Effect of an Open Central American Seaway on Ocean Circulation and the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Tropical Pacific From Model Simulations

Abstract

The tectonic closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) during the mid-Miocene to mid-Pliocene (∼16–3 Ma BP) is thought of as a key interval for the onset of the present-day tropical Pacific oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). In this study we investigate the impact of an open CAS on the ocean circulation and the OMZ in the tropical Pacific. We perform a series of sensitivity experiments with the Kiel Climate Model, where we vary the CAS sill depth from shallow to deep. We find that the eastern tropical Pacific OMZ was less developed during the period of an open CAS. This is driven mainly by an enhanced eastward subsurface current that facilitated an increased oxygen supply from the western tropical Pacific. In addition, a small decrease in net marine primary production and subsequent weaker export of particulate organic carbon induced less subsurface oxygen consumption in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific.