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Synchroneity of meltwater pulse 1a and the Bølling warming: New evidence from the South China Sea

¹ Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
² National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Geological Survey of Japan, Institute for Marine Resources and Environment, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan, and Department of Geosciences, Bremen University, P.O. Box 330440, 28334 Bremen, Germany
³ Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and Earth Environment, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
⁴ Institute of Applied Geophysics, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan

A twofold decrease in long-chain n-alcane (n-nonacosane) concentrations in a downcore record from the northern South China Sea indicates a rapid drop in the supply of terrigenous organic matter to the open South China Sea during the last deglaciation, paralleled by an equally rapid increase in sea-surface temperatures, corresponding with the Bølling warming at 14.7 ka. The sudden drop in terrigenous organic matter delivery to this marginal basin is interpreted to reflect a short-term response of local rivers to rapid sea-level rise, strongly implying that the Bølling warming and the onset of meltwater pulse (MWP) 1a are synchronous. This phase relation contrasts with the widely cited onset of this MWP 1a ca. 14 ka, and implies that previous studies postulating a weakening of deep-water formation in the North Atlantic due to massive meltwater discharge during MWP 1a need to be reevaluated.

Key Words: sea level • organic geochemistry • meltwater • South China Sea

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