| Reconstructions on Antarctic ice cores revealed pronounced, millennial-scale variabilities in atmospheric CO2 over the past 800,000 years (e.g. Lüthi et al., 2008; Monnin et al., 2001; Petit et al., 1999; Raynaud et al., 2005; Siegenthaler et al., 2005). Despite these variabilities are known for several decades, the mechanisms, driving these patterns are still not fully resolved. As the ocean contains up to 60 times more carbon than the entire atmosphere, it is considered to be a major driver of the atmospheric CO2 levels (Broecker, 1982): Storing CO2 during glacials, releasing it during deglaciations. Because changes in the global thermohaline circulation are thought to operate on glacial/interglacial timescales, it has been suggested that during... |
