Abstract
THE pattern of the global thermohaline circulation of today's oceans is controlled by deep-water formation at the northern and southern limits of the Atlantic. The apparent lack of deep-water formation in the North Pacific, on the other hand, suggests that this ocean plays only a minor role in the global circulation, but it is unclear whether this was also the case during periods of glaciation—there is conflicting evidence in the sedimentary record for the existence of a deep-water source in the North Pacific during the Last Glacial Maximum1–4. Here we report the detection of anthropogenic chlorofluorocarbons in the bottom waters of the Aleutian basin in the eastern Bering Sea, which suggests that a small amount of bottom water has formed in this region during the past 40 years. Although the small volumes of water involved are unlikely to play a significant role in determining present-day global circulation patterns, the results lend credence to the possibility that this sea was an important source of deep water for the northwestern Pacific Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Keigwin, L. D. Nature 330, 362–364 (1987).
Duplessy, J. C. et al. Paleoceanography 3, 343–360 (1988).
Boyle, E. A. A. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 20, 245–287 (1992).
Naidu, A. S., Shackleton, N. J., Hall, M. & Maslin, M. EOS (suppl.) 74, 322 (1993).
Bullister, J. L. & Weiss, R. F. Deep-Sea Res. 35, 839–853 (1988).
Weiss, R. F., Bullister, J. L., Gammon, R. H. & Warner, M. J. Nature 314, 608–610 (1985).
Wallace, D. W. R. & Lazier, J. R. N. Nature 332, 61–63 (1988).
Warner, M. J. & Weiss, R. F. Deep-Sea Res. 39, 2053–2075 (1992).
Mantyla, A. W. & Reid, J. L. Deep-Sea Res. 30, 805–833 (1983).
Tsunogai, S., Kusakabe, M., Iizumi, H., Koike, I. & Hattori, A. Deep-Sea Res. 26, 641–659 (1979).
Reed, R. K., Khen, G. V., Stabeno, P. J. & Verkhunov, A. V. Deep-Sea Res. 40, 2325–2334 (1993).
Toggweiler, J. R. thesis, Columbia Univ., New York (1983).
Park, P. K., Broecker, W. S., Takahashi, T. & Reeburgh, W. S. in Bering Sea Oceanography: An Update 1972–1974 (eds Takenouti, Y. & Hood, D. W.) 207–244 (Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks, 1975).
Warren, B. A. J. Mar. Res. 41, 327–347 (1983).
Schumacher, J. D., Aagaard, K., Pease, C. H. & Tripp, R. B. J. Geophys. Res. 88, 2723–2732 (1983).
Cavalieri, D. J. & Martin, S. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 18343–18362 (1994).
Sayles, M. A., Aagaard, K. & Coachman, L. K. Oceanographic Atlas of the Bering Sea Basin (Univ. Washington, Seattle, 1979).
UNESCO Technical Paper in Marine Science, No. 37 (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Warner, M., Roden, G. Chlorofluorocarbon evidence for recent ventilation of the deep Bering Sea. Nature 373, 409–412 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/373409a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/373409a0
This article is cited by
-
Ventilation time and anthropogenic CO2 in the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean based on carbon tetrachloride measurements
Journal of Oceanography (2018)
-
Global view of sea-ice production in polynyas and its linkage to dense/bottom water formation
Geoscience Letters (2016)
-
High organic carbon deposition in the northern margin of the Aleutian Basin (Bering Sea) before the last deglaciation
Ocean Science Journal (2010)
-
Study of dissolved chlorofluorocarbons in Lake Washington
Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology (2003)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.