enigmatic, even though they may be critical for understanding future sea-level rise. Here we complement existing records with new data, and reveal that the LIG contained an AIS-derived highstand from ~129.5 to ~125 ka, a lowstand centred on 125-124 ka, and joint AIS + GrIS contributions from ~123.5 to ~118 ka. Moreover, a dual substructure within the first highstand suggests temporal variability in the AIS contributions. Implied rates of sea-level rise are high (up to several meters per century; m c -1 ), and lend credibility to high rates inferred by ice modelling under certain ice-shelf instability parameterisations.

The carbon isotopic composition ((13)C/(12)C, expressed as δ(13)C) of fossil foraminifera is the primary tracer used to infer changes in past ocean ventilation, and its variations are interpreted by using the modern oceanic δ(13)C distribution as a framework. However, the present ocean δ(13)C distribution is strongly overprinted by isotopically light anthropogenic carbon dioxide. A correction for this oceanic C-13 Suess effect in the North Atlantic (NA) shows that the pristine NA δ(13)C distribution has a richer and more detailed structure that is more clearly related to water mass distributions. Our results revise some fundamental perceptions regarding glacial-interglacial ocean δ(13)C differences and allow paleo-δ(13)C variations to be understood within the context of modern climate variability.

The circulation of the deep Atlantic Ocean during the height of the last ice age appears to have been quite different from today. We review observations implying that Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum was neither extremely sluggish nor an enhanced version of present-day circulation. The distribution of the decay products of uranium in sediments is consistent with a residence time for deep waters in the Atlantic only slightly greater than today. However, evidence from multiple water-mass tracers supports a different distribution of deep-water properties, including density, which is dynamically linked to circulation.

Marine sediments from the Chilean continental margin are used to infer millennial-scale changes in southeast Pacific surface ocean water properties and Patagonian ice sheet extent since the last glacial period. Our data show a clear "Antarctic" timing of sea surface temperature changes, which appear systematically linked to meridional displacements in sea ice, westerly winds, and the circumpolar current system. Proxy data for ice sheet changes show a similar pattern as oceanographic variations offshore, but reveal a variable glacier-response time of up to approximately 1000 years, which may explain some of the current discrepancies among terrestrial records in southern South America.