Ocean circulation and climate variability in the western South Atlantic and eastern South America during the last deglaciation

Abstract

The growing impact of human activities on the climate system adds a new dimension of complexity and urgency to climate change research. Human activities may have the potential to push key components of the climate system past critical states into qualitatively different modes of operation, i.e. to exceed a tipping point. This possibility requires additional efforts from the many branches of climate change research in order to improve the accuracy of climate change projections. The examination of past climate records has proven to be a very useful area of climate change research. This thesis tackles two elements of the climate system whose tipping points are currently considered very critical: the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and South American precipitation. The major goal of this work is to better understand and work out a detailed reconstruction of ocean circulation and climate variability in the western South Atlantic and eastern South America during the last deglaciation, with special emphasis on abrupt climate change.