Glacial/interglacial sea surface temperature changes in the Southwest Pacific ocean over the past 360 ka

• Published in: Quaternary Science Reviews
• Main Authors: Tachikawa, Kazuyo, VIDAL, Laurence, SONZOGNI, Corinne, Bard, Édouard
• Other Authors: Chaire Evolution du climat et de l'océan, Centre européen de recherche et d'enseignement des géosciences de l'environnement (CEREGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Collège de France (CdF (institution))-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Pacific; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01463324; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.12.013

International audience The phase relationship between climate parameters during terminations gives insight into deglaciation mechanisms. By combining foraminiferal Mg/Ca and alkenone thermometers with planktonic and benthic foraminiferal delta O-18, we determined the phase relationship between local sea surface temperature (SST) and global seawater delta O-18 changes in the Coral Sea in the Southwestern Pacific over the last 360 ka. The onset of the SST warming preceded the seawater delta O-18 change by several ka for Termination I, II and III. During Termination I, the SST warming started at 20 ka BP, earlier than atmospheric CO2 rise suggesting that the greenhouse effect was not the main trigger of this early warming. Compilation of C-14-dated SST records from the whole Pacific during Termination I reveals that the onset of the warming is generally earlier in the Southern and the tropical Pacific than in the North Pacific. This spatio-temporal warming pattern suggests linkage between the southern ocean and tropical Pacific. The early tropical warming could provide heat and moisture to the northern high latitudes, modifying radiative balance and precipitation over ice sheets at the onset of deglaciation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.