Bottoms up: Sedimentary control of the deep North Pacific Ocean’s ε Nd signature

Research Article| November 01, 2015 Bottoms up: Sedimentary control of the deep North Pacific Ocean's εNd signature April N. Abbott; April N. Abbott * 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA *E-mail: aabbott@coas.oregonstate.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Brian A. Haley; Brian A. Haley 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar James McManus James McManus 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA2Department of Geoscience, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-4101, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information April N. Abbott * 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA Brian A. Haley 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA James McManus 1College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, 104 CEOAS Administration Building, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA2Department of Geoscience, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-4101, USA *E-mail: aabbott@coas.oregonstate.edu Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 30 Jun 2015 Revision Received: 22 Sep 2015 Accepted: 22 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (11): 1035. https://doi.org/10.1130/G37114.1 Article history Received: 30 Jun 2015 Revision Received: 22 Sep 2015 Accepted: 22 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation April N. Abbott, Brian A. Haley, James McManus; Bottoms up: Sedimentary control of the deep North Pacific Ocean's εNd signature. Geology 2015;; 43 (11): 1035. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G37114.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The ability to reconstruct past ocean currents is essential for determining ocean circulation's role in global heat transport and climate change. Our understanding of the relationship between circulation and climate in the past allows us to predict the impact of future climate-driven circulation changes. One proposed tracer of past ocean circulation is the neodymium isotope composition (εNd) of ancient water masses. However, ambiguities in what governs the εNd distribution in the modern ocean hamper interpretations of this tracer. Here we present εNd values for marine pore fluids, sediments, and the overlying water column for three sites in the North Pacific. We find that ocean bottom water εNd (εNdBW) in the northeast Pacific lies between the value expected for the water mass (–3.3) and the measured εNd of sediment pore fluid (εNdPW;–1.8). Moreover, εNdPW resembles the εNd of the sediment. Combined, these findings are consistent with recent assessments that sediment pore fluids may be a major source of rare earth elements to the ocean and suggest that the benthic flux of Nd from pore fluids exerts the primary control over the deep ocean distribution of εNd. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.