Quantification of Past Ocean Dynamics.

• Applicant: Dr. Jörg Lippold
• Subject Area: Palaeontology ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry ; Oceanography
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 277128673

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) represents a major player in the climate system of our planet by modulating the global transport and storage of salt, heat, nutrients and carbon. In order to provide realistic predictions about the response of Earth’s climate to perturbations, we need a mechanistic understanding of ocean circulation. Modern science has been looking back to the past to assess the behaviour of the oceans under varying boundary conditions. However, incomplete quantitative understanding of the physical and biogeochemical transport mechanisms still hinders models to reliably simulate past and future climate variability. This proposal focuses on quantitatively investigating the AMOC during the ongoing Interglacial, the Holocene (the last ~11,000 years), by applying the kinematic circulation proxy 231Pa/230Th in unprecedented temporal resolution. The Holocene has moved into the focus of (paleo)climatologic research since its boundary conditions are inherently best suitable to examine future evolutions and to estimate threshold behaviours. By comparing model-outputs to the new data sets stability and variability of the AMOC will be assessed, which are highly demanded parameters for climate models.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups