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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Evolution of Staircase Structures in Diffusive Convection
Published on: September 5, 2018
The deglacial evolution of North Atlantic deep convection
David J R Thornalley1, Stephen Barker, Wallace S Broecker
1School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, UK. d.thornalley@cantab.net
Abstract:
Deepwater formation in the North Atlantic by open-ocean convection is an essential component of the overturning circulation of the Atlantic Ocean, which helps regulate global climate. We use water-column radiocarbon reconstructions to examine changes in northeast Atlantic convection since the Last Glacial Maximum. During cold intervals, we infer a reduction in open-ocean convection and an associated incursion of an extremely radiocarbon ((14)C)-depleted water mass, interpreted to be Antarctic Intermediate Water. Comparing the timing of deep convection changes in the northeast and northwest Atlantic, we suggest that, despite a strong control on Greenland temperature by northeast Atlantic convection, reduced open-ocean convection in both the northwest and northeast Atlantic is necessary to account for contemporaneous perturbations in atmospheric circulation.
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