Changes in the flux and location of overturning circulation may have large effects on marine ecosystems and CO₂ exchange between the ocean and atmosphere. However, unlike the Atlantic, little is known about ocean circulation and ventilation under glacial boundary conditions in the North Pacific, especially in regard to intermediate water circulation. Here we present new records of neodymium (Nd) isotopes (ε_Nd) in Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides of Bering Sea sediments (884 m water depth). We found a systematic variation between radiogenic values (up to +0.8 ε_Nd) during cold periods and relatively less radiogenic values (<–1 ε_Nd) during warm periods. There are no water masses with such radiogenic Nd isotope signatures in the intermediate or deep North Pacific. Potential sources of radiogenic values in the subarctic North Pacific are limited to surface waters adjacent to the Aleutian Arc and Kamchatka Peninsula. Therefore, the radiogenic ε_Nd values of Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides observed at the intermediate depth during glacial periods are best explained by subduction of the surface water to the intermediate depth (at least ∼800 m) due to brine rejection. Our data strongly indicate that the northwestern Bering Sea (off northeastern Kamchatka) was a possible source region of glacial intermediate water in the Bering Sea and the subarctic North Pacific.

Warming of high northern latitudes in the Pliocene (5.33–2.58 Myr ago) has been linked to the closure of the Central American Seaway and intensification of North Atlantic Deep Water. Subsequent cooling in the late Pliocene may be related to the effects of freshwater input from the Arctic Ocean via the Bering Strait, disrupting North Atlantic Deep Water formation and enhancing sea ice formation. However, the timing of Arctic freshening has not been defined. Here we present neodymium and lead isotope records of detrital sediment from the Bering Sea for the past 4.3 million years. Isotopic data suggest the presence of Alaskan glaciers as far back as 4.2 Myr ago, while diatom and C_37:4 alkenone records show a long-term trend towards colder and fresher water in the Bering Sea beginning with the M2 glaciation (3.3 Myr ago). We argue that the introduction of low-salinity Bering Sea water to the Arctic Ocean by 3.3 Myr ago preconditioned the climate system for global cooling.

We reconstructed the ventilation record of deep water at 2100 m depth in the mid-latitude western North Pacific over the past 25 kyr from radiocarbon measurements of coexisting planktic and benthic foraminiferal shells in sediment with a high sedimentation rate. The ¹⁴C data on fragile and robust planktic foraminiferal shells were concordant with each other, ensuring high quality of the reconstructed ventilation record. The radiocarbon activity changes were consistent with the atmospheric record, suggesting that no massive mixing of old carbon from the abyssal reservoir occurred throughout the glacial to deglacial periods.

The Last Interglacial (LIG: 130,000–115,000 years ago) was a period of warmer global mean temperatures and higher and more variable sea levels than the Holocene (11,700–0 years ago). Therefore, a better understanding of Antarctic ice-sheet dynamics during this interval would provide valuable insights for projecting sea-level change in future warming scenarios. Here we present a high-resolution record constraining ice-sheet changes in the Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB) of East Antarctica during the LIG, based on analysis of sediment provenance and an ice melt proxy in a marine sediment core retrieved from the Wilkes Land margin. Our sedimentary records, together with existing ice-core records, reveal dynamic fluctuations of the ice sheet in the WSB, with thinning, melting, and potentially retreat leading to ice loss during both early and late stages of the LIG. We suggest that such changes along the East Antarctic Ice Sheet margin may have contributed to fluctuating global sea levels during the LIG.