Arctic closure as a trigger for Atlantic overturning at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition

Abstract

Proxies of deep circulation suggest that the onset or strengthening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation occurred at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition. The authors show, using a paleoclimate model of the late Eocene, that a shift from Pacific to Atlantic overturning can be triggered at this time by closing the Arctic–Atlantic gateway.