01696nas a2200265   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260000800043653005200051653003100103653005600134653004200190653001700232653002600249653002800275100001600303700001700319700001800336245009900354856004300453300001100496490000700507520090200514020001401416       2006                            d  bAGU10a1605 Global Change: Abrupt/rapid climate change10a1635 Global Change: Oceans10a3025 Marine Geology and Geophysics: Marine seismics10a4512 Oceanography: Physical: Currents10adeglaciation10aMediterranean Outflow10aoverturning circulation1 aM. Rogerson1 aE.J. Rohling1 aP.P.E. Weaver00aPromotion of meridional overturning by Mediterranean-derived salt during the last deglaciation  uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006PA001306  aPA41010 v213 aWe demonstrate that changes in the behavior of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) prior to and through the last deglaciation played an important role in promoting Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). Estimation of past MOW salt and heat fluxes indicates that they gradually increased through the last deglaciation. Between 17.5 and 14.6 thousand years ago (ka B.P., where B.P. references year 1950), net evaporation from the Mediterranean exported sufficient fresh water from the North Atlantic catchment to cause an average salinity increase of 0.5 psu throughout the upper 2000 m of the entire North Atlantic to the north of 25\textdegreeN. Combined with rapid intensification and shoaling of the MOW plume, which we identify around 15\textendash14.5 ka B.P., this deglacial MOW-related salt accumulation preconditioned the North Atlantic for abrupt resumption of the MOC at 14.6 ka B.P.  a0883-8305