Reconstruction of Antarctic climate change using ice core proxy records from the coastal Dronning Maud Land,East Antarctica

Antarctic ice core records have provided unprecedented information on past climatic changes and forcing factors on decadal to millennial timescales. The glaciochemical and stable isotope records of a shallow ice core from the coastal Dronning Maud Land (East Antarctica) were used here to reconstruct the coastal Antarctic environmental variability during the past ∼470 years. Sea salt ion data indicate a significant additional contribution of chloride ions compared to sea water values, possibly through atmospheric scavenging. The nitrate (NO₃ ⁻) profile exhibit significant temporal shifts than that of the sulphate (SO₄ ²⁻), with a major shift around 1750 AD. The changes in NO₃ ⁻ record are synchronous with the proxy record of solar activity (¹⁰Be profile from a South Pole ice core), suggesting enhanced NO₃ ⁻ values during periods of reduced solar activity like the Dalton Minimum (∼1790–1830 AD) and Maunder Minimum (∼1640–1710 AD). The δ¹⁸O records reveal that the more negative δ¹⁸O values were coeval with several events of increased NO₃ ⁻ concentrations, suggesting enhanced preservation of NO₃ ⁻ during periods of reduced air temperatures. The δ¹⁸O and δD records of the core also suggest significant short-term and long-tem variability with more negative values indicating relatively lower air temperatures prior to 1715 AD. The δ¹⁸O records also revealed a significant warming of 2.7°C for the past 470 years, with a warming of ∼0.6°C per century.     

Centennial-scale Asian monsoon variability during the mid-Younger Dryas from Qingtian Cave,central China

The regional climate correlation within the Northern Hemisphere in the cold/dry mid-Younger Dryas event (YD) remains elusive. A key to unraveling this issue is sufficient knowledge of the detailed climate variability at the low latitudes. Here we present a high-resolution (3-yr) δ¹⁸O record of an annually laminated stalagmite from central China that reveals a detailed Asian monsoon (AM) history from 13.36 to 10.99 ka. The YD in this record is expressed as three phases, characterized by gradual onsets but rapid ends. During the mid-YD, the AM variability exhibited an increasing trend superimposed by three centennial oscillations, well-correlated to changes in Greenland temperatures. These warming/wetting fluctuations show a periodicity of ~ 200 yr, generally in agreement with centennial changes in cosmogenic nuclides indicated by the ¹⁰Be flux from the Greenland ice. This relationship implies that centennial-scale climate changes during the mid-YD are probably caused by solar output and rapidly transported over broad regions through atmosphere reorganization.     

Spatial variations of monsoonal rain in eastern China: Instrumental, historic and speleothem records

We select four caves and their nearby cities in the monsoonal region of China for studying the relationships among precipitation, temperature, summer monsoon intensity and stalagmite δ¹⁸O. The instrumental, historic and stalagmite δ¹⁸O records from these areas show strong spatial disparities on annual to decadal scales, so that climatic conditions in a single location cannot represent these of the entire eastern China. On time scales <500 years, stronger summer monsoon may lead to higher rainfall in some locations but not over eastern China. Correlation between the summer monsoon strength and precipitation is not only location-dependent but also changes with time. One may not use the paleoclimatic pattern of cold–dry and warm–wet on glacial/interglacial ages throughout all time scales for climatic conditions in the monsoonal region. On centennial to millennial scales, stalagmite δ¹⁸O variation trend from eastern China resemble solar irradiance with lighter δ¹⁸O corresponding to increased solar irradiance, and vice versa. The similar trends may reflect climatic feedbacks link to solar forcing to cause changes in the summer monsoon intensity and/or in monsoonal circulation. Changes in monsoonal circulation and intensity affect (1) summer rainfall intensity, (2) summer/winter precipitation ratio, or (3) ratio of moisture from Indian/Pacific oceans, or a combination of the three. Thus, a speleothem δ¹⁸O record may not be proper to be used as a proxy of paleo-precipitation amount, especially on short time scales. Based on the four stalagmite δ¹⁸O records during the last 2000 years, EASM strength decreased from AD 200 to AD 500, and from AD 1300 to AD 1600 (the 1st half of the Little Ice Age), whereas EASM strength increased from AD 1600 to AD 1900 (the 2nd half of the Little Ice Age). The EASM strength has weakened since early 1900’s.     

Speleothem‐derived Asian summer monsoon variations in Central China, 54–46 ka

The oxygen isotope signature (δ¹⁸O) of stalagmite SI3 collected from Shizi Cave in north‐east Sichuan Province provides an Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) record in Central China for the period 54–46 ka. The SI3 δ¹⁸O record clearly shows a negative δ¹⁸O excursion centred around 49.4 ka, which was reported in Hulu Cave in East China but not identified in the speleothem records from South‐west China. As a whole, this record displays a higher coherence with the two Hulu records from East China than with the speleothem δ¹⁸O records from South‐west China, suggesting that at 54–46 ka, Central China was influenced more by the East Asian Summer Monsoon than by the Indian Summer Monsoon. It also displays a significant negative δ¹⁸O excursion at 47.5–46.6 ka, which is not clearly documented in two other speleothem δ¹⁸O records previously reported from South‐west China. This suggests that details of the Greenland interstadial 12 warrant further investigations in future in monsoonal China. The SI3 δ¹⁸O record displays more significant centennial‐scale variations than the other four speleothem δ¹⁸O records from East and South‐west China, which may be due to the fact that the study site is closer to the north‐west boundary of the ASM and more sensitive to variations of the ASM than East and South‐west China. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoflood activity and climate change over the last 1400 years recorded by lake sediments in the north‐west European Alps

A high‐resolution sedimentological and geochemical study of a high‐altitude proglacial lake (Lake Blanc, Aiguilles Rouges, 2352 m a.s.l.) revealed 195 turbidites, 190 of which are related to flood events over the last 1400 years. We used the coarsest sediment fraction of each turbidite as a proxy for the intensity of each flood event. Because most flood events at this locality are triggered by localized summer convective precipitation events, the reconstructed sedimentary record reveals changes in the frequency and intensity of such events over the last millennium. Comparisons with other temperature, palaeohydrological and glacier reconstructions in the region suggest that the most intense events occurred during the warmest periods, i.e. during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (AD 800–1300) and the current period of global warming. On a multi‐decadal time scale, almost all the flood frequency peaks seem to correspond to warmer periods, whereas multi‐centennial variations in flood frequency appear to follow the regional precipitation pattern. Consequently, this new Alpine flood record provides further evidence of a link between climate warming and an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding on a multi‐decadal time scale, whereas the centennial variability in flood frequencies is related to regional precipitation patterns. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do paleoclimate proxies agree? A test comparing 19 late Holocene climate and sea‐ice reconstructions from Icelandic marine and lake sediments

Geochemical, mineralogical and biological indicators preserved in sediments are widely used to reconstruct past climate change, but proxies differ in the degree to which their utility as climate indicators has been validated via laboratory experiments, modern spatial calibrations, or down‐core comparisons with instrumental climate data. Multi‐proxy studies provide another means of evaluating interpretations of proxies. This paper presents a multi‐proxy assessment comparing 19 sub‐centennially resolved late Holocene proxy records, covering the period 300–1900 AD, from seven Icelandic marine and lacustrine core sites. We employ simple statistical comparisons between proxy reconstructions to evaluate their correlations over time and, ultimately, their utility as proxies for regional climate. Proxies examined include oxygen isotopic composition of benthic and planktonic foraminifera, abundance of the sea‐ice biomarker IP₂₅, allochthonous quartz in marine sediments (a proxy for drift ice around Iceland), marine carbonate abundance, total organic carbon concentration, chironomid assemblages, lacustrine biogenic silica and carbon/nitrogen ratios in lake sediments. Most of the examined proxy records, including temperature and sea‐ice proxies, correlate strongly with each other over multi‐centennial timescales, and thus do appear to record changes in regional climate. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climatic change during the last 4000 years in the southern Tarim Basin,Xinjiang, northwest China

In this study, a ca. 4000 cal. yr ancient lacustrine (or wetland) sediment record at the southern margin of Tarim Basin is used to reconstruct the history of climate change. Six radiocarbon dates on organic matter were obtained. δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of carbonate, pollen and sediment particle size were analysed for climate proxies. The proxies indicate that a drier climate prevailed in the area before ca. 1010 BC and during period 1010 BC–AD 500 climate then changed rapidly and continuously from dry to moist, but after about AD 500 climate generally shows dry condition. Several centennial‐scale climatic events were revealed, with the wettest spell during AD 450–550, and a relatively wetter interval between AD 930–1030. Pollen results show that regional climate may influence human agricultural activities. Spectral analysis of mean grain size (MGS) proxy reveals statistically pronounced cyclic signals, such as ca. 200 yr, ca. 120 yr, ca. 90 yr, ca. 45 yr and ca. 33 or 30 yr, which may be associated with solar activities, implying that solar variability plays an important role in the decadal‐ and centennial‐scale climate variations in the study area. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A high-resolution speleothem proxy record of the Late Glacial in the European Alps: extending the NALPS19 record until the beginning of the Holocene

Previous research has shown that speleothems from the northern rim of the European Alps captured submillennial-scale climate change during the last glacial period with exceptional sensitivity and resolution, mimicking Greenland ice-core records. Here we extend this so-called NALPS19 record across the Late Glacial using two stalagmites which grew continuously into the Holocene. Both specimens show the same high-amplitude δ¹⁸O signal as Greenland ice cores down to decadal resolution. The start of the warming at the onset of the equivalent of Greenland Interstadial (GI) GI-1e at 14.66 ± 0.18 ka agrees with the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) (14.64 ± 0.28 ka) and comprised a temperature rise of about 5–6 °C. The transition from the equivalent of GI-1a into the equivalent of Greenland Stadial (GS) GS-1 (broadly equivalent to the Younger Dryas) commenced at 13.02 ± 0.13 ka which is consistent with NGRIP (12.80 ± 0.26 ka) within errors. The onset of the Holocene started at 11.78 ± 0.14 ka (11.65 ± 0.10 ka at NGRIP) and involved a warming of about 4–5 °C. In contrast to δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C values show no response to (sub)millennial climate shifts due to strong rock-buffering and only record a long-term trend of soil development starting with the rapid warming at 14.7 ka.     

Late Holocene environmental conditions in Coronation Gulf,southwestern Canadian Arctic Archipelago: evidence from dinoflagellate cysts,other non‐pollen palynomorphs,and pollen

Boxcore 99LSSL‐001 (68.095° N, 114.186° W; 211 m water depth) from Coronation Gulf represents the first decadal‐scale marine palynology and late Holocene sediment record for the southwestern part of the Northwest Passage. The record was studied for organic‐walled microfossils (dinoflagellate cysts, non‐pollen palynomorphs), pollen, terrestrial spores, and sediment characteristics. ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and three accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates constrain the chronology. Three prominent palaeoenvironmental zones were identified. During the interval AD 1470–1680 (Zone I), the climate was warmer and wetter than at present, and environmental conditions were more favourable to biological activity and northward boreal forest migration, with reduced sea‐ice and a longer open‐water (growing) season. The interval AD 1680–1940 (Zone II) records sea‐ice increase, and generally cool, polar conditions during the Little Ice Age. During AD 1940–2000 (Zone III), organic microfossils indicate an extended open‐water season and decreased sea‐ice, with suggested amelioration surpassing that of Zone I. Although more marine studies are needed to place this record into an appropriate context, the succession from ameliorated (Zone I) to cooler, sea‐ice influenced conditions (Zone II) and finally to 20th‐century warming (Zone III) corresponds well with several terrestrial climatic records from the neighbouring mainland and Victoria Island, and with lower‐resolution marine records to the west. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variation of summer precipitation δ18O on the Chinese Loess Plateau since the last interglacial

Orbital-scale East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) variations inferred from loess deposits in northern China and speleothems from southern China display different dominant periods, complicating our understanding of monsoon response to insolation and ice-volume forcings. Here we integrate a new microcodium δ¹⁸O record from a high-resolution last interglacial loess profile with previously published data and provide a composite microcodium δ¹⁸O record on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) since the last interglacial. The composite microcodium δ¹⁸O record displays distinct precessional cycles, consistent with speleothem δ¹⁸O records, but with different amplitude contrast (particularly during the peak interglacials). We propose that both loess and speleothem δ¹⁸O records exhibit covariations at precessional timescale oscillations. The discrepancy between loess and speleothem from southern China can be attributed to the influences of other processes besides summer precipitation on the proxies. A slight difference in amplitude between microcodium and speleothem δ¹⁸O records implies that the EASM is also influenced by inland surface boundary conditions, which has important impacts on the occurrence of EASM precipitation. Therefore, microcodium δ¹⁸O from the Chinese loess–paleosol sequences can be regarded as a representative proxy of EASM precipitation in northern China and then a reliable proxy reflecting the variation of EASM intensity.     

近1 000年来百年尺度亚洲季风降水变化和太阳活动的机制联系

太阳活动与地球气候系统之间的关系一直是全球变化研究的热点,但是对于两者联系机制的认识仍存在不足。本文选取贵州董哥洞高分辨率和高精度定年的石笋氧同位素（δ18O）记录,探索近1 000年以来亚洲夏季风降水、北半球温度与太阳活动之间的关系,进而探讨亚洲夏季风的变化机制。通过功率谱和小波分析,发现太阳活动,北半球温度和亚洲季风变化均存在显著的准200年周期行为。进一步提取并函数拟和准200年周期信号,对比发现太阳活动和北半球温度变化呈现同相位联系,但与亚洲季风变化呈现反相位关系,这一结果也得到了交叉谱分析结果的支持。上述对比结果支持太阳辐射变化调控北半球温度变化的观点,同时,揭示了太阳活动影响亚洲季风变化的复杂性。地球气候系统内部驱动机制和人类活动影响有可能调节或者改变太阳辐射与亚洲季风之间的联系机制。随着人类活动加强,尤其是温室气体排放加剧,很有可能影响对流层径向温度梯度的变化,从而增加亚洲季风变化预测的不可预知性。      

Asian Hydroclimate Changes and Mechanisms in the Preboreal from an Annually‐laminated Stalagmite,Daoguan Cave,Southern China

One-year-resolved and annually-counted stalagmite multi-proxies(δ~(18)O, δ~(13)C, and layer width) from Daoguan Cave, Guizhou Province revealed detailed variability regarding the Asian Summer Monsoon(ASM) and local humidity across Bond events(BE) in the Preboreal. During BEs 8 and 7, 1.5‰ enrichments in δ~(18)O values were generally consistent with high-to low-latitude climate changes. In detail, the decadal-scale minor δ~(18)O oscillations in BE8 were broadly less than the mean value, in contrast to the significant changes in local soil moisture derived from the δ~(13)C values and layer records. In the mid-BE7, δ~(18)O variability was generally above the average level, and higher-amplitude variations were observed in the three proxy indicators. Wavelet analysis on the total δ~(18)O time series and across the specific time windows of BEs 8 and 7 identified periodicities of about 130, 60, and 20-a, respectively. Exceptionally strong in BE7, the 60-a cycle, pervasively observed in instrumental studies, became prominent starting at 11.4 kaBP. Thus, glacial background conditions are important for suppressing the ASM intensity in BE8, while during BE7, tropical hydrological circulations were potentially actively involved. Consequently, climate internal oscillations, analogous to modern conditions, might have occurred in the distant past once the link between the tropical ocean and atmosphere was established as occurs today.     

Palaeoenvironmental changes of the last two millennia on the western and northern Svalbard shelf

The western and northern Svalbard continental margins (European Arctic) are environmentally sensitive areas that are dependent on the northward flow of Atlantic Water, the largest heat source of the Arctic Ocean. Two marine sediment records from the Svalbard shelf: Kongsfjorden Trough and Hinlopen Trough, were analysed with regard to the benthic foraminiferal content and lithology to assess the palaeoceanographic evolution during the past two millennia with decadal to multi‐decadal temporal resolution. In both records, an overall gradual decrease of E. excavatum f. clavata during the past two millennia reflects a change towards generally warmer and less glacially influenced conditions, presumably related to enhanced inflow of Atlantic Water (AW). The influence of AW also varied on centennial time scales, as evidenced by faunal and sedimentary shifts occurring almost synchronously at both locations. The period from AD 700 to 1200 was characterized by enhanced inflow of AW, followed by the development of highly productive oceanographic fronts at both localities from AD 1200 to 1500. In contrast, the subsequent interval (AD 1500–1900) shows particularly harsh conditions in the Hinlopen Trough, with significantly reduced foraminiferal flux and sediment input related to perennial sea ice cover. In Kongsfjorden, less severe conditions were observed, indicating that the AW advection continued. The synchronicity of changes in both records demonstrates the effect of the variability in inflow of AW to the Svalbard region during the past 2000 years. Moreover, the records seem to follow climate anomalies, for example the Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period, found in the North Atlantic realm.     

Comparison of Milankovitch periods between continental loess and deep sea records over the last 2.5 Ma

A high-resolution East Asian winter monsoon proxy record reconstructed from the Baoji loess section in China shows two major shifts in climate modes over the past 2.5 Ma, one occurring at about 1.7–1.6 Ma BP and the other at about 0.8–0.5 Ma BP. The 1.7–1.6 Ma shift is characterized by a rather abrupt transition of winter monsoon variability from various periodicities to dominant 41-ka cycles, and accompanied by a substantial increase in intensity of winter monsoon winds as manifested by an increase in average loess grain size. The 0.8–0.5 Ma event shows a relatively gradual transition from constant 41-ka cycles to predominant 100-ka climatic oscillations with a significant increase in amplitude. The 0.8–0.5 Ma shift matches that registered in deep-sea δ¹⁸O records, whereas the 1.7–1.6 Ma shift is absent in global ice volume changes. This comparison suggests that at about 1.6 Ma BP, the ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere may have reached a critical size, sufficient to modulate changes in the global climate system. The discrepancy of climate cyclicity between loess and deep-sea records over the 2.5–1.6 Ma interval suggests that the older Matuyama climate evolution cannot be understood simply by a regular 41 ka cycle model on a global scale. More long proxy records derived from continental deposits are needed.     

Decoupling of the East Asian summer monsoon and Indian summer monsoon between 20 and 17 ka

Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, with its profound environmental and climatic changes from before the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the last deglaciation, is an ideal period for understanding the evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM), two Asian monsoon sub-systems. With 875 stable oxygen isotope ratios and 43 ²³⁰Th dates from stalagmites in Sanxing Cave, southwestern China, we construct and interpret a new, replicated, Asian summer monsoon (ASM) record covering 30.9–9.7 ka with decadal resolution. δ¹⁸O records from this site and other reported Chinese caves display similar long-term orbitally dominated trends and synchronous millennial-scale strong and weak monsoonal events associated with climate changes in high northern latitudes. Interestingly, Sanxing δ¹⁸O and Arabian Sea records show a weakening ISM from 22 to 17 ka, while the Hulu and Qingtian records from East and Central China express a 3-ka intensifying EASM from 20 to 17 ka. This decoupling between EASM and ISM may be due to different sensitivities of the two ASM sub-systems in response to internal feedback mechanisms associated with the complex geographical or land-ocean configurations.     

Environmental responses to Lateglacial climatic fluctuations recorded in the sediments of pre‐Alpine Lake Mondsee (northeastern Alps)

Investigation of the sedimentary record of pre‐Alpine Lake Mondsee (Upper Austria) focused on the environmental reaction to rapid Lateglacial climatic changes. Results of this study reveal complex proxy responses that are variable in time and influenced by the long‐term evolution of the lake and its catchment. A new field sampling approach facilitated continuous and precisely controlled parallel sampling at decadal to sub‐annual resolution for µ‐XRF element scanning, carbon geochemistry, stable isotope measurements on ostracods, pollen analyses and large‐scale thin sections for microfacies analysis. The Holocene chronology is established through microscopic varve counting and supported by accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating of terrestrial plant macrofossils, whereas the Lateglacial age model is based on δ¹⁸O wiggle matching with the Greenland NGRIP record, using the GICC05 chronology. Microfacies analysis enables the detection of subtle sedimentological changes, proving that depositional processes even in rather large lake systems are highly sensitive to climate forcing. Comparing periods of major warming at the onset of the Lateglacial and Holocene and of major cooling at the onset of the Younger Dryas reveals differences in proxy responses, reflecting threshold effects and ecosystem inertia. Temperature increase, vegetation recovery, decrease of detrital flux and intensification of biochemical calcite precipitation at the onset of the Holocene took place with only decadal leads and lags over a ca. 100 a period, whereas the spread of woodlands and the reduction of detrital flux lagged the warming at the onset of the Lateglacial Interstadial by ca. 500–750 a. Cooling at the onset of the Younger Dryas is reflected by the simultaneous reaction of δ¹⁸O and vegetation, but sedimentological changes (reduction of endogenic calcite content, increase in detrital flux) were delayed by about 150–300 a. Three short‐term Lateglacial cold intervals, corresponding to Greenland isotope substages GI‐1d, GI‐1c2 and GI‐1b, also show complex proxy responses that vary in time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental change over the last millennium recorded in two contrasting crater lakes in western Uganda,eastern Africa (Lakes Kasenda and Wandakara)

The last millennium is a key period for understanding environmental change in eastern Africa, as there is clear evidence of marked fluctuations in climate (effective moisture) that place modern concern with future climate change in a proper context, both in terms of environmental and societal impacts and responses. Here, we compare sediment records from two small, nearby, closed crater lakes in western Uganda (Lake Kasenda and Lake Wandakara), spanning the last 700 (Wandakara) and 1200 years (Kasenda) respectively. Multiproxy analyses of chemical sedimentary parameters (including C/N ratios, δ¹³C of bulk organic matter and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O of authigenic carbonates) and biotic remains (diatoms, aquatic macrofossils, chironomids) suggest that Kasenda has been sensitive to climate over much of this period, and has shown substantial fluctuations in conductivity, while Wandakara has a more muted response, likely due to the increasing dominance of human activity as a driver of change within the lake and catchment over the length of our record. Evidence from both records, however, supports the idea that lake levels were low from ～AD 700–1000 AD, with increasing aridity from AD 1100–1600, and brief wet phases around AD 1000 and 1400. Wetter conditions are recorded in the 1700s, but drought returned by the end of the century and into the early 1800s, becoming wetter again from the mid-1800s. Comparison with other records across eastern Africa suggests that while some events are widespread (e.g. aridity beginning ～ AD 1100), at other times there is a more complex spatial signature (e.g. in the 1200s to 1300s, and from the 1400s to 1600s). This study highlights the important role of catchment-specific factors (e.g. lakemorphometry, catchment size, and human impact) in modulating the sensitivity of proxies, and lake records, as indicators of environmental change, and potential hazards when regional inference is based on a single site or proxy.     

Deconvolving the δO seawater component from subseasonal coral δO and Sr/Ca at Rarotonga in the southwestern subtropical Pacific for the period 1726 to 1997

To reconstruct oceanographic variations in the subtropical South Pacific, 271-year long subseasonal time series of Sr/Ca and δ¹⁸O were generated from a coral growing at Rarotonga (21.5°S, 159.5°W). In this case, coral Sr/Ca appears to be an excellent proxy for sea surface temperature (SST) and coral δ¹⁸O is a function of both SST and seawater δ¹⁸O composition (δ¹⁸O_sw). Here, we focus on extracting the δ¹⁸O_sw signal from these proxy records. A method is presented assuming that coral Sr/Ca is solely a function of SST and that coral δ¹⁸O is a function of both SST and δ¹⁸O_sw. This method separates the effects of δ¹⁸O_sw from SST by breaking the instantaneous changes of coral δ¹⁸O into separate contributions by instantaneous SST and δ¹⁸O_sw changes, respectively. The results show that on average δ¹⁸O_sw at Rarotonga explains ∼39% of the variance in δ¹⁸O and that variations in SST explains the remaining ∼61% of δ¹⁸O variance. Reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw shows systematic increases in summer months (December-February) consistent with the regional pattern of variations in precipitation and evaporation. The δ¹⁸O_sw also shows a positive linear correlation with satellite-derived estimated salinity for the period 1980 to 1997 (r = 0.72). This linear correlation between reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw and salinity makes it possible to use the reconstructed δ¹⁸O_sw to estimate the past interannual and decadal salinity changes in this region. Comparisons of coral δ¹⁸O and δ¹⁸O_sw at Rarotonga with the Pacific decadal oscillation index suggest that the decadal and interdecadal salinity and SST variability at Rarotonga appears to be related to basin-scale decadal variability in the Pacific.     

Were last glacial climate events simultaneous between Greenland and France? A quantitative comparison using non‐tuned chronologies

Several large abrupt climate fluctuations during the last glacial have been recorded in Greenland ice cores and archives from other regions. Often these Dansgaard–Oeschger events are assumed to have been synchronous over wide areas, and then used as tie‐points to link chronologies between the proxy archives. However, it has not yet been tested independently whether or not these events were indeed synchronous over large areas. Here, we compare Dansgaard–Oeschger‐type events in a well‐dated record from southeastern France with those in Greenland ice cores. Instead of assuming simultaneous climate events between both archives, we keep their age models independent. Even these well‐dated archives possess large chronological uncertainties that prevent us from inferring synchronous climate events at decadal to multi‐centennial time scales. If possible, comparisons between proxy archives should be based on independent, non‐tuned time‐scales. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary moisture export across Central America and to Greenland: evidence for tropical rainfall variability from Costa Rican stalagmites

We present a high-resolution terrestrial archive of Central American rainfall over the period 100–24 and 8.1–6.5 ka, based on δ¹⁸O time series from U-series dated stalagmites collected from a cave on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Our results indicate substantial δ¹⁸O variability on millennial to orbital time scales that is interpreted to reflect rainfall variations over the cave site. Correlations with other paleoclimate proxy records suggest that the rainfall variations are forced by sea surface temperatures (SST) in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in a fashion analogous to the modern climate cycle. Higher rainfall is associated with periods of a warm tropical North Atlantic Ocean and large SST gradients between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Rainfall variability is likely linked to the intensity and/or latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Periods of higher rainfall in Costa Rica are also associated with an enhanced sea surface salinity gradient on either side of the isthmus, suggesting greater freshwater export from the Atlantic Basin when the ITCZ is stronger and/or in a more northerly position. Further, wet periods in Central America coincide with high deuterium excess values in Greenland ice, suggesting a direct link between low latitude SSTs, tropical rainfall, and moisture delivery to Greenland. Our results indicate that a stronger tropical hydrological cycle during warm periods and large inter-ocean SST gradients enhanced the delivery of low latitude moisture to Greenland.