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This study investigates the impacts of sample preparation procedures on grain-size measurements to determine comparability of data collected using differing methodologies. Grain-size distributions of marine and terrestrial sediments contain important information about the depositional environment. For example, the “sortable-silt index” (or mean grain size between 10 and 63 μm in marine sediments, is used as an indicator of flow speed and has been applied to the reconstruction of ocean current strength before the instrumental period. Similarly, the mean grain size of a sediment is used to classify it (e.g., silt versus sand). Accurate measurements of grain-size distributions often require chemical pre-treatments in order to remove sedimentary components of biogenic origin (e.g., shells), and multiple ways to perform these pre-treatments exist. This study tests whether the choice of pre-treatment introduces variability into grain-size distributions. We simulate multiple commonly used pre-treatments on a well-characterized internal standard (“Sillikers”) and compare the resulting mean size and sortable-silt index in each treatment group to untreated samples using ANOVA. Two instruments, a Coulter Counter Multisizer III and a Coulter LS 230 Laser Diffraction Analyzer are used. Results from the Multisizer III suggest that the choice of pre-treatment method does not significantly impact the final grain-size distributions but underlines the importance of replicates. Results from the laser sizer suggest that oven-drying leads to a small but statistically significant difference of ∼ 0.3 μm in the sortable-silt index, and drying samples via hot plate leads to another small but statistically significant difference of ∼ 0.29 μm. While it is unclear what causes these differences in the laser sizer data, they are smaller than the observed variations in sortable-silt index used to infer changes in current speed in a typical paleoclimate study. In conclusion, grain-size measurements are a robust tool for sediment analysis and are resistant to changes from differing pre-treatment methods tested here.

Planktonic foraminifera (PF) life cycles are highly sensitive to marine conditions, which are evolving rapidly due to anthropogenic climate change. Even though PF shells in the sedimentary record serve as prominent proxies of past ocean conditions, very little is still known about their life cycles, particularly in oligotrophic environments. Here, we present a full annual record of PF fluxes (> 63 µm) from the oligotrophic Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, sampled at daily timescales during 2015–2016 using an automated time-series sediment trap. These results are coupled with daily surface chlorophyll-a concentrations, sea surface temperatures (SSTs), particulate organic carbon and bulk fluxes, together with monthly resolved vertical profiles of chlorophyll-a, temperatures and nutrient concentrations. The annual cycle of PF fluxes is controlled by SST changes that drive water column mixing and changes in food availability. PF species flux patterns and succession dynamics vary throughout the year, displaying large variability on previously undocumented daily-weekly timescales, and are not synchronized with lunar periodicity. On daily timescales, spring blooms show a complex structure and interplay between SSTs, chlorophyll-a surface concentrations and PF fluxes. These events deliver about a third of the total annual PF flux over a period of several weeks.

Marine particulate fluxes were studied between 2014 – 2017 in the oligotrophic Gulf of Aqaba (GOA), northern Red Sea. A bottom tethered mooring mounted with 5 sediment trap stations (KC Denmark Inc...

Although iron availability has been shown to limit ocean productivity and influence marine carbon cycling, the rates of processes driving iron's removal and retention in the upper ocean are poorly constrained. Using 234Th‐ and sediment‐trap data, most of which were collected through international GEOTRACES efforts, we perform an unprecedented observation‐based assessment of iron export from and residence time in the upper ocean. The majority of these new residence time estimates for total iron in the surface ocean (0‐250 m) fall between 10 and 100 days. The upper ocean residence time of dissolved iron, on the other hand, varies and cycles on sub‐annual to annual timescales. Collectively, these residence times are shorter than previously thought, and the rates and timescales presented here will contribute to ongoing efforts to integrate iron into global biogeochemical models predicting climate and carbon dioxide sequestration in the ocean in the 21st century and beyond. Plain Language Summary Iron is a key micronutrient for organisms living in the upper ocean and thus, its availability is one of the key factors controlling the removal of carbon dioxide via phytoplankton growth in much of the global ocean. Until very recently, measurements of internal iron cycling were scarce. This includes estimates of how much iron leaves the surface ocean via sinking particles. Due to the lack of observations, models struggle to reproduce observed patterns in global surface iron distributions. For the first time, we constrain the rate of iron loss from the upper ocean along three basin‐wide transects and bring together all preexisting estimates to determine the timescales on which different forms of iron are retained in the upper ocean. Overall, our findings suggest that iron cycles more rapidly between the surface and the subsurface ocean than previously estimated and we encourage the modeling community to utilize the wealth of data presented here to explore the global consequences of these findings.

Subsurface nitrate in the Labrador Sea (NW Atlantic) and Baffin Bay is provided by North Pacific water flowing through Bering Strait and the Canadian Arctic as well as by advection from the North Atlantic. Both these nitrate sources are distinct in their isotopic signature (δ15N), owing to benthic denitrification on the Bering, Chukchi and east Siberian shelves and nitrogen fixation in the North Atlantic, respectively. Accordingly, water column profiles of δ15N(nitrate) collected off Greenland in the eastern Labrador Sea show low δ15N(nitrate), which mixes with more 15N-enriched nitrate flowing through Baffin Bay into the northern Labrador Sea. The Labrador Current carries this mixture southward along the western Labrador Sea, toward Newfoundland. The δ15N of surface sediments in the Labrador Sea closely mirrors these water column signals, suggesting that sediments can be used to trace changes in both the source signature of Atlantic versus Pacific-derived nitrate as well as in the admixture of the two source waters.Two downcore sedimentary δ15N records from the NE and NW Labrador Sea coast both show high δ15N values of ca. 7‰ during the early Holocene (9-7 kyrs BP). In the NE Labrador Sea, this is followed by a long-term decrease toward δ15N of ca. 4.5‰ at the core top, in contrast to a much more subtle decrease in the NW Labrador Sea (surface sediment δ15N of ca. 6.5‰). The decreasing δ15N values along the eastern Labrador Sea are consistent with a Holocene increase in nitrogen fixation in the North Atlantic or an increasing advection of isotopically light nitrate. In turn, an increasing admixture of North-Pacific-derived nitrate, or intensified denitrification on the Bering Shelf would be required to explain the much subdued Holocene δ15N decrease in the NW Labrador Sea.

Glacial periods are recognized to be dustier than interglacials, but the conditions leading to greater dust mobilization are poorly defined. Here we present a new high-resolution dust record based on 230Th-normalized 4He flux from Ocean Drilling Program site 882 in the Subarctic North Pacific covering the last 170,000 years. By analogy with modern relationships, we infer the mechanisms controlling orbital-scale dust storm variability in East Asia. We propose that orbital-scale dust flux variability is the result of an expansion of the dust season into summer, in addition to more intense dust storms during spring and fall. The primary drivers influencing dust flux include summer insolation at subarctic latitudes and variable Siberian alpine glaciation, which together control the cold air reservoir in Siberia. Changes in the extent of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets may be a secondary control.

International audience; 230 Th normalization is a valuable paleoceanographic tool for reconstructing high-resolution sediment fluxes during the late Pleistocene (last~500,000 years). As its application has expanded to ever more diverse marine environments, the nuances of 230 Th systematics, with regard to particle type, particle size, lateral advective/diffusive redistribution, and other processes, have emerged. We synthesized over 1000 sedimentary records of 230 Th from across the global ocean at two time slices, the late Holocene (0-5,000 years ago, or 0-5 ka) and the Last Glacial Maximum (18.5-23.5 ka), and investigated the spatial structure of 230 Th-normalized mass fluxes. On a global scale, sedimentary mass fluxes were significantly higher during the Last Glacial Maximum (1.79-2.17 g/cm 2 kyr, 95% confidence) relative to the Holocene (1.48-1.68 g/cm 2 kyr, 95% confidence). We then examined the potential confounding influences of boundary scavenging, nepheloid layers, hydrothermal scavenging, size-dependent sediment fractionation, and carbonate dissolution on the efficacy of 230 Th as a constant flux proxy. Anomalous 230 Th behavior is sometimes observed proximal to hydrothermal ridges and in continental margins where high particle fluxes and steep continental slopes can lead to the combined effects of boundary scavenging and nepheloid interference. Notwithstanding these limitations, we found that 230Th normalization is a robust tool for determining sediment mass accumulation rates in the majority of pelagic marine settings (>1,000 m water depth).

The interpretation of sedimentary records in terms of glacial-interglacial changes in particle flux in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) has been controversial. Here, we analyze disaggregated inorganic grain size (DIGS) distributions of three marine sediment cores from this region, focusing on the last 21 ka, to investigate evidence of sediment redistribution on the sea floor. Grain size sorting coefficients show that sediments in the EEP are moderately to well sorted, indicating sediment reworking in this region due to bottom currents. Furthermore, a systematic correlation between focusing factors and sorting coefficients at two sites shows that more focused sediments are also better sorted. We conclude that grain size based sedimentary records are consistent with the 230 Th-based evidence of lateral sediment redistribution on the sea floor in the EEP.

Continental dust input into the ocean-atmosphere system has significant ramifications for biogeochemical cycles and global climate, yet direct observations of dust deposition in the ocean remain scarce. The long-lived isotope thorium-232 (232Th) is greatly enriched in upper continental crust compared to oceanic crust and mid-ocean ridge basalt-like volcanogenic material. In open ocean sediments, away from fluvial and ice-rafted sources of continental material, 232Th is often assumed to be of predominantly eolian origin. In conjunction with flux normalization based on the particle reactive radioisotope thorium-230 (230Th), 232Th measurements in marine sediments are a promising proxy for dust accumulation in the modern and past ocean. Here we present ThoroMap, a new global data compilation of 230Th-normalized fluxes of 232Th. After careful screening, we derive dust deposition estimates in the global ocean averaged for the late Holocene (0–4 ka) and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 19–23 ka). ThoroMap is compared with dust deposition estimates derived from the Community Climate System Model (CCSM3) and CCSM4, two coupled atmosphere, land, ocean, and sea ice models. Model-data correlation factors are 0.63 (CCSM3) and 0.59 (CCSM4) in the late Holocene and 0.82 (CCSM3) and 0.83 (CCSM4) in the LGM. ThoroMap is the first compilation that is built on a single, specific proxy for dust and that exclusively uses flux-normalization to derive dust deposition rates.

The Northwest Atlantic is a region of major climate change over the twentieth century, affected by the weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. To assess whether the ability of this region to absorb anthropogenic CO2 has been impacted by this change, we present the region\'s first long‐term carbon isotope (δ13C) time series of fossil foraminifera spanning the past 4,000 years. These records reveal an unprecedented negative δ13C excursion driven by anthropogenic CO2 penetration into the surface ocean, the “Suess effect” signal. This signal (amplitude −0.45‰) emerges in 1950 CE ± 15 with a decrease rate of 0.009 ± 0.001‰/yr. This marine signal is ~30% of the atmospheric Suess effect and emerges over a century later. Based on current estimates of the ratio of δ13CDIC change to dissolved inorganic carbon change and limited constraints on surface ocean residence times, we calculate a mean anthropogenic CO2 uptake rate of 0.6 ± 0.2 μmol/(kg yr) from 1950 to 2005.

Amplifying both internally generated variability and remote climate signals from the Atlantic Ocean via coupled air-sea instabilities, the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) is well situated to detect past climate changes and variations in Central American wind systems that dynamically link the Atlantic and the Pacific. Here we compare new and previously published alkenone-based sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions from diverse environments within the ETP, i.e. the Eastern Pacific Warm Pool (EPWP), the equatorial and the northern Peruvian Upwelling regions over the past 100,000 yr. Over this time period, a fairly constant meridional temperature gradient across the region is observed, indicating similar hydro-graphic conditions during glacial and interglacial periods. The data further reveal that millennial-scale cold events associated with massive iceberg surges in the North Atlantic (Heinrich events) generate cooling in the ETP from similar to 8 degrees N to similar to 2 degrees S. Data from Heinrich event 1, however, indicate that the response changes sign south of 2 degrees S. These millennial-scale alterations of the SST pattern across diverse environments of the ETP support previous climate modeling experiments that suggested an Atlantic-Pacific connection caused by the intensification of the Central American gap winds, enhanced upwelling and mixing north of the equator and supported by positive air-sea feedbacks in the eastern tropical Pacific.

[1] Sea surface temperatures (SST) and inorganic continental input over the last 25,000 years (25 ka) are reconstructed in the far eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) based on three cores stretching from the equatorial front (~0.01°N, ME0005-24JC) into the cold tongue region (~3.6°S; TR163-31P and V19-30). We revisit previously published alkenone-derived SST records for these sites and present a revised chronology for V19-30. Inorganic continental input is quantified at all three sites based on 230Th-normalized fluxes of the long-lived continental isotope thorium-232 and interpreted to be largely dust. Our data show a very weak meridional (cross-equatorial) SST gradient during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, 18–15 ka B.P.) and high dust input along with peak export production at and north of the equator. These findings are corroborated by an Earth system model experiment for HS1 that simulates intensified northeasterly trade winds in the EEP, stronger equatorial upwelling, and surface cooling. Furthermore, the related southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during HS1 is also indicative of drier conditions in the typical source regions for dust.

In this study, we use records of nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N), UK’37 temperature estimates, organic carbon and opal percentages from high-resolution sediment cores located in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) to explore the mechanisms linking millennial-scale changes in low-latitude sea surface temperature, water column denitrification and surface productivity to the timing of northern or southern polar climate during the last 100,000 yr. Our results support a hypothesis that the Southern Hemisphere, and its connection to the low latitudes via shallow subsurface ocean circulation, has a primary influence on the biogeochemistry of the EEP. In addition, our results suggest that, during the last glacial stage, denitrification rates fluctuated on millennial timescales in response to water-column ventilation rather than upstream oxidant demand in intermediate-depth waters. However, due to the poor age constraints available for Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 3, the EEP sedimentary data presented here could support two conflicting mechanisms, one driven by enhanced intermediate overturning circulation in the Southern Ocean during Heinrich Events/Antarctic Warm Events, implying that subsurface flow rates control thermocline ventilation, and a second one consistent with more sluggish intermediate circulation during Antarctic Warm Events and giving a central role to the temperature control on oxygen solubility in Southern Ocean surface waters.

A critical question regarding millennial-scale climate variability during the last glacial–interglacial transition is whether the ocean or the atmosphere triggered abrupt climate changes. Specifically, either reorganization of the ocean's thermohaline circulation, or changes in tropical atmosphere–ocean dynamics similar to the present-day El Nino Southern Oscillation pattern could be involved. A high-resolution reconstruction of sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific over the past 30,000 years points to the oceans as the trigger for change, at least during the events known as Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas. Surface ocean conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean could hold the clue to whether millennial-scale global climate change during glacial times was initiated through tropical ocean–atmosphere feedbacks or by changes in the Atlantic thermohaline circulation1. North Atlantic cold periods during Heinrich events and millennial-scale cold events (stadials) have been linked with climatic changes in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and South America2,3,4, as well as the Indian and East Asian monsoon systems5,6, but not with tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures7. Here we present a high-resolution record of sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific derived from alkenone unsaturation measurements. Our data show a temperature drop of ∼1 °C, synchronous (within dating uncertainties) with the shutdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during Heinrich event 1, and a smaller temperature drop of ∼0.5 °C synchronous with the smaller reduction in the overturning circulation during the Younger Dryas event. Both cold events coincide with maxima in surface ocean productivity as inferred from 230Th-normalized carbon burial fluxes, suggesting increased upwelling at the time. From the concurrence of equatorial Pacific cooling with the two North Atlantic cold periods during deglaciation, we conclude that these millennial-scale climate changes were probably driven by a reorganization of the oceans’ thermohaline circulation, although possibly amplified by tropical ocean–atmosphere interaction as suggested before8.

The organic carbon content of marine sediments is commonly used as a proxy for export production. However, in continental margin sediments a large fraction of the organic matter may be of terrestrial origin, and it is necessary to correct the total organic carbon data accordingly. Radiocarbon dating of bulk organic carbon, organic geochemistry and isotope data (δ13C and δ15N) are used here to characterize the type of organic matter present in Core JT96-09 collected at a water depth of 920 m on the slope off Western Canada. The quantities of marine and terrestrial organic carbon are then estimated using the δ13C data. The 16 kyr record obtained from Core JT96-09 suggests that accumulation of total organic carbon was highest during the late glacial and deglacial, but geochemical data indicate that as much as 70% of this carbon is terrestrial in origin. When the palaeo-record is corrected for this terrigenous input it is observed that accumulation of marine organic matter, and presumably marine export production, increased at the end of the last glacial contemporaneous with the Bolling, and that it peaked during the Allerod. Data from other palaeoproductivity proxies (i.e., bio-barium, opal and alkenones) also indicate relatively high productivity during the deglacial. These results indicate a return to modern upwelling conditions and high marine export production at ∼14.3 calendar kyr BP and a period of enhanced upwelling, relative to the present, during the Allerod.

The subarctic North Pacific is a high nitrate-low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where phytoplankton growth rates, especially those of diatoms, are enhanced when micronutrient Fe is added. Accordingly, it has been suggested that glacial Fe-laden dust might have increased primary production in this region. This paper reviews published palaeoceanographic records of export production over the last 800 kyrs from the open North Pacific (north of ∼35°N). We find different patterns of export production change over time in the various domains of the North Pacific (NW and NE subarctic gyres, the marginal seas and the transition zone). However, there is no compelling evidence for an overall increase in productivity during glacials in the subarctic region, challenging the paradigm that dust-born Fe fertilization of this region has contributed to the glacial draw down of atmospheric CO2. Potential reasons for the lack of increased glacial export production include the possibility that Fe-fertilization rapidly drives the ecosystem towards limitation by another nutrient. This effect would have been exacerbated by an even more stable mixed layer compared to today.

Changes of sea surface temperature (SST) in the subarctic NE Pacific over the last 16,000 calendar years before present (16 kyr BP) have been inferred from the study of C 37 alkenone unsaturation in a sediment core from the western Canadian continental slope. Between 16.0 and 11.0 kyr, three distinct cold phases (6-7°C) interrupt two warmer periods (9-10°C). Within the 2σ range of the radiocarbon based time control, the observed SST oscillations correspond to the Oldest Dryas, the Bolling, the Older Dryas, the Allerod, and the Younger Dryas periods in the GISP2 δ 18 O record. These results represent the first high resolution marine paleotemperature estimates off the northern west coast of North America and imply that the climate of this region may be very strongly coupled to that of the North Atlantic. Given the fast rates of SST change (1°C/40-80 yr), such coupling must be controlled by atmospheric transmission of the climate signal.

Key Points: Use of sedimentary nitrogen isotopes is examined; On average, sediment 15N/14N increases approx. 2 per mil during early burial; Isotopic alteration scales with water depth Abstract: Nitrogen isotopes are an important tool for evaluating past biogeochemical cycling from the paleoceanographic record. However, bulk sedimentary nitrogen isotope ratios, which can be determined routinely and at minimal cost, may be altered during burial and early sedimentary diagenesis, particularly outside of continental margin settings. The causes and detailed mechanisms of isotopic alteration are still under investigation. Case studies of the Mediterranean and South China Seas underscore the complexities of investigating isotopic alteration. In an effort to evaluate the evidence for alteration of the sedimentary N isotopic signal and try to quantify the net effect, we have compiled and compared data demonstrating alteration from the published literature. A >100 point comparison of sediment trap and surface sedimentary nitrogen isotope values demonstrates that, at sites located off of the continental margins, an increase in sediment 15N/14N occurs during early burial, likely at the seafloor. The extent of isotopic alteration appears to be a function of water depth. Depth-related differences in oxygen exposure time at the seafloor are likely the dominant control on the extent of N isotopic alteration. Moreover, the compiled data suggest that the degree of alteration is likely to be uniform through time at most sites so that bulk sedimentary isotope records likely provide a good means for evaluating relative changes in the global N cycle.

[1] The clear predictions of the silicic acid leakage hypothesis (SALH) resulted in a number of studies of downcore opal records from the tropical Pacific. The original SALH predicts that unused silicic acid, due to Fe-driven changes in Si versus N limitation, escaped from the glacial Southern Ocean to equatorial upwelling regimes where it enhanced diatom productivity, thereby decreasing coccolith growth and lowering atmospheric CO2. In contrast to SALH predictions, however, sedimentary records from the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) do not show enhanced opal burial during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) but higher rates of opal burial during the deglaciation and marine isotopic stage 3 (MIS3). The peak in opal productivity during the deglaciation has been attributed to increased supply of nutrient-rich waters driven by stronger upwelling of deep water in the Southern Ocean at the end of last glacial period. The large peak in opal burial observed in a number of EEP cores during MIS3 was interpreted as evidence for Si leakage when Southern Ocean diatom productivity was limited by both low dust flux and extended sea ice. On the other hand, the paradoxical LGM decline in opal accumulation in the EEP was explained by enhanced dust input that lowered the diatom Si:C uptake ratio. Here we use a combination of molecular fingerprints of algal productivity and radioisotope tracers of sedimentation to revisit opal burial in the EEP, in particular during the MIS3 “opal peak.” An increase in algal productivity is not supported by the sedimentary concentration of brassicasterol, an organic molecule commonly found in diatoms, or by the ratio of (231Pa/230Th)xs,0, a proxy for opal export production. We therefore conclude that the large peak in opal burial during MIS3 reflects enhanced preservation of diatoms. Building on mechanisms invoked in previous studies, we hypothesize that opal burial in the EEP is controlled both by the physiological response of diatoms to low-latitude Fe inputs and by the high-latitude processes leading to silicic acid leakage.

[1] Application of the 230 Th normalization method to estimate sediment burial fluxes in six cores from the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) reveals that bulk sediment and organic carbon fluxes display a coherent regional pattern during the Holocene that is consistent with modern oceanographic conditions, in contrast with estimates of bulk mass accumulation rates (MARs) derived from core chronologies. Two nearby sites (less than 10 km apart), which have different MARs, show nearly identical 230 Th-normalized bulk fluxes. Focusing factors derived from the 230 Th data at the foot of the Carnegie Ridge in the Panama Basin are >2 in the Holocene, implying that lateral sediment addition is significant in this part of the basin. New geochemical data and existing literature provide evidence for a hydrothermal source of sediment in the southern part of the Panama Basin and for downslope transport from the top of the Carnegie Ridge. The compilation of core records suggests that sediment focusing is spatially and temporally variable in the EEP. During oxygen isotope stage 2 (OIS 2, from 13–27 ka BP), focusing appears even higher compared to the Holocene at most sites, similar to earlier findings in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific. The magnitude of the glacial increase in focusing factors, however, is strongly dependent on the accuracy of age models. We offer two possible explanations for the increase in glacial focusing compared to the Holocene. The first one is that the apparent increase in lateral sediment redistribution is partly or even largely an artifact of insufficient age control in the EEP, while the second explanation, which assumes that the observed increase is real, involves enhanced deep sea tidal current flow during periods of low sea level stand.

Accurately estimating the vertical flux of material reaching the seafloor from the overlying surface waters is essential for the paleoceanographic reconstruction of a wide variety of oceanic processes. Two approaches are currently being used. One consists of estimating mass accumulation rates (MAR) between dated horizons as the product of linear sedimentation rates, sediment dry bulk densities, and concentrations. One pitfall with this approach is that sediments can be redistributed on the seafloor by bottom currents, and their accumulation may not necessarily reflect the true vertical rain rate originating from the overlying water column. To address this problem, the method of 230Th normalization was developed [Bacon, 1984]. This method is based on the assumption that the rapid scavenging of 230Th produced in the water column by decay of dissolved uranium results in its flux to the seafloor always being close to its known rate of production. To the extent that this assumption is correct, scavenged 230Th can be used as a reference to estimate the settling flux of other sedimentary constituents and to correct for sediment redistribution on the seafloor [Henderson and Anderson, 2003; Francois et al., 2004].

Elevated productivity in the northwest Pacific is suggested as a new possible control driving past intervals of low-O2 intermediate water along the western continental margin of North America. According to this mechanism, O2 consumption would occur near the site of formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), due to increased respiration of organic carbon in response to a high-productivity event. Evidence is provided for such a productivity increase during the Bolling-Allerod interval (14.7–12.9 ka), a time when laminated sediments were deposited along the northern California margin. By this mechanism, low-O2 events in intermediate waters off the western North American margin could occur without significant changes in the rate of NPIW ventilation.

[1] Glacial-interglacial changes in sedimentary δ15N over the last 120 kyr display a remarkably similar pattern in timing and amplitude in core records extending from the denitrification zone in the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP), where subsurface denitrification is active, to the Oregon margin, where no denitrification occurs today. Low δ15N values (4–6‰) generally characterize glacial stages 2 and 4, and higher δ15N values (7–10‰) are representative of the Holocene, millennial-scale periods within stage 3, and stage 5. The inferred synchroneity of δ15N variations along the entire margin implies that the nitrate isotopic signal produced in the oxygen-poor subsurface waters in the ETNP is rapidly advected northward and recorded at sites far beyond the boundaries of the modern denitrification zone. Similar to δ15N, primary production indicators (percent Corg, Ba/Al, and percent opal) show glacial-interglacial as well as millennial-scale variations along the NE Pacific margin, with higher primary production during warm periods. However, the relative phasing between δ15N and paleoproduction tracers within individual records changes latitudinally. Whereas δ15N and primary production vary approximately synchronously in the midlatitudes, production lags δ15N in the ETNP by several kiloyears. This lag calls for a new understanding of the processes driving denitrification in the ETNP. We suggest that oxygen input by the Equatorial Undercurrent as well as local organic matter flux controls denitrification rates in the ETNP. Moreover, the differences in relative timing point to a time-transgressive development of upwelling-favorable winds along the NE Pacific margin after the last glaciation, with those in the north developing several kiloyears earlier.