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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1986; v. 21; p. 175-180;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1986.021.01.12
© 1986 Geological Society of London

Neogene Deep and Surface Water Palaeoceanography

Meltwater influences and palaeocirculation changes in the North Atlantic during the last glacial termination

Douglas F. Williams & Richard N. Fillon*

Department of Geology and Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, USA

Major meltwater plumes during the last glacial termination 13 000 years BP are recorded in the {delta}18O anomalies of planktonic foraminifera from North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine sediments. These distinct meltwater plumes represent the discharge of isotopically light freshwater from specific portions of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Plume geometries show that northward incursions of warm, normal saline waters occurred during the last glacial termination, thereby delivering latent and sensible heat to high latitudes of the North Atlantic and enhancing the rate of ice sheet melting.


* Present address: Texaco Inc., PO Box 60252, New Orleans, Louisiana 70160, USA