Variations in Terrigenous Input into the Deep Equatorial Atlantic During the Past 24,000 Years

Abstract

Estimates of terrigenous fluxes at three different water depths at two sites in the equatorial Atlantic by normalization against excess ²³⁰Th flux indicate that the flux of terrigenous material to the seafloor was significantly higher during the last glacial period than it is today. Fluxes started to decrease during deglaciation and reached minimal values in the middle of the Holocene. From 15,000 to 5,000 years ago, there was a substantial increase in flux with increasing water depth below 2,800 meters; this increase may reflect resuspension and lateral transport of slope and rise sediment, possibly because of intensification of deepwater circulation during that period.