Equatorward shift of the subarctic boundary in the northwestern Pacific during the last deglaciation

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Yamamoto, M, Suemune, R, Oba, T
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Amer Geophysical Union 2005
• Subjects: Okhotsk; Pacific; Subarctic; Siberia
• Online Access: https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34087/32518.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL021903; https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00230/34087/

We have generated a high-resolution record of alkenone sea surface temperature (SST) between 10-24 ka from Core MD01-2421 off central Japan, in the northwestern Pacific. The cooling by 5 degrees C from 21 ka to 12.8 ka implies the equatorward shift of the subarctic boundary in the northwestern Pacific by similar to 2.8 degrees in latitude. This shift was a result of the stronger summer Okhotsk High. The Okhotsk High was likely enhanced by the combined effects of El Nino-like conditions in the tropical Pacific and the heating of the land surface of northeastern Siberia.