High and Low-Latitude Controls on the Mean Position of the Atlantic ITCZ (0-150 ka BP)

Lead PI: Peter B. deMenocal

Unit Affiliation: Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)

October 2009 - September 2013
Inactive
Atlantic Ocean
Project Type: Research

DESCRIPTION: The project will use Mg/Ca and stable isotopic analyses of core samples to determine past variations in tropical and subtropical SST and salinity gradients that define the ITCZ. This will test the hypothesis that large ice sheets prevent the ITCZ from responding predominantly to cosmological forcing.

OUTCOMES: 28 cores chosen and sampled at low-resolution, 18 at high-resolution. 25 samples sent to LLNL for radiocarbon dating. 400 of 550 samples ready for trace element analysis. Completed G. Ruber d18O and Mg/Ca stratigraphies for 18 samples. Found a southward shift in the ITCZ during the LGM, which is associated with large salinity changes.