Variability in the stratification of the upper part of the Brazil Current water column in Abrolhos region: an isotopic approach

• Grant number: 14/21028-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: October 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Cristiano Mazur Chiessi
• Grantee: Dereck Ebbinghaus Carrari
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• 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

Abstract

Conceptual and numerical models suggest that abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation affected the upper water column of the Brazil Current, but this suggestion lacks corroboration. Within this project we will use results from stable oxygen isotopic analyses performed in planktonic foraminifera to: (I) reconstruct the stratification of the upper water column of the Brazil Current around Abrolhos during the last 48.000 years; and (II) verify if the reconstructed changes are related to changes in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.