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• Publication.GIK17748-2.Kim.2002  + (Applying the alkenone method, we estimated sea-surface temperatures)
• Publication.GeoB33021.Kim.2002  + (Applying the alkenone method, we estimated sea-surface temperatures)

• Publication.10.1038/nature10581  + (Arctic sea ice extent is now more than two …
  Arctic sea ice extent is now more than two million square kilometres less than it was in the late twentieth century, with important consequences for the climate, the ocean and traditional lifestyles in the Arctic1, 2. Although observations show a more or less continuous decline for the past four or five decades3, 4, there are few long-term records with which to assess natural sea ice variability. Until now, the question of whether or not current trends are potentially anomalous5 has therefore remained unanswerable. Here we use a network of high-resolution terrestrial proxies from the circum-Arctic region to reconstruct past extents of summer sea ice, and show that—although extensive uncertainties remain, especially before the sixteenth century—both the duration and magnitude of the current decline in sea ice seem to be unprecedented for the past 1,450 years. Enhanced advection of warm Atlantic water to the Arctic6 seems to be the main factor driving the decline of sea ice extent on multidecadal timescales, and may result from nonlinear feedbacks between sea ice and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. These results reinforce the assertion that sea ice is an active component of Arctic climate variability and that the recent decrease in summer Arctic sea ice is consistent with anthropogenically forced warming.
  ent with anthropogenically forced warming.)
• Publication.10.1029/2011GL050202  + (Central Asia is currently a semiarid-arid …
  Central Asia is currently a semiarid-arid region, dominated by the Westerlies. It is important to understand mechanisms of climate and precipitation changes here, as water availability in the region is crucial today and in the future. High-resolution, absolutely-dated oxygen isotope (d18O) records of stalagmites from Kesang Cave characterize a dynamic precipitation history over most of the past 500,000 years. This record demonstrates, for the first time, that climate change in the region exhibits a processional rhythm with abrupt inceptions of low d18O speleothem growth at times of high Northern Hemisphere summer insolation followed by gradual d18O increases that track decreases of insolation. These observations and interpretations contrast with the interpretation of nearby, but higher elevation ice core records. The absolutely-dated cave d18O shifts can be used to correlate the regional climate variability by providing chronological marks. Combined with other paleoclimate records, the Kesang observations suggest that possible incursions of Asian summer monsoon rainfall or related moisture into the Kesang site and/or adjacent areas during the high insolation times may play an important role in changing orbital-scale hydrology of the region. Based on our record, arid climate will prevail in this region for the next several millennia, providing that anthropogenic effects do not supersede natural processes.
  ffects do not supersede natural processes.)
• Publication.10.1177/0959683612467483  + (Combining nine tree growth proxies from fo …
  Combining nine tree growth proxies from four sites, from the west coast of Norway to the Kola Peninsula of NW Russia, provides a well replicated (> 100 annual measurements per year) mean index of tree growth over the last 1200 years that represents the growth of much of the northern pine timberline forests of northern Fennoscandia. The simple mean of the nine series, z-scored over their common period, correlates strongly with mean June to August temperature averaged over this region (r = 0.81), allowing reconstructions of summer temperature based on regression and variance scaling. The reconstructions correlate significantly with gridded summer temperatures across the whole of Fennoscandia, extending north across Svalbard and south into Denmark. Uncertainty in the reconstructions is estimated by combining the uncertainty in mean tree growth with the uncertainty in the regression models. Over the last seven centuries the uncertainty is < 4.5% higher than in the 20th century, and reaches a maximum of 12% above recent levels during the 10th century. The results suggest that the 20th century was the warmest of the last 1200 years, but that it was not significantly different from the 11th century. The coldest century was the 17th. The impact of volcanic eruptions is clear, and a delayed recovery from pairs or multiple eruptions suggests the presence of some positive feedback mechanism. There is no clear and consistent link between northern Fennoscandian summer temperatures and solar forcing.
  oscandian summer temperatures and solar forcing.)
• Publication.10.1029/2004PA001061  + (Detailed deglacial and Holocene records of …
  Detailed deglacial and Holocene records of planktonic d18O and Mg/Ca-based sea surface temperature (SST) from the Okinawa Trough suggest that at ~18 to 17 thousand years before present (kyr B.P.), late spring/early summer SSTs were approximately 3°C cooler than today, while surface waters were up to 1 practical salinity unit saltier. These conditions are consistent with a weaker influence of the summer East Asian Monsoon (EAM) than today. The timing of suborbital SST oscillations suggests a close link with abrupt changes in the EAM and North Atlantic climate. A tropical influence, however, may have resulted in subtle decoupling between the North Atlantic and the Okinawa Trough/EAM during the deglaciation. Okinawa Trough surface water trends in the Holocene are consistent with model simulations of an inland shift of intense EAM precipitation during the middle Holocene. Millennial-scale alternations between relatively warm, salty conditions and relatively cold, fresh conditions suggest varying influence of the Kuroshio during the Holocene.
  uence of the Kuroshio during the Holocene.)
• Publication.10.1002/palo.20053  + (Different proxies for sea surface temperat …
  Different proxies for sea surface temperature (SST) often exhibit divergent trends for deglacial warming in tropical regions, hampering our understanding of the phase relationship between tropical SSTs and continental ice volume at glacial terminations. To reconcile divergent SST trends, we report reconstructions of two commonly used paleothermometers (the foraminifera G. ruber Mg/Ca and the alkenone unsaturation index) from a marine sediment core collected in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean encompassing the last 37,000 years. Our results show that SSTs derived from the alkenone unsaturation index (UK'37) are consistently warmer than those derived from Mg/Ca by ~2-3°C except for the Heinrich Event 1. In addition, the initial timing for the deglacial warming of alkenone SST started at ~15.6 ka, which lags behind that of Mg/Ca temperatures by 2.5 kyr. We argue that the discrepancy between the two SST proxies reflects seasonal differences between summer and winter rather than post-depositional processes or sedimentary biases. The UK'37 SST record clearly mimics the deglacial SST trend recorded in the North Atlantic region for the earlier part of the termination, indicating the early deglacial warming trend attributed to local summer temperatures was likely mediated by changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at the onset of the deglaciation, In contrast, the glacial to interglacial SST pattern recorded by G. ruber Mg/Ca probably reflects cold season SSTs. This indicates that the cold season SSTs was likely mediated by climate changes in the southern hemisphere, as it closely tracks the Antarctic timing of deglaciation. Therefore our study reveals that the tropical southwestern Indian Ocean seasonal SST was closely linked to climate changes occurring in both hemispheres. The austral summer and winter recorded by each proxy is further supported with seasonal SST trends modeled by AOGCMs for our core site. Our interpretation that the alkenone and Mg/Ca SSTs are seasonally biased may also explain similar proxy mismatches observed in other tropical regions at the onset of the last termination.
  ions at the onset of the last termination.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.gca.2012.10.016  + (Different proxies for sea surface temperat …
  Different proxies for sea surface temperature (SST) often exhibit divergent trends for deglacial warming in tropical regions, hampering our understanding of the phase relationship between tropical SSTs and continental ice volume at glacial terminations. To reconcile divergent SST trends, we report reconstructions of two commonly used paleothermometers (the foraminifera G. ruber Mg/Ca and the alkenone unsaturation index) from a marine sediment core collected in the southwestern tropical Indian Ocean encompassing the last 37,000 years. Our results show that SSTs derived from the alkenone unsaturation index (UK'37) are consistently warmer than those derived from Mg/Ca by ~2-3°C except for the Heinrich Event 1. In addition, the initial timing for the deglacial warming of alkenone SST started at ~15.6 ka, which lags behind that of Mg/Ca temperatures by 2.5 kyr. We argue that the discrepancy between the two SST proxies reflects seasonal differences between summer and winter rather than post-depositional processes or sedimentary biases. The UK'37 SST record clearly mimics the deglacial SST trend recorded in the North Atlantic region for the earlier part of the termination, indicating the early deglacial warming trend attributed to local summer temperatures was likely mediated by changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation at the onset of the deglaciation, In contrast, the glacial to interglacial SST pattern recorded by G. ruber Mg/Ca probably reflects cold season SSTs. This indicates that the cold season SSTs was likely mediated by climate changes in the southern hemisphere, as it closely tracks the Antarctic timing of deglaciation. Therefore our study reveals that the tropical southwestern Indian Ocean seasonal SST was closely linked to climate changes occurring in both hemispheres. The austral summer and winter recorded by each proxy is further supported with seasonal SST trends modeled by AOGCMs for our core site. Our interpretation that the alkenone and Mg/Ca SSTs are seasonally biased may also explain similar proxy mismatches observed in other tropical regions at the onset of the last termination.
  ions at the onset of the last termination.)
• Publication.10.1130/G32471.1  + (Droughts are a recurring feature of Mexica …
  Droughts are a recurring feature of Mexican climate, but few high-resolution data are available to test for climate-change forcing of Mesoamerican civilizations. We present a quantitative 2400 yr rainfall reconstruction for the Basin of Mexico, from a precisely dated and highly resolved speleothem, that documents highly variable rainfall over the past 2400 yr. Dry conditions peaked during a 150-yr-long late Classic (ca. 600–900 CE) (Common Era) mega drought that culminated at 770 CE which followed centuries of climatic drying that spanned the fall of the city of Teotihuacán ca. 550 CE. The wettest conditions in the 1450s CE were associated with flooding in the Basin of Mexico. Our data suggest that rainfall variability was likely forced by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and impacts on spring-fed irrigation agriculture may have been a stressor on Mesoamerican civilizations.
  a stressor on Mesoamerican civilizations.)
• Publication.M35003-4.Ruehlemann.1999  + (Evidence for abrupt climate changes on mil …
  Evidence for abrupt climate changes on millennial and shorter timescales is widespread in marine and terrestrial climate records. Rapid reorganization of ocean circulation is considered to exert some control over these changes, as are shifts in the concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases. The response of the climate system to these two influences is fundamentally different: slowing of thermohaline overturn in the North Atlantic Ocean is expected to decrease northward heat transport by the ocean and to induce warming of the tropical Atlantic, whereas atmospheric greenhouse forcing should cause roughly synchronous global temperature changes. So these two mechanisms of climate change should be distinguishable by the timing of surface-water temperature variations relative to changes in deep-water circulation. Here we present a high-temporal-resolution record of sea surface temperatures from the western tropical North Atlantic Ocean which spans the past 29,000 years, derived from measurements of temperature-sensitive alkenone unsaturation in sedimentary organic matter. We find significant warming is documented for Heinrich event H1 (16,900-15,400 calendar years BP) and the Younger Dryas event (12,900-11,600 cal. yr BP), which were periods of intense cooling in the northern North Atlantic. Temperature changes in the tropical and high-latitude North Atlantic are out of phase, suggesting that the thermohaline circulation was the important trigger for these rapid climate changes.
  t trigger for these rapid climate changes.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.epsl.2013.11.032  + (Evidence from geologic archives suggests t …
  Evidence from geologic archives suggests that there were large changes in the tropical hydrologic cycle associated with the two prominent northern hemisphere deglacial cooling events, Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1; ~19 to 15 kyr BP; kyr BP = 1000 yr before present) and the Younger Dryas (~12.9 to 11.7 kyr BP). These hydrologic shifts have been alternatively attributed to high and low latitude origin. Here, we present a new record of hydrologic variability based on planktic foraminifera-derived d18O of seawater (d18Osw) estimates from a sediment core from the tropical Eastern Indian Ocean, and using 12 additional d18Osw records, construct a single record of the dominant mode of tropical Eastern Equatorial Pacific and Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) hydrologic variability. We show that deglacial hydrologic shifts parallel variations in the reconstructed interhemispheric temperature gradient, suggesting a strong response to variations in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the attendant heat redistribution. A transient model simulation of the last deglaciation suggests that hydrologic changes, including a southward shift in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which likely occurred during these northern hemisphere cold events, coupled with oceanic advection and mixing, resulted in increased salinity in the Indonesian region of the IPWP and the eastern tropical Pacific, which is recorded by the d18Osw proxy. Based on our observations and modeling results we suggest the interhemispheric temperature gradient directly controls the tropical hydrologic cycle on these time scales, which in turn mediates poleward atmospheric heat transport.
  iates poleward atmospheric heat transport.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.epsl.2013.05.022  + (High resolution climate records of the ice …
  High resolution climate records of the ice age terminations from monsoon-dominated regions reveal the interplay of regional and global driving forces. Speleothem records from Chinese caves indicate that glacial terminations were interrupted by prominent weak monsoon intervals (WMI), lasting a few thousand years. Deglacial WMIs are interpreted as the result of cold temperature anomalies generated by sea ice feedbacks in the North Atlantic, most prominently during Heinrich Events. Recent modelling results suggest, however, that WMIs reflect changes in the intensity of the Indian rather than the East Asian monsoon. Here we use foraminiferal trace element (Mg/Ca and Ba/Ca) and stable isotope records from a sediment core off the Malabar coast in the southeastern Arabian Sea with centennial-scale resolution to test this hypothesis and to constrain the nature and timing of deglacial climate change in the tropical Indian Ocean. The Malabar deglacial SST record is unique in character and different from other tropical climate records. SST at the Last Glacial Maximum was 2.7'0.5 'C colder than pre-industrial SST. Deglacial warming started at 18.6 (95% CI range 18.8-18.1) kyr BP, within error of the onset of warming at other tropical sites as well as in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and either coeval with or up to 1 kyr before the atmospheric CO2 rise. Warming took place in two steps separated by an interval of stable SST between 15.7 (16.2-14.9) and 13.2 (13.9-12.0) kyr BP. The d18O-water record and the Ba/Ca record, which is a measure of Indian sub-continent riverine runoff, indicate that the last ice age termination was marked by a prominent weak Indian Monsoon interval interrupted by an intense monsoon phase, as seen in speleothem records and predicted by modelling. A strong correspondence between the timing of the Malabar d18Osw record and the Hulu Cave monsoon record suggests that deglacial d18O changes in both localities dominantly reflect compositional changes in precipitation, likely driven by changes in the North Atlantic.
  y driven by changes in the North Atlantic.)
• Publication.10.1038/NGEO920  + (High sea surface temperatures in the weste …
  High sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific warm pool fuel atmospheric convection and influence tropical climate. This region also hosts the Indonesian throughflow, the network of currents through which surface and thermocline waters are transported from the western equatorial Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean. Here we show, using records of the d18O and Mg/Ca of planktonic foraminifera from eight sediment cores, that from about 10,000 to 7,000 years ago, sea surface temperatures in the western sector of the western Pacific warm pool were about 0.5°C higher than during pre-industrial times. We also find that about 9,500 years ago, when the South China and Indonesian seas were connected by rising sea level, surface waters in the Makassar Strait became relatively fresher. We suggest that the permanent reduction of surface salinity initiated the enhanced flow at lower, thermocline depths seen in the modern Indonesian throughflow. However, the uniformly warm sea surface temperatures found upstream and downstream of the Indonesian throughflow indicate that the early Holocene warmth in this region was not directly related to reduced heat transport by the throughflow that may have resulted from surface freshening of the Makassar Strait. Instead, we propose that the elevated temperatures were the result of a westward shift or expansion of the boundaries of the western Pacific warm pool.
  undaries of the western Pacific warm pool.)
• Publication.10.0129/94PA00208  + (High-resolution benthic oxygen isotope and …
  High-resolution benthic oxygen isotope and dust flux records from Ocean Drilling Program site 659 have been analyzed to extend the astronomically calibrated isotope timescale for the Atlantic from 2.85 Ma back to 5 Ma. Spectral analysis of the delta18O record indicates that the 41-kyr period of Earth's orbital obliquity dominates the Pliocene record. This is shown to be true regardless of fundamental changes in the Earth's climate during the Pliocene. However, the cycles of Sahelian aridity fluctuations indicate a shift in spectral character near 3 Ma. From the early Pliocene to 3 Ma, the periodicities were dominantly precessional (19 and 23 kyr) and remained strong until 1.5 Ma. Subsequent to 3 Ma, the variance at the obliquity period (41 kyr) increased. The timescale tuned to precession suggests that the Pliocene was longer than previously estimated by more than 0.5 m.y. The tuned ages for the magnetic boundaries Gauss/Gilbert and Top Cochiti are about 6-8% older than the ages of the conventional timescale. A major phase of Pliocene northern hemisphere ice growth occurred between 3.15 Ma and 2.5 Ma. This was marked by a gradual increase in glacial Atlantic delta18O values of 1per mil and an increase in amplitude variations by up to 1.5 per mil, much larger than in the Pacific deepwater record (site 846). The first maxima occured in cold stages G6-96 between 2.7 Ma and 2.45 Ma. Prior to 3 Ma, the isotope record is characterized by predominantly low amplitude fluctuations (< 0.7 per mil). When obliquity forcing was at its minimum between 4.15 and 3.6 Ma and during the Kaena interval, delta18O amplitude fluctuations were minimal. From 4.9 to 4.3 Ma, the delta18O values decreased by about 0.5 per mil, reaching a long-term minimum at 4.15 Ma, suggesting higher deepwater temperatures or a deglaciation. Deepwater cooling and/or an increase in ice volume is indicated by a series of short-term delta18O fluctuations between 3.8 and 3.6 Ma.
  delta18O fluctuations between 3.8 and 3.6 Ma.)
• Publication.10.1029/2004PA001071  + (High-resolution benthic oxygen isotope and …
  High-resolution benthic oxygen isotope and dust flux records from Ocean Drilling Program site 659 have been analyzed to extend the astronomically calibrated isotope timescale for the Atlantic from 2.85 Ma back to 5 Ma. Spectral analysis of the delta18O record indicates that the 41-kyr period of Earth's orbital obliquity dominates the Pliocene record. This is shown to be true regardless of fundamental changes in the Earth's climate during the Pliocene. However, the cycles of Sahelian aridity fluctuations indicate a shift in spectral character near 3 Ma. From the early Pliocene to 3 Ma, the periodicities were dominantly precessional (19 and 23 kyr) and remained strong until 1.5 Ma. Subsequent to 3 Ma, the variance at the obliquity period (41 kyr) increased. The timescale tuned to precession suggests that the Pliocene was longer than previously estimated by more than 0.5 m.y. The tuned ages for the magnetic boundaries Gauss/Gilbert and Top Cochiti are about 6-8% older than the ages of the conventional timescale. A major phase of Pliocene northern hemisphere ice growth occurred between 3.15 Ma and 2.5 Ma. This was marked by a gradual increase in glacial Atlantic delta18O values of 1per mil and an increase in amplitude variations by up to 1.5 per mil, much larger than in the Pacific deepwater record (site 846). The first maxima occured in cold stages G6-96 between 2.7 Ma and 2.45 Ma. Prior to 3 Ma, the isotope record is characterized by predominantly low amplitude fluctuations (< 0.7 per mil). When obliquity forcing was at its minimum between 4.15 and 3.6 Ma and during the Kaena interval, delta18O amplitude fluctuations were minimal. From 4.9 to 4.3 Ma, the delta18O values decreased by about 0.5 per mil, reaching a long-term minimum at 4.15 Ma, suggesting higher deepwater temperatures or a deglaciation. Deepwater cooling and/or an increase in ice volume is indicated by a series of short-term delta18O fluctuations between 3.8 and 3.6 Ma.
  delta18O fluctuations between 3.8 and 3.6 Ma.)
• Publication.10.1029/2002PA000768  + (Holocene and latest Pleistocene oceanograp …
  Holocene and latest Pleistocene oceanographic conditions and the coastal climate of northern California have varied greatly, based upon high-resolution studies (ca. every 100 years) of diatoms, alkenones, pollen, CaCO3%, and total organic carbon at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1019 (41.682°N, 124.930°W, 980 m water depth). Marine climate proxies (alkenone sea surface temperatures [SSTs] and CaCO3%) behaved remarkably like the Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP)-2 oxygen isotope record during the Bølling-Allerod, Younger Dryas (YD), and early part of the Holocene. During the YD, alkenone SSTs decreased by >3°C below mean Bølling-Allerod and Holocene SSTs. The early Holocene (ca. 11.6 to 8.2 ka) was a time of generally warm conditions and moderate CaCO3 content (generally >4%). The middle part of the Holocene (ca. 8.2 to 3.2 ka) was marked by alkenone SSTs that were consistently 1-2°C cooler than either the earlier or later parts of the Holocene, by greatly reduced numbers of the gyre-diatom Pseudoeunotia doliolus (<10%), and by a permanent drop in CaCO3% to <3%. Starting at ca. 5.2 ka, coastal redwood and alder began a steady rise, arguing for increasing effective moisture and the development of the north coast temperate rain forest. At ca. 3.2 ka, a permanent ca. 1°C increase in alkenone SST and a threefold increase in P. doliolus signaled a warming of fall and winter SSTs. Intensified (higher amplitude and more frequent) cycles of pine pollen alternating with increased alder and redwood pollen are evidence that rapid changes in effective moisture and seasonal temperature (enhanced El Niño-Southern Oscillation [ENSO] cycles) have characterized the Site 1019 record since about 3.5 ka.
  characterized the Site 1019 record since about 3.5 ka.)
• Publication.10.1002/palo.20032  + (In situ measurements of Mg/Ca, Zn/Ca, Mn/C …
  In situ measurements of Mg/Ca, Zn/Ca, Mn/Ca, and Ba/Ca in Globigerinoides bulloides and Globigerina ruber from southwest Pacific core top sites and plankton tow are reported and their potential as paleoproxies is explored. The modern samples cover 20° of latitude from 34°S to 54°S, 7-19°C water temperature, and variable influence of subantarctic (SAW) and subtropical (STW) surface waters. Trace element signatures recorded in core top and plankton tow planktic foraminifera are examined in the context of the chemistry and nutrient profiles of their modern water masses. Our observations suggest that Zn/Ca and Mn/Ca may have the potential to trace SAW and STW. Intraspecies and interspecies offsets identified by in situ measurements of Mg/Ca and Zn/Ca indicate that these ratios may also record changes in thermal and nutrient stratification in the upper ocean. We apply these potential proxies to fossilized foraminifera from the high-resolution core MD97 2121. At the Last Glacial Maximum, surface water Mg/Ca temperature estimates indicate that temperatures were approximately 6-7°C lower than those of the present, accompanied by low levels of Mn/Ca and Zn/Ca and minimal thermal and nutrient stratification. This is consistent with regional dominance of SAW and reduced STW inflow associated with a reduced South Pacific Gyre (SPG). Upper ocean thermal and nutrient stratification collapsed during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, before poleward migration of the zonal winds and ocean fronts invigorated the SPG and increased STW inflow in the early Holocene. Together with reduced winds, this favored a stratified upper ocean from circa 10 ka to the present.
  per ocean from circa 10 ka to the present.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.08.013  + (In situ measurements of Mg/Ca, Zn/Ca, Mn/C …
  In situ measurements of Mg/Ca, Zn/Ca, Mn/Ca, and Ba/Ca in Globigerinoides bulloides and Globigerina ruber from southwest Pacific core top sites and plankton tow are reported and their potential as paleoproxies is explored. The modern samples cover 20° of latitude from 34°S to 54°S, 7-19°C water temperature, and variable influence of subantarctic (SAW) and subtropical (STW) surface waters. Trace element signatures recorded in core top and plankton tow planktic foraminifera are examined in the context of the chemistry and nutrient profiles of their modern water masses. Our observations suggest that Zn/Ca and Mn/Ca may have the potential to trace SAW and STW. Intraspecies and interspecies offsets identified by in situ measurements of Mg/Ca and Zn/Ca indicate that these ratios may also record changes in thermal and nutrient stratification in the upper ocean. We apply these potential proxies to fossilized foraminifera from the high-resolution core MD97 2121. At the Last Glacial Maximum, surface water Mg/Ca temperature estimates indicate that temperatures were approximately 6-7°C lower than those of the present, accompanied by low levels of Mn/Ca and Zn/Ca and minimal thermal and nutrient stratification. This is consistent with regional dominance of SAW and reduced STW inflow associated with a reduced South Pacific Gyre (SPG). Upper ocean thermal and nutrient stratification collapsed during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, before poleward migration of the zonal winds and ocean fronts invigorated the SPG and increased STW inflow in the early Holocene. Together with reduced winds, this favored a stratified upper ocean from circa 10 ka to the present.
  per ocean from circa 10 ka to the present.)
• Publication.10.1029/2009PA001740  + (In this study we utilize two organic geoch …
  In this study we utilize two organic geochemical proxies, the Uk'37 index and TEX86, to examine past sea surface temperatures (SST) from a site located near the Nile River Delta in the eastern Mediterranean (EM) Sea. The Uk'37 and TEX86 records generally are in agreement and indicate SST ranges of 14°C-26°C and 14°C-28°C, respectively, during the last 27 cal ka. During the Holocene, TEX86-based SST estimates are usually higher than Uk'37-based SST estimates, which is likely due to seasonal differences between the timing of the haptophyte and crenarchaeota blooms in the EM and is related to the onset of the modern flow regime of the Nile River. Both records show that SST varied on centennial to millennial timescales in response to global climate events, i.e., cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Heinrich event 1 (H1), and the Younger Dryas (YD) and warming during the Bølling-Allerød and in the early Holocene during deposition of sapropel S1. The H1 cooling was particularly severe and is marked by a drop in SST of ~4.5°C in comparison to pre-H1 SST, with temperatures >1°C cooler than during the LGM. In contrast to high-latitude and western Mediterranean records, which indicate both an abrupt onset and termination of the YD event, the transition from the YD to the Holocene was much more gradual in the EM.
  the Holocene was much more gradual in the EM.)
• Publication.10.1002/2015PA002816  + (It is difficult to untangle the mixed infl …
  It is difficult to untangle the mixed influences of high- and low-latitude climate forcing in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP). Here we test the hypothesis that the Southern Ocean drove change in the EEP via subsurface intermediate waters during the last deglaciation. We use the d18O signature of benthic foraminifera to reconstruct water density changes during the last 25 kyr at three intermediate water depths (370 m, 600 m, and 1000 m) in the EEP. Carbonate d18O records a combined signature of temperature and salinity and is therefore more closely related to density than temperature or salinity alone. We find that benthic foraminiferal d18O values decreased first in the subsurface, simultaneously with rising temperatures over Antarctica, and propagated up to the surface within ~3 kyr. The early subsurface response initiated a rapid decrease in density stratification over the upper water column as indicated by reduced d18O gradients between surface and intermediate depths. Stratification of the upper water column remained low through the termination, with stratification minima reached during Heinrich Stadial 1 and the Younger Dryas (YD), synchronous with the two-part deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2. Centennial-scale shifts toward heavier d18O signatures at 370 and 600?m during the YD indicate short-lived shifts in the Subantarctic Mode Water/Antarctic Intermediate Water boundary to shallower intermediate depths. We suggest that decreased density gradients during the deglaciation accelerated vertical mixing across the EEP, and potentially the entire South Pacific subtropical gyre, which enhanced CO2 delivery from depth to the surface ocean and atmosphere.
  depth to the surface ocean and atmosphere.)
• Publication.10.1029/2005PA001208  + (Multiproxy geologic records of d18O and Mg …
  Multiproxy geologic records of d18O and Mg/Ca in fossil foraminifera from sediments under the Eastern Pacific Warm Pool (EPWP) region west of Central America document variations in upper ocean temperature, pycnocline strength, and salinity (i.e., net precipitation) over the past 30 kyr. Although evident in the paleotemperature record, there is no glacial-interglacial difference in paleosalinity, suggesting that tropical hydrologic changes do not respond passively to high-latitude ice sheets and oceans. Millennial variations in paleosalinity with amplitudes as high as 4 practical salinity units occur with a dominant period of 3-5 ky during the glacial/deglacial interval and 1.0-1.5 ky during the Holocene. The amplitude of the EPWP paleosalinity changes greatly exceeds that of published Caribbean and western tropical Pacific paleosalinity records. EPWP paleosalinity changes correspond to millennial-scale climate changes in the surface and deep Atlantic and the high northern latitudes, with generally higher (lower) paleosalinity during cold (warm) events. In addition to Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) dynamics, which play an important role in tropical hydrologic variability, changes in Atlantic-Pacific moisture transport, which is closely linked to ITCZ dynamics, may also contribute to hydrologic variations in the EPWP. Calculations of interbasin salinity average and interbasin salinity contrast between the EPWP and the Caribbean help differentiate long-term changes in mean ITCZ position and Atlantic-Pacific moisture transport, respectively.
  -Pacific moisture transport, respectively.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.epsl.2008.04.051  + (Palaeoclimate records and numerical model …
  Palaeoclimate records and numerical model simulations indicate that changes in tropical and subtropical sea surface temperatures and in the annual average position of the intertropical convergence zone are linked to high-latitude climate changes on millennial to glacial-interglacial timescales. It has recently been suggested that cooling in the high latitudes associated with abrupt climate-change events is evident primarily during the northern hemisphere winter, implying increased seasonality at these times. However, it is unclear whether such a seasonal bias also exists for the low latitudes. Here we analyse the Mg/Ca ratios of surface-dwelling foraminifera to reconstruct sea surface temperatures in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico for the past 300,000 years. We suggest that sea surface temperatures are controlled by the migration of the northern boundary of the Atlantic Warm Pool, and hence the position of the intertropical convergence zone during boreal summer, and are relatively insensitive to winter conditions. Our results suggest that summer Atlantic Warm Pool expansion is primarily affected by glacial-interglacial variability and low-latitude summer insolation. Because a clear signature of rapid climate-change events, such as the Younger Dryas cold event, is lacking in our record, we conclude that high-latitude events seem to influence only the winter Caribbean climate conditions, consistent with the hypothesis of extreme northern-hemisphere seasonality during abrupt cooling events.
  seasonality during abrupt cooling events.)
• Publication.10.1038/ngeo277  + (Palaeoclimate records and numerical model …
  Palaeoclimate records and numerical model simulations indicate that changes in tropical and subtropical sea surface temperatures and in the annual average position of the intertropical convergence zone are linked to high-latitude climate changes on millennial to glacial-interglacial timescales. It has recently been suggested that cooling in the high latitudes associated with abrupt climate-change events is evident primarily during the northern hemisphere winter, implying increased seasonality at these times. However, it is unclear whether such a seasonal bias also exists for the low latitudes. Here we analyse the Mg/Ca ratios of surface-dwelling foraminifera to reconstruct sea surface temperatures in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico for the past 300,000 years. We suggest that sea surface temperatures are controlled by the migration of the northern boundary of the Atlantic Warm Pool, and hence the position of the intertropical convergence zone during boreal summer, and are relatively insensitive to winter conditions. Our results suggest that summer Atlantic Warm Pool expansion is primarily affected by glacial-interglacial variability and low-latitude summer insolation. Because a clear signature of rapid climate-change events, such as the Younger Dryas cold event, is lacking in our record, we conclude that high-latitude events seem to influence only the winter Caribbean climate conditions, consistent with the hypothesis of extreme northern-hemisphere seasonality during abrupt cooling events.
  seasonality during abrupt cooling events.)
• Publication.10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00182-0  + (Past sea surface temperatures (SST) in the …
  Past sea surface temperatures (SST) in the northern and southern areas of the South China Sea have been reconstructed for the past 220 kyr using the UK37 alkenone index. The SST profiles follow the glacial/interglacial pattern exhibiting differences between Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene that are 1°–3°C larger than those observed at the same latitudes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In Termination I both planktonic foraminiferal δ18O and SST exhibit well-defined Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas events with temperature differences between both periods of 0.8° and 0.4°C in north and south, respectively. SSTs record a constant north-south difference of 1°C in the interglacials and nearly 2.5°C in the glacial stages. These differences define two distinct climatic and water circulation patterns that correspond with glacial/interglacial sea level oscillations which opened and closed water exchange with the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean through the present Sunda Shelf.
  fic Ocean through the present Sunda Shelf.)
• Publication.10.1029/1998PA900015  + (Past sea surface temperatures (SST) in the …
  Past sea surface temperatures (SST) in the northern and southern areas of the South China Sea have been reconstructed for the past 220 kyr using the UK37 alkenone index. The SST profiles follow the glacial/interglacial pattern exhibiting differences between Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene that are 1°–3°C larger than those observed at the same latitudes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In Termination I both planktonic foraminiferal δ18O and SST exhibit well-defined Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas events with temperature differences between both periods of 0.8° and 0.4°C in north and south, respectively. SSTs record a constant north-south difference of 1°C in the interglacials and nearly 2.5°C in the glacial stages. These differences define two distinct climatic and water circulation patterns that correspond with glacial/interglacial sea level oscillations which opened and closed water exchange with the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean through the present Sunda Shelf.
  fic Ocean through the present Sunda Shelf.)
• Publication.10.1038/ngeo1862  + (Precipitation in southwestern North Americ …
  Precipitation in southwestern North America has exhibited significant natural variability over the past few thousand years. This variability has been attributed to sea surface temperature regimes in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and to the attendant shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns. In particular, decadal variability in the North Pacific has influenced precipitation in this region during the twentieth century, but links to earlier droughts and pluvials are unclear. Here we assess these links using d18O data from a speleothem from southern California that spans AD 854-2007. We show that variations in the oxygen isotopes of the speleothem correlate to sea surface temperatures in the Kuroshio Extension region of the North Pacific, which affect the atmospheric trajectory and isotopic composition of moisture reaching the study site. Interpreting our speleothem data as a record of sea surface temperatures in the Kuroshio Extension, we find a strong 22-year periodicity, suggesting a persistent solar influence on North Pacific decadal variability. A comparison with tree-ring records of precipitation during the past millennium shows that some droughts occurred during periods of warmth in the Kuroshio Extension, similar to the instrumental record. However, other droughts did not and instead must have been influenced by other factors. Finally, we find a significant increase in sea surface temperature variability over the past 150 years, which may reflect an influence of greenhouse gas concentrations on variability in the North Pacific.
  tions on variability in the North Pacific.)
• Publication.10.1029/2012PA002284  + (Previous studies showed that sea surface s …
  Previous studies showed that sea surface salinity (SSS) in the Florida Straits as well as Florida Current transport covaried with changes in North Atlantic climate over the past two millennia. However, little is known about earlier Holocene hydrographic variability in the Florida Straits. Here, we combine Mg/Ca-paleothermometry and stable oxygen isotope measurements on the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber (white variety) from Florida Straits sediment core KNR166-2 JPC 51 (24 deg 24.70'N, 83 deg 13.14'W, 198 m deep) to reconstruct a high-resolution (~25 yr/sample) early to mid Holocene record of sea surface temperature and d18OSW (a proxy for SSS) variability. After removing the influence of global d18OSW change due to continental ice volume variability, we find that early Holocene SSS enrichments are associated with increased evaporation/precipitation ratios in the Florida Straits during periods of reduced solar forcing, increased ice rafted debris in the North Atlantic and the development of more permanent El Niño-like conditions in the eastern equatorial Pacific. When considered with previous high-resolution reconstructions of Holocene tropical atmospheric circulation changes, our results provide evidence that variations in solar forcing over the early Holocene had a significant impact on the global tropical hydrologic cycle.
  t on the global tropical hydrologic cycle.)
• Publication.MD01-2390.Steinke.2008  + (Records of past climate and ocean circulation derived from marine sediments. Parameter keywords describe what was measured in this data set. Additional summary information can be found in the abstracts of papers listed in the data set citations.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.11.010  + (Records of planktonic and benthic foramini …
  Records of planktonic and benthic foraminiferal d18O and planktonic Mg/Ca from core TR163-22, just northwest of the Galápagos Islands, reveal a detailed (250¿450 year resolution) climate history of the region over the last 135 thousand years (kyr). Sea surface temperatures (SSTs), reconstructed from G. ruber Mg/Ca, averaged 24.3±0.4 °C during the Holocene, 22.6±0.6 °C during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2, 3 and 4, and 26.0±0.9 °C during MIS 5e. Changes in SST lead changes in both planktonic and benthic d18O by an average not, vert, similar3 kyr, suggesting that SST changes in this region predated continental ice volume changes. Changes in SST display clear millennial scale variability, especially in marine isotope stage 3, with behavior somewhat similar to Antarctic proxy air temperature and South Pacific SST records. Removal of the temperature component from the planktonic d18O record demonstrates that glacial-interglacial d18O-water changes at this site were 1.0±0.2¿, similar to estimates for mean ocean shifts, implying that salinity changes due to regional hydrological variation between the Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene in the Galápagos region were minimal. Comparison between the TR163-22 SST record and an SST record from core TR163-19 North of the Equatorial Front reveals a largely similar broad-scale climate history, suggesting that changes in the Galápagos region were caused by large scale forcing rather than by local or regional dynamical changes. Changes in atmospheric greenhouse forcing are the most plausible explanation for the observed large-scale climate changes in the eastern equatorial Pacific.
  changes in the eastern equatorial Pacific.)
• Publication.KT05-7 PC02.Kawahata.2009  + (Sannai-Maruyama is one of the most famous …
  Sannai-Maruyama is one of the most famous and best-researched mid-Holocene (mid-Jomon) archaeological sites in Japan, because of a large community of people for a long period. Archaeological studies have shown that the Jomon people inhabited the Sannai-Maruyama site from 5.9-4.2 +/- 0.1 cal. kyr B.P. However, a continuous record of the terrestrial and marine environments around the site has not been available. Core KT05-7 PC-02, was recovered from Mutsu Bay, only 20 km from the site, for the reconstruction of high-resolution time series of environmental records, including sea surface temperature (SST). C37 alkenone SSTs showed clear fluctuations, with four periods of high (8.4-7.9, 7.0-5.9, 5.1-4.1, and 2.3-1.4 cal. kyr B.P.) and four of low (-8.4, 7.9-7.0, 5.9-5.1, and 4.1-2.3 cal. kyr B.P.) SST. Thus, each SST cycle lasted 1.0-2.0 kyr, and the amplitude of fluctuation was about 1.5-2.0 °C. Total organic carbon (TOC) and C37 alkenone contents, and the TOC/total nitrogen ratio indicate that marine biogenic production was low before 7.0 cal. kyr B.P., but was clearly increased between 5.9 and 4.0 cal. kyr B.P., because of stronger vertical mixing. During the period when the community at the site prospered (between 5.9 and 4.2 +/- 0.1 cal. kyr B.P.), the terrestrial climate was relatively warm. The high relative abundance of pollen of both Castanea and Quercus subgen. Cyclobalanopsis supports the interpretation that the local climate was optimal for human habitation. Between 5.9 and 5.1 cal. kyr B.P., in spite of warm terrestrial climates, the C37 alkenone SST was low; this apparent discrepancy may be attributed to the water column structure in the Tsugaru Strait, which differed from the modern condition. The evidence suggests that at about 5.9 cal. kyr B.P, high productivity of marine resources such as fish and shellfish and a warm terrestrial climate led to the establishment of a human community at the Sannai-Maruyama site. Then, at about 4.1 +/- 0.1 cal. kyr B.P., abrupt marine and terrestrial cooling, indicated by a decrease of about 2 °C in the C37 alkenone SST and an increase in pollen of taxa of cooler climates, led to a reduced terrestrial food supply, causing the people to abandon the site. The timing of the abandonment is consistent with the timing (around 4.0-4.3 cal. kyr B.P.) of the decline of civilizations in north Mesopotamia and along the Yangtze River. These findings suggest that a temperature rise of ~2 °C in this century as a result of global warming could have a great impact on the human community and especially on agriculture, despite the advances of contemporary society.
  pite the advances of contemporary society.)
• Publication.10.1029/2006GC001514  + (Sea surface temperature and oxygen isotopi …
  Sea surface temperature and oxygen isotopic records from two well-dated Indian Ocean cores covering the last deglaciation show the occurrence of two periods of increased salinity along the route of warm surface water transport from the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean, one between 18 and 14.5 ka and the other during the Younger Dryas. Our results imply that during these periods, salt accumulated in the tropical Atlantic, creating favorable conditions for an abrupt resumption of the thermohaline circulation and abrupt northern hemisphere warming. Furthermore, we suggest that the observed pattern of millennial climate variability during the last glacial and deglaciation resulted from the interaction between the relatively slow rhythm of expansion and decay of the northern hemisphere ice sheets, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation variability, through changes in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. This interaction generated an oscillator with millennial time response that operated at times of sufficient northern hemisphere ice sheets extent.
  ent northern hemisphere ice sheets extent.)
• Publication.MD01-2412.Harada.2006  + (Sea-ice expansion in the Okhotsk Sea in wi …
  Sea-ice expansion in the Okhotsk Sea in winter is sensitively affected by global warming and cooling. Regionally, the southwestern Okhotsk Sea is closely linked to climate change in East Asia, including Japan, because the cold sea surface temperature (SST) in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea influences directly the development of the Okhotsk atmospheric high-pressure system, and the activated Okhotsk high causes cold climatic conditions in northern Japan. Therefore, environmental change in the Okhotsk Sea indicates two-way interactions as a sensitive mirror reflecting global climate change and as a driving force of regional climate change. To better understand how surface environmental changes in the Okhotsk Sea can influence climate change in East Asia, SSTs were estimated in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea for the past 120 ky with millennial to centennial time resolution using the long-chain unsaturated alkyl ketone (alkenone) thermometer. The alkenone temperature, which corresponds to the SST to 20 m depth in autumn, showed repeated abrupt changes at a centennial timescale, especially during the last glacial period, 20ŋ60 ky before present (BP). The alkenone temperature changed concurrently with changes from interstadials (warm events) to stadials (cold events) in the d18O record of the ice cores from Greenland, although some interstadials could not be identified in the alkenone temperature record. A wavelet power spectrum analysis showed that a periodicity of about 8 ky was prominent during 10ŋ90 ky BP, and a 4- to 5-ky cycle was characteristic during 30ŋ40 ky BP in the alkenone temperature records. These periodicities were both similar and dissimilar to those in the Polar Circulation Index, which is based on the atmospheric circulation intensity at high latitudes, as recorded by major-ion concentrations in GISP2. Both the similarity and dissimilarity imply that the SST in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea is controlled mainly by the atmosphereŋocean circulation system in the Northern Hemisphere; however, the relationship between the SST in the Okhotsk Sea and the climate in the Greenland is not linear. Anomalously high alkenone temperatures occurred repeatedly in the glacial period. These warm alkenone temperature episodes would have had multiple causes. In particular, high alkenone temperatures during the last glacial maximum (LGM) have been reported previously for locations near this study site. More investigations are necessary to understand what happened in the Okhotsk Sea and in adjacent seas at the time of the LGM.
  d in adjacent seas at the time of the LGM.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.06.006  + (Sea-surface (based on Globigerinoides ruber sensu stricto Mg/Ca ratios) and thermocline (based on Pulleniatina obliquiloculata Mg/ca ratios) temperature reconstruction from sediment core MD05-2904 located in the northern SCS for the last 25,000 years.)
• Publication.10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00545-3  + (Sediment core GeoB 1023-5 from the eastern …
  Sediment core GeoB 1023-5 from the eastern South Atlantic was investigated at high temporal resolution for variations of sea-surface temperature (SST) during the past 22 kyr, using the alkenone (UK′37) method. SSTs increased by 3.5°C from about 18°C during the Last Ice Age (21±2 cal kyr BP) to about 21.5°C at 14.5 cal kyr BP. This warming trend associated with the deglaciation phase was followed by a cooling event with lowest SSTs near 20°C, persisting for about 1000 years between 13 and 12 cal kyr BP. The SSTs then continued to increase to about 22.5°C at the Holocene climatic optimum at 7 cal kyr BP, and decreased again during the Late Holocene to a core-top value of 19.8°C that is comparable to modern annual mean SST values. When compared with alkenone SST records from the eastern North Atlantic, our SST record indicates continuous warming throughout the deglaciation phase in the Benguela Current, while its northern counterpart, the Canary Current, experienced prominent cooling during ‘Heinrich Event 1’ (H1). On the other hand, for the time period corresponding to the ‘Younger Dryas’ (YD) cooling event, the Benguela SST record exhibits a cold-temperature interval that corresponds to that observed in the eastern North Atlantic SST records. This observation suggests that interhemispheric climate response in Atlantic eastern boundary current systems was different with respect to the two abrupt climate events associated with Termination I. For the H1, the eastern South Atlantic SST record strongly supports the hypothesis that an ‘anti-phase’ thermal behavior in South Atlantic surface waters was forced by the slowdown of the North Atlantic Deep Water formation during cold spells in the North Atlantic. In contrast, the abrupt cooling in the eastern South Atlantic coincident with the YD period was probably induced by more vigorous global atmospheric circulation, enhancing the upwelling intensity in both eastern boundary current systems. This atmospheric control may have overridden any effect caused by changes in thermohaline circulation on the South Atlantic SSTs during the YD, which leads to the assumption that the thermohaline circulation was already much closer to its interglacial mode during the YD than during the H1.
  ial mode during the YD than during the H1.)
• Publication.10.1038/ngeo2603  + (The Indian monsoon, the largest monsoon sy …
  The Indian monsoon, the largest monsoon system on Earth, responds to remote climatic forcings, including temperature changes in the North Atlantic. The monsoon was weak during two cool periods that punctuated the last deglaciation - Heinrich Stadial 1 and the Younger Dryas. It has been suggested that sea surface cooling in the Indian Ocean was the critical link between these North Atlantic stadials and monsoon failure; however, based on existing proxy records it is unclear whether surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea dropped during these intervals. Here we compile new and existing temperature proxy data from the Arabian Sea, and find that surface temperatures cooled whereas subsurface temperatures warmed during both Heinrich Stadial 1 and the Younger Dryas. Our analysis of model simulations shows that surface cooling weakens the monsoon winds and leads to destratification of the water column and substantial subsurface warming. We thus conclude that sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean are indeed the link between North Atlantic climate and the Indian monsoon.
  h Atlantic climate and the Indian monsoon.)
• Publication.10.1002/2015PA002802  + (The advection of relatively fresh Java Sea …
  The advection of relatively fresh Java Sea water through the Sunda Strait is presently responsible for the low-salinity "tongue" in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean with salinities as low as 32 per mil. The evolution of the hydrologic conditions in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean since the last glacial period, when the Sunda shelf was exposed and any advection via the Sunda Strait was cutoff, and the degree to which these conditions were affected by the Sunda Strait opening are not known. Here we have analyzed two sediment cores (GeoB 10042-1 and GeoB 10043-3) collected from the eastern tropical Indian Ocean off the Sunda Strait that cover the past ~40,000?years. We investigate the magnitude of terrigenous supply, sea surface temperature (SST), and seawater d18O (d18Osw) changes related to the sea level-driven opening of the Sunda Strait. Our new spliced records off the Sunda Strait show that during the last glacial, average SST was cooler and d18Osw was higher than elsewhere in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean. Seawater d18O decreased ~0.5 per mil after the opening of the Sunda Strait at ~10 kyr B.P. accompanied by an SST increase of 1.7°C. We suggest that fresher sea surface conditions have persisted ever since due to a continuous transport of low-salinity Java Sea water into the eastern tropical Indian Ocean via the Sunda Strait that additionally increased marine productivity through the concomitant increase in terrigenous supply.
  oncomitant increase in terrigenous supply.)
• Publication.10.1038/nature09751  + (The disintegration of ice shelves, reduced …
  The disintegration of ice shelves, reduced sea-ice and glacier extent, and shifting ecological zones observed around Antarctica (Cook et al., 2005; Stammerjohn et al., 2008) highlight the impact of recent atmospheric (Steig et al., 2009) and oceanic warming (Gille, 2002) on the cryosphere. Observations (Cook et al., 2005; Stammerjohn et al., 2008) and models (Pollard and DeConto, 2009) suggest that oceanic and atmospheric temperature variations at Antarctica's margins affect global cryosphere stability, ocean circulation, sea levels and carbon cycling. In particular, recent climate changes on the Antarctic Peninsula have been dramatic, yet the Holocene climate variability of this region is largely unknown, limiting our ability to evaluate ongoing changes within the context of historical variability and underlying forcing mechanisms. Here we show that surface ocean temperatures at the continental margin of the western Antarctic Peninsula cooled by 3-4 °C over the past 12,000?years, tracking the Holocene decline of local (65° S) spring insolation. Our results, based on TEX86 sea surface temperature (SST) proxy evidence from a marine sediment core, indicate the importance of regional summer duration as a driver of Antarctic seasonal sea-ice fluctuations (Huybers and Denton, 2008, doi:10.1038/ngeo311). On millennial timescales, abrupt SST fluctuations of 2-4 °C coincide with globally recognized climate variability (Mayewski et al., 2004, doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2004.07.001). Similarities between our SSTs, Southern Hemisphere westerly wind reconstructions (Moreno et al., 2010, doi:10.1130/G30962.1) and El Niño/Southern Oscillation variability (Conroy et al., 2008, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.02.015) indicate that present climate teleconnections between the tropical Pacific Ocean and the western Antarctic Peninsula (Yuan et al., 2004, doi:10.1017/S0954102004002238) strengthened late in the Holocene epoch. We conclude that during the Holocene, Southern Ocean temperatures at the western Antarctic Peninsula margin were tied to changes in the position of the westerlies, which have a critical role in global carbon cycling (Moreno et al., 2010, doi:10.1130/G30962.1; Anderson et al., 2009, doi:10.1126/science.1167441).
  t al., 2009, doi:10.1126/science.1167441).)
• Publication.10.1073/pnas.1222804110  + (The dominant controls on global paleomonso …
  The dominant controls on global paleomonsoon strength include summer insolation driven by precession cycles, ocean circulation through its influence on atmospheric circulation, and sea-surface temperatures. However, few records from the summer North American Monsoon system are available to test for a synchronous response with other global monsoons to shared forcings. In particular, the monsoon response to widespread atmospheric reorganizations associated with disruptions of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during the deglacial period remains unconstrained. Here, we present a high-resolution and radiometrically dated monsoon rainfall reconstruction over the past 22,000 y from speleothems of tropical southwestern Mexico. The data document an active Last Glacial Maximum (18-24 cal ka B.P.) monsoon with similar d18O values to the modern, and that the monsoon collapsed during periods of weakened AMOC during Heinrich stadial 1 (ca. 17 ka) and the Younger Dryas (12.9-11.5 ka). The Holocene was marked by a trend to a weaker monsoon that was paced by orbital insolation. We conclude that the Mesoamerican monsoon responded in concert with other global monsoon regions, and that monsoon strength was driven by variations in the strength and latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which was forced by AMOC variations in the North Atlantic Ocean. The surprising observation of an active Last Glacial Maximum monsoon is attributed to an active but shallow AMOC and proximity to the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The emergence of agriculture in southwestern Mexico was likely only possible after monsoon strengthening in the Early Holocene at ca. 11 ka.
  hening in the Early Holocene at ca. 11 ka.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.012  + (The drivers of Mesoamerican monsoon variab …
  The drivers of Mesoamerican monsoon variability over the last two millennia remain poorly known because of a lack of precisely-dated and climate-calibrated proxy records. Here, we present a new high resolution (∼2 yrs) and precisely-dated ( 4 yr) wet season hydroclimate reconstruction for the Mesoamerican sector of the North American Monsoon over the past 2250 years based on two aragonite stalagmites from southwestern Mexico which replicate oxygen isotope variations over the 950–1950 CE interval. The reconstruction is quantitatively calibrated to instrumental rainfall variations in the Basin of Mexico. Comparisons to proxy indices of ocean-atmosphere circulation show a synergistic forcing by the North Atlantic and El Niño/Southern Oscillations, whereby monsoon strengthening coincided with a La Niña-like mode and a negative North Atlantic Oscillation, and vice versa for droughts. Our data suggest that weak monsoon intervals are associated with a strong North Atlantic subtropical high pressure system and a weak Intertropical convergence zone in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Population expansions at three major highland Mexico civilization of Teotihuacan, Tula, and Aztec Tenochtitlan were all associated with drought to pluvial transitions, suggesting that urban population growth was favored by increasing freshwater availability in the semi-arid Mexican highlands, and that this hydroclimatic change was controlled by Pacific and Atlantic Ocean forcing.
  led by Pacific and Atlantic Ocean forcing.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.11.001  + (The oceans mediate the response of global …
  The oceans mediate the response of global climate to natural and anthropogenic forcings. Yet for the Common Era (past 2000 years) global ocean sea surface temperature (SST) variations, and the underlying driving mechanisms, are poorly constrained. Here we present a global synthesis of Common Era SSTs derived solely from marine archives. The synthesis uses 57 individual SST reconstructions that meet strict quality control criteria. We find an SST cooling trend during 0-1800 CE that is robust against explicit tests for potential biases in the reconstructions. The surface cooling trend for 801-1800 CE is qualitatively consistent with an independent synthesis of terrestrial temperature reconstructions, and with SST simulated by an ensemble of climate model simulations using best estimates of past forcings. Single and cumulative forcing climate model simulations suggest that the ocean SST cooling trend is not a response to orbital forcing, which is globally weak over this interval, but rather to increased frequency of explosive volcanism in recent centuries. This finding provides support for the hypothesis that ocean dynamics transform episodic volcanic forcing into a centennial and global-scale cooling trend.
  centennial and global-scale cooling trend.)
• Publication.10.1038/ngeo2510  + (The oceans mediate the response of global …
  The oceans mediate the response of global climate to natural and anthropogenic forcings. Yet for the Common Era (past 2000 years) global ocean sea surface temperature (SST) variations, and the underlying driving mechanisms, are poorly constrained. Here we present a global synthesis of Common Era SSTs derived solely from marine archives. The synthesis uses 57 individual SST reconstructions that meet strict quality control criteria. We find an SST cooling trend during 0-1800 CE that is robust against explicit tests for potential biases in the reconstructions. The surface cooling trend for 801-1800 CE is qualitatively consistent with an independent synthesis of terrestrial temperature reconstructions, and with SST simulated by an ensemble of climate model simulations using best estimates of past forcings. Single and cumulative forcing climate model simulations suggest that the ocean SST cooling trend is not a response to orbital forcing, which is globally weak over this interval, but rather to increased frequency of explosive volcanism in recent centuries. This finding provides support for the hypothesis that ocean dynamics transform episodic volcanic forcing into a centennial and global-scale cooling trend.
  centennial and global-scale cooling trend.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.margeo.2010.06.003  + (The past variability of the South Asian Mo …
  The past variability of the South Asian Monsoon is mostly known from records of wind strength over the Arabian Sea while high-resolution paleorecords from regions of strong monsoon precipitation are still lacking. Here, we present records of past monsoon variability obtained from sediment core SK 168/GC-1, which was collected at the Alcock Seamount complex in the Andaman Sea. We utilize the ecological habitats of different planktic foraminiferal species to reconstruct freshwater-induced stratification based on paired Mg/Ca and d18O analyses and to estimate seawater d18O (d18Osw). The difference between surface and thermocline temperatures (delta T) and d18Osw (delta d18Osw) is used to investigate changes in upper ocean stratification. Additionally, Ba/Ca in G. sacculifer tests is used as a direct proxy for riverine runoff and sea surface salinity (SSS) changes related to monsoon precipitation on land. Our delta d18Osw time series reveals that upper ocean salinity stratification did not change significantly throughout the last glacial suggesting little influence of NH insolation changes. The strongest increase in temperature gradients between the mixed layer and the thermocline is recorded for the mid-Holocene and indicate the presence of a significantly shallower thermocline. In line with previous work, the d18Osw and Ba/Ca records demonstrate that monsoon climate during the LGM was characterized by a significantly weaker southwest monsoon circulation and strongly reduced runoff. Based on our data the South Asian Summer Monsoon (SAM) over the Irrawaddyy strengthened gradually after the LGM beginning at ~18 ka. This is some 3 kyrs before an increase of the Ba/Ca record from the Arabian Sea and indicates that South Asian Monsoon climate dynamics are more complex than the simple N-S displacement of the ITCZ as generally described for other regions. Minimum d18Osw values recorded during the mid-Holocene are in phase with Ba/Ca marking a stronger monsoon precipitation, which is consistent with model simulations.
  hich is consistent with model simulations.)
• Publication.10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.02.012  + (The past variability of the South Asian Mo …
  The past variability of the South Asian Monsoon is mostly known from records of wind strength over the Arabian Sea while high-resolution paleorecords from regions of strong monsoon precipitation are still lacking. Here, we present records of past monsoon variability obtained from sediment core SK 168/GC-1, which was collected at the Alcock Seamount complex in the Andaman Sea. We utilize the ecological habitats of different planktic foraminiferal species to reconstruct freshwater-induced stratification based on paired Mg/Ca and d18O analyses and to estimate seawater d18O (d18Osw). The difference between surface and thermocline temperatures (delta T) and d18Osw (delta d18Osw) is used to investigate changes in upper ocean stratification. Additionally, Ba/Ca in G. sacculifer tests is used as a direct proxy for riverine runoff and sea surface salinity (SSS) changes related to monsoon precipitation on land. Our delta d18Osw time series reveals that upper ocean salinity stratification did not change significantly throughout the last glacial suggesting little influence of NH insolation changes. The strongest increase in temperature gradients between the mixed layer and the thermocline is recorded for the mid-Holocene and indicate the presence of a significantly shallower thermocline. In line with previous work, the d18Osw and Ba/Ca records demonstrate that monsoon climate during the LGM was characterized by a significantly weaker southwest monsoon circulation and strongly reduced runoff. Based on our data the South Asian Summer Monsoon (SAM) over the Irrawaddyy strengthened gradually after the LGM beginning at ~18 ka. This is some 3 kyrs before an increase of the Ba/Ca record from the Arabian Sea and indicates that South Asian Monsoon climate dynamics are more complex than the simple N-S displacement of the ITCZ as generally described for other regions. Minimum d18Osw values recorded during the mid-Holocene are in phase with Ba/Ca marking a stronger monsoon precipitation, which is consistent with model simulations.
  hich is consistent with model simulations.)
• Publication.10.1029/2011PA002157  + (The prevailing paradigm of abrupt climate …
  The prevailing paradigm of abrupt climate change holds that rapid shifts associated with the most extreme climate swings of the last glacial cycle were forced by changes in the strength and northward extension of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), resulting in an abrupt reorganization of atmospheric circulation patterns with global teleconnections. To determine the timing of tropical Atlantic atmospheric circulation changes over the past 21 ka BP, we reconstruct high resolution sea surface temperature and d18OSW (a proxy for surface salinity) records based on Mg/Ca ratios and oxygen isotope measurements in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from a sediment core located on the western margin of the Florida Straits. As a proxy for meltwater discharge influence on Florida Straits surface water salinity, we also measured Ba/Ca ratios in G. ruber from the same core. Results show that riverine influence on Florida Straits surface water started by 17.2 ka BP and ended by 13.6 ka BP, 600 years before the start of the Younger Dryas (YD) cold interval. The initiation of the YD is marked by an abrupt increase in Florida Straits d18OSW values, indicating a shift to elevated sea surface salinity occurring in 130 years, most likely resulting from increased regional aridity and/or reduced precipitation. In order to resolve the timing of tropical atmospheric circulation change relative to AMOC variability across this transition, we compare the timing of surface water changes to a recently published record of Florida Current variability in the same core reconstructed from benthic oxygen isotope measurements. We find synchronous changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation on the transition into the YD, consistent with an abrupt reduction in AMOC as the driver of tropical Atlantic atmospheric circulation change at this time.
  mospheric circulation change at this time.)