Variation in Antarctic Circumpolar Current Intensification throughout Late Pleistocene Glacial-Interglacial Cycles

Authors: Jeanette deCuba, Adriane Lam, Molly Patterson

Field of Study: Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Math

Faculty Mentors: Adriane Lam

Easel: 7

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an integral part of the global climate and oceanic circulatory system. Previous works have documented evidence that the ACC’s intensity has enhanced and diminished on glacial-interglacial time scales. However, there are conflicting findings between ocean basins. These results suggest regional or localized effects on the intensity of this important global oceanic circulatory front. In this work, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) data from a sediment core collected in the Southeastern Indian Ocean near the ACC is used to reconstruct the intensity of the ACC across glacial-interglacial cycles. Preliminary results reveal asynchronous behavior in heavy elemental values at the study site throughout glacial-interglacial time scales and a clear pattern was unable to be determined. As such, additional analysis will be conducted on the current XRF data set and compared with published South Indian Ocean data to attempt to disentangle the initial observations.