We present Holocene and last glacial maximum (LGM) oxygen and carbon isotope measurements on Planulina wuellerstorfi in six southeast Pacific cores. Sedimentation rates are low in this part of the ocean, and measurements were made on individual foraminiferal shells in order to identify the Holocene and glacial individuals on the basis of their extreme Δ 18O. The new Δ 13C data were combined with previous P. wuellerstorfi data for interpretation of global thermohaline circulation. Data from the Southern Ocean were examined closely for regional coherency and a few anomalous Δ 13C values suspected of having productivity overprint were removed. The resulting global Δ 13C distributions and gradients indicate that the deep water circulation was similar during the Holocene and LGM. This interpretation brings Δ 13C data to a better agreement with Cd/Ca data and marks a sharp contrast with a widely held view based on Δ 13C measurements that the glacial Southern Ocean was the terminus of the thermohaline circulation. The proposed presence of glacial North Atlantic Deep Water does not necessarily contradict the postulated presence of Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union