Past perspectives on tipping elements of the climate system: the Amazon Rainforest and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (PPTEAM)

• Grant number: 18/15123-4
• Support type: Research Grants - Research Program on Global Climate Change - Young Investigators - Phase 2
• Duration: May 01, 2019 - April 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Geological Oceanography
• Principal researcher: Cristiano Mazur Chiessi
• Grantee: Cristiano Mazur Chiessi
• Home Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Assoc. researchers: Alan Cavalcanti da Cunha ; Ana Luiza Spadano Albuquerque ; ANA MARIA GÓES ; André Oliveira Sawakuchi ; Fabiano Do Nascimento Pupim ; Francisco William da Cruz Junior ; Gilvan Sampaio de Oliveira ; Igor Martins Venancio Padilha de Oliveira ; Ingo Daniel Wahnfried ; Paulo Eduardo de Oliveira ; Renato Paes de Almeida ; Tatiana da Silva Pereira ; Vinícius Ribau Mendes ; Wânia Duleba
• Associated research grant: 12/17517-3 - Response of the Western Atlantic Ocean to changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: from millennial to seasonal variability, AP.PFPMCG.JP
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/00853-0 - Modern terrigenous sediment sources and past changes in precipitation over tropical South America recorded in terrigenous sediments deposited in the western tropical Atlantic, BP.MS; 20/11452-3 - Carbon storage changes in the mid-depth South Atlantic during the penultimate glacial termination and the Anthropocene, BP.PD; 19/20699-5 - Optically stimulated luminescence dating of fluvial deposits in the middle Purus river, southwest Amazonia, BP.IC; + associated scholarships 20/06534-0 - Abrupt changes in the deep Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean during the last two glacial periods, BP.PD; 19/25179-0 - Penultimate glacial-to-interglacial transition in Northeastern South America and the adjacent ocean, BP.PD; 19/19948-0 - Influence of Late Pleistocene climate changes on the Amazon vegetation, BP.DR; 19/24977-0 - Environmental signals recorded in modern sediments of tropical South American rivers, BP.PD; 19/10642-6 - Response of the upper water column at the origin of the Brazil Current to slowdown events of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation during the last 80 ka, BP.MS - associated scholarships

Abstract

Negative synergies between climate change and deforestation may force the Amazon rainforest to cross a tipping point, resulting in large-scale substitution of rainforest by non-forest ecosystems. However, this possible dieback of the Amazon rainforest remains highly uncertain at least in part due to another similarly uncertain tipping element of the climate system, namely the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. A potential shutdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation would cause major changes in surface heat distribution in the Atlantic Ocean, strongly affecting Amazonian precipitation. Indeed, such changes have been repeatedly recorded in geological archives. Here we propose to reconstruct past climate and environmental changes in Amazonia and the adjacent ocean for the last ca. 250 kyr in unprecedented temporal resolution, grounded in a comprehensive calibration of paleoenvironmental proxies. Therefore, we will analyze geochemical, isotopic and biological parameters in (i) modern tropical South American fluvial sediments to calibrate paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental proxies, and (ii) western tropical Atlantic marine sediment cores to reconstruct past climate and environmental conditions. This project will provide an in-depth understanding of the responses and internal feedbacks of Amazonia and the western tropical Atlantic for (i) abrupt climate changes, (ii) warmer than preindustrial climates, and (iii) environmental boundary conditions significantly different from preindustrial, helping to constrain possible future scenarios for Amazonia and the adjacent ocean. Also, this project will consolidate a top-level research group on paleoceanography and paleoclimatology at EACH/USP. (AU)

Scientific publications

(16)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NASCIMENTO, R. A.; VENANCIO, I. M.; CHIESSI, C. M.; BALLALAI, J. M.; KUHNERT, H.; JOHNSTONE, H.; SANTOS, T. P.; PRANGE, M.; GOVIN, A.; CRIVELLARI, S.; MULITZA, S.; ALBUQUERQUE, A. L. S. Tropical Atlantic stratification response to late Quaternary precessional forcing. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 568, AUG 15 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CRIVELLARI, STEFANO; VIANA, PATRICIA JUNIA; CAMPOS, MARILIA DE CARVALHO; KUHNERT, HENNING; MACHADO LOPES, ALYNE BARROS; CRUZ, JR., FRANCISCO WILLIAM DA; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO MAZUR. Development and characterization of a new in-house reference material for stable carbon and oxygen isotopes analyses. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, v. 36, n. 6, p. 1125-1134, JUN 1 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BERTASSOLI, JR., DAILSON J.; SAWAKUCHI, HENRIQUE O.; DE ARAUJO, KLEITON R.; DE CAMARGO, MARCELO G. P.; ALEM, VICTOR A. T.; PEREIRA, TATIANA S.; KRUSCHE, V, ALEX; BASTVIKEN, DAVID; RICHEY, JEFFREY E.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O. How green can Amazon hydropower be? Net carbon emission from the largest hydropower plant in Amazonia. SCIENCE ADVANCES, v. 7, n. 26 JUN 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

PINHO, TAINA M. L.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; PORTILHO-RAMOS, RODRIGO C.; CAMPOS, MARILIA C.; CRIVELLARI, STEFANO; NASCIMENTO, RODRIGO A.; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA L. S.; BAHR, ANDRE; MULITZA, STEFAN. Meridional changes in the South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre during Heinrich Stadials. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 11, n. 1 MAY 3 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CHIESSI, C. M.; MULITZA, S.; TANIGUCHI, N. K.; PRANGE, M.; CAMPOS, M. C.; HAEGGI, C.; SCHEFUSS, E.; PINHO, T. M. L.; FREDERICHS, T.; PORTILHO-RAMOS, R. C.; SOUSA, S. H. M.; CRIVELLARI, S.; CRUZ, F. W. Mid- to Late Holocene Contraction of the Intertropical Convergence Zone Over Northeastern South America. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 36, n. 4 APR 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

JONKERS, LUKAS; GOPALAKRISHNAN, AKSHAT; WESSEL, LEA; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; GROENEVELD, JEROEN; MONIEN, PATRICK; LESSA, DOUGLAS; MORARD, RAPHAEL. Morphotype and Crust Effects on the Geochemistry of Globorotalia inflata. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 36, n. 4 APR 2021. Web of Science Citations: 0.

VENANCIO, I. M.; SHIMIZU, M. H.; SANTOS, T. P.; LESSA, D. O.; DIAS, B. B.; CHIESSI, C. M.; MULITZA, S.; KUHNERT, H.; TIEDEMANN, R.; VAHLENKAMP, M.; BICKERT, T.; BELEM, A. L.; SAMPAIO, G.; ALBUQUERQUE, A. L. S.; NOBRE, C. Ocean-atmosphere interactions over the western South Atlantic during Heinrich stadials. GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE, v. 195, DEC 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

AKABANE, THOMAS KENJI; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE OLIVEIRA; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO MAZUR; KERN, ANDREA K.; DIAZ PINAYA, JORGE LUIZ; TAPIAS CECCANTINI, GREGORIO CARDOSO; DE OLIVEIRA, PAULO EDUARDO. Modern pollen signatures of Amazonian rivers and new insights for environmental reconstructions. PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, v. 554, SEP 15 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

HOU, ALICIA; BAHR, ANDRE; RADDATZ, JACEK; VOIGT, SILKE; GREULE, MARKUS; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; FRIEDRICH, OLIVER. Insolation and Greenhouse Gas Forcing of the South American Monsoon System Across Three Glacial-Interglacial Cycles. Geophysical Research Letters, v. 47, n. 14 JUL 28 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CAMPOS, MARILIA C.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; VENANCIO, IGOR M.; PINHO, TAINA M. L.; CRIVELLARI, STEFANO; KUHNERT, HENNING; SCHMIEDL, GERHARD; DIAZ, RUT A.; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA S.; PORTILHO-RAMOS, RODRIGO C.; BAHR, ANDRE; MULITZA, STEFAN. Constraining Millennial-Scale Changes in Northern Component Water Ventilation in the Western Tropical South Atlantic. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 35, n. 7 JUL 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

SANTOS, THIAGO P.; BALLALAI, JOAO M.; FRANCO, DANIEL R.; OLIVEIRA, ROMULO R.; LESSA, DOUGLAS O.; VENANCIO, IGOR M.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; KUHNERT, HENNING; JOHNSTONE, HEATHER; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA S. Asymmetric response of the subtropical western South Atlantic thermocline to the Dansgaard-Oeschger events of Marine Isotope Stages 5 and 3. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, v. 237, JUN 1 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

HOU, ALICIA; BAHR, ANDRE; SCHMIDT, STEFAN; STREBL, CORNELIA; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; FRIEDRICH, OLIVER. Forcing of western tropical South Atlantic sea surface temperature across three glacial-interglacial cycles. GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE, v. 188, MAY 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

VENANCIO, I. M.; SHIMIZU, M. H.; SANTOS, T. P.; LESSA, D. O.; PORTILHO-RAMOS, R. C.; CHIESSI, C. M.; CRIVELLARI, S.; MULITZA, S.; KUHNERT, H.; TIEDEMANN, R.; VAHLENKAMP, M.; BICKERT, T.; SAMPAIO, G.; ALBUQUERQUE, A. L. S.; VEIGA, S.; NOBRE, P.; NOBRE, C. Changes in surface hydrography at the western tropical Atlantic during the Younger Dryas. GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE, v. 184, JAN 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CAMPOS, MARILIA C.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; PRANGE, MATTHIAS; MULITZA, STEFAN; KUHNERT, HENNING; PAUL, ANDRE; VENANCIO, IGOR M.; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA S.; CRUZ, FRANCISCO W.; BAHR, ANDRE. A new mechanism for millennial scale positive precipitation anomalies over tropical South America. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, v. 225, DEC 1 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BALLALAI, JOAO M.; SANTOS, THIAGO P.; LESSA, DOUGLAS O.; VENANCIO, IGOR M.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; JOHNSTONE, HEATHER J. H.; KUHNERT, HENNING; CLAUDIO, MARCELA R.; TOLEDO, FELIPE; COSTA, KAREN B.; ALBUQUERQUE, ANA LUIZA S. Tracking Spread of the Agulhas Leakage Into the Western South Atlantic and Its Northward Transmission During the Last Interglacial. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 34, n. 11 NOV 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

MENDES, VINICIUS R.; SAWAKUCHI, ANDRE O.; CHIESSI, CRISTIANO M.; GIANNINI, PAULO C. F.; REHFELD, KIRA; MULITZA, STEFAN. Thermoluminescence and Optically Stimulated Luminescence Measured in Marine Sediments Indicate Precipitation Changes Over Northeastern Brazil. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 34, n. 8, p. 1476-1486, AUG 2019. Web of Science Citations: 0.