A shell-derived time history of bomb {sup 14}C on Georges Bank and its Labrador Sea implications
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, MA (United States)
Bomb-produced radiocarbon has been used in the past as an important tracer of ocean circulation and as a valuable tool for calculating CO{sub 2} air-sea exchange. However, previous studies of the ocean`s time-varying bomb {sup 14}C record have been confined exclusively to analyzing banded corals, and thus their application has been limited to the lower latitudes. The first time history of bomb {sup 14}C from the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean is obtained from a 54-year-old mollusc specimen, (Bivalvia) Arctica islandica, which was collected live from Georges Bank (41{degrees}N) in 1990. The annual growth bands of its shell were analyzed for {Delta}{sup 14}C using accelerator mass spectrometry, producing a {Delta}{sup 14}C time history from 1939 to 1990. The depleted condition of the Georges Bank bomb {sup 14}C signal relative to two coral-derived North Atlantic {Delta}{sup 14}C time histories suggests a significant deepwater source for the waters on Georges Bank. Supported by previous work linking the origin of waters on Georges Bank to the Labrador Sea, the {Delta}{sup 14}C budget on Georges Bank is modeled as Labrador Sea water, which largely becomes confined to the shelf and partially equilibrates with the atmosphere during a 1-year transit time from the Labrador Sea to Georges Bank. This model is also used to estimate a time history of bomb {sup 14}C for the Labrador Sea. Prebomb {Delta}{sup 14}C values calculated for the surface Labrador Sea suggest that a greater inventory of bomb {sup 14}C has accumulated here than has previously been reported. Deduced variations in the ventilation and/or {sup 14}CO{sub 2} uptake rates in the Labrador Sea correspond with observed changes in surface salinity of the Labrador Sea, suggesting a reduction in deepwater formation during the late 1960s and 1970s. 59 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 81255
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 98, Issue C8; Other Information: PBD: 15 Aug 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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