Ocean Circulation and Climate Change
Ellen E. Martin developed a technique using the chemistry of deep sea fossil fish teeth (see photo, right) to reconstruct ocean circulation in the past. The oceans play a critical role in redistributing heat on the globe. As such, changes in ocean circulation can have a profound impact on climate. Martin has used this technique to understand why Antarctica became glaciated very rapidly ~34 million years ago and how the introduction of low salinity meltwaters into the Bering Sea may have contributed cooling that ultimately led to the ice ages ~3 million years ago.
See the links below for access to several studies authored or co-authored by Martin on this subject.
- “Timing and Climatic Consequences of the Opening of Drake Passage” (Scher and Martin, Science, 2006)
- “Pliocene Cooling Enhanced by Flow of Low-Salinity Bering Sea Water to the Arctic Ocean” (Horikawa and Martin, Nature Communications, 2015)
- “Ocean Circulation and Rapid Climate Change” (Martin, Nature, 2015)