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

• Grant number: 19/10642-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: April 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geology
• Principal Investigator: Cristiano Mazur Chiessi
• Grantee: Tainã Marcos Lima Pinho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Geociências (IGC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/15123-4 - Past perspectives on tipping elements of the climate system: the Amazon Rainforest and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (PPTEAM), AP.PFPMCG.JP2

Abstract

The Brazil Current (BC) transports a substantial amount of heat to the mid-latitudes of the South Atlantic through surface and central waters. It has been suggested that a slowdown interval of the Atlantic Meridional Ocean Circulation (AMOC) that occurred during the last deglaciation (i.e., Heinrich stadial 1 - HS1) produced a significant accumulation of heat and salinity in the BC. This would have strengthened summer precipitation over Brazil, most notably in the regions under the influence of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone. However, the response of the upper water column of the BC for other events of AMOC slowdown of the last glacial period remain unknown. Since HS can, to some extent, be considered past analogs of future conditions because a reduction of up to 44% in AMOC strength is expected to occur by the end of the century, a better understanding of the consequences that such slowdowns can produce in the upper water column is urgently required. This Master's project aims at reconstructing the paleoceanographic conditions (i.e., temperature, stratification, productivity) of the upper water column at the origin of the BC with high temporal resolution during the last 80 ka with special emphasis on HS. To achieve this aim, two marine sediment cores collected in the northeasthern Brazilian continental margin under the influence of BC will be investigated based on planktonic foraminifera assemblages and stable oxygen isotope analyses of planktonic foraminifera with apparent calcification depth in the central waters. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(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)

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. (18/15123-4, 19/25179-0, 19/24349-9, 16/10242-0, 19/10642-6)

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.; et al. Mid- to Late Holocene Contraction of the Intertropical Convergence Zone Over Northeastern South America. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 36, n. 4, APR 2021. (18/15123-4, 19/10642-6, 18/06790-7, 19/24349-9, 13/10676-1, 16/10242-0)

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.; et al. Constraining Millennial-Scale Changes in Northern Component Water Ventilation in the Western Tropical South Atlantic. PALEOCEANOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY, v. 35, n. 7, JUL 2020. (16/10242-0, 19/10642-6, 18/06790-7, 18/15123-4)

NASCIMENTO, R. A.; SANTOS, T. P.; VENANCIO, I. M.; CHIESSI, C. M.; BALLALAI, J. M.; KUHNERT, H.; GOVIN, A.; PORTILHO-RAMOS, R. C.; LESSA, D.; DIAS, B. B.; et al. Origin of delta C-13 minimum events in thermocline and intermediate waters of the western South Atlantic. QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, v. 272, NOV 15 2021. (18/15123-4, 19/24349-9, 19/10642-6, 20/11452-3)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PINHO, Tainã Marcos Lima. Basin-wide paleoceanographic changes in the upper South Atlantic during Heinrich Stadials over the last 70 kyr. 2021. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Geociências (IG/BT) São Paulo.