Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection

Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection Kevin Hank, Matthew Drew, Lev Tarasov This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6895367/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Layers of ice-rafted debris found in sediment cores from the North Atlantic – so-called Heinrich Events – are usually inferred to be associated with a large increase in freshwater flux due to the enhanced production and subsequent melting of icebergs. This freshwater flux association is strongly motivated by the temporal alignment with large-scale ocean circulation-mediated climatic changes as supported by climate model hosing experiments. However, the critical relationship between ice and sediment flux has yet to be physically resolved. We directly examine this relationship with a fully coupled ice sheet and glacial sediment processes model for the last glacial cycle North American ice complex. Our key finding is that sediment flux, and therefore Heinrich Layers, are a convoluted proxy of freshwater flux from calving and englacial sediment concentration. Heinrich Event-sized ice discharges can occur without significant ice-rafted debris deposition, suggesting that some large-scale calving events may be missing from the Heinrich Layer record and offering an alternative explanation for Heinrich Events with anomalously low ice-rafted debris volume. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Cryospheric science Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Palaeoclimate Heinrich Events Ice stream surging Sediment discharge Freshwater flux Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files p3sedPaperJournalResubmissionNatSuppV5.pdf Supplementary information for “Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection” Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6895367","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":475177051,"identity":"635780c2-eaea-4cb2-b969-ea05e8a805a2","order_by":0,"name":"Kevin Hank","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAm0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCQkGBsaGCtK1nCFZS2MbKVokZzc/ezhz3rbE7QzMDz8QpUVa5pi54cZttxN3NrAZSxClRU4iwUzyIVDLhgM8DMRqSf8m+XAOWAvzD+IcJpFjJrmxAayFjThbJGfklEnOOHbbeMNhNjMLorRI3EjfJtlTc1t2w/HmxzeI0oIAzCSqHwWjYBSMglGABwAANvkwQsaLiQ8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2559-9238","institution":"Memorial University of Newfoundland","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kevin","middleName":"","lastName":"Hank","suffix":""},{"id":475177052,"identity":"6737cc7c-bb62-4813-8457-61a82dc1cf65","order_by":1,"name":"Matthew Drew","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3015-628X","institution":"Memorial University of Newfoundland","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Matthew","middleName":"","lastName":"Drew","suffix":""},{"id":475177053,"identity":"4874a753-20cd-4461-8d9b-0191ad8e20bd","order_by":2,"name":"Lev Tarasov","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Memorial University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lev","middleName":"","lastName":"Tarasov","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-14 18:35:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6895367/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6895367/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":86268661,"identity":"8a2fa009-67ae-4dcb-b043-5428b5cf11bb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-08 16:31:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1859696,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"p3sedPaperJournalResubmissionNatV5.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6895367/v1_covered_26acf7ad-b8ca-45af-889e-24e0d42287e4.pdf"},{"id":86268008,"identity":"534b5e74-c5f8-4723-abd6-383dcbab0634","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-07-08 16:23:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":8115060,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary information for \u0026#x201C;Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection\u0026#x201D;","description":"","filename":"p3sedPaperJournalResubmissionNatSuppV5.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6895367/v1/79acbdba2ccb5bfc2559092e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Heinrich Events: unpacking the convoluted freshwater connection","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Heinrich Events, Ice stream surging, Sediment discharge, Freshwater flux","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6895367/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6895367/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Layers of ice-rafted debris found in sediment cores from the North Atlantic – so-called Heinrich Events – are usually inferred to be associated with a large increase in freshwater flux due to the enhanced production and subsequent melting of icebergs. 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