New record shows pronounced changes in Arctic Ocean circulation and climate

Does the Arctic Ocean surface circulation north of Alaska oscillate to and fro like a slow washing machine on millennial timescales? New evidence from the sediment record over the last 10,000 years suggests that it does and that in the recent past, the western Arctic Ocean was much warmer than it is today. Similar Holocene climatic fluctuations are seen in many records worldwide, yet their origin remains enigmatic. Modeling and observational studies suggest that the Arctic may play an important role in these climate fluctuations through changes in surface albedo, modifications of oceanic thermohaline circulation, and changes in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and radiatively important gases [PARCS, 1999].