Southern Ocean contributions to the Eastern Equatorial Pacific heat content during the Holocene

Julie Kalansky, Yair Rosenthal, Timothy Herbert, Samantha Bova, Mark Altabet

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Temperature reconstructions from a shallow core (375 m) from the Peru Margin are used to test the influence of Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) on the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) thermostad and thus the effect of southern high latitude climate on interior ocean heat content (OHC). Temperature estimates, based on Mg/Ca measurements of planktonic and benthic foraminifera (Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Uvigerina spp., respectively) show higher temperatures in the early Holocene, a cooling of ~2° by 8 kyr B.P. and after relatively stable temperatures to the present. The temperature signal is similar in direction and timing to a rather robust Holocene climate signal from the southern high latitudes suggesting it originated there and was advected to the core site in the EEP. Based on the N. dutertrei and Uvigerina Mg/Ca temperature and δ13C records we conclude that SAMW acted as a conduit transporting the southern high latitude climate to the interior of the equatorial Pacific. We propose that the early Holocene warmth is related to a southward migration of the Subtropical Front, which enhanced the influence of warm subtropical water in the region of SAMW formation and was then transported to the EEP thermostad. The early Holocene warmth recorded in the EEP thermostad has a muted sea surface temperature expression indicating this mechanism is important for sequestering heat in the ocean interior.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)158-167
Number of pages10
JournalEarth and Planetary Science Letters
Volume424
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 5 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry and Petrology
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Space and Planetary Science

Keywords

  • Equatorial Pacific
  • Holocene
  • Ocean heat content
  • Paleoceanography
  • Southern Ocean

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