High-resolution sea surface temperature and salinity dynamics in the northern Okinawa Trough over the last 24 kyr

• Published in: Palaeoworld
• Main Authors: Xu, Ye, Chang, Feng-Ming, Li, Tie-Gang, Li, Bao-Hua
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: ELSEVIER 2021
• Subjects: Planktonic foraminifera; Kuroshio Current; East China Sea; Millennial-scale climatic events; East Asian summer monsoon; SUMMER MONSOON PRECIPITATION; PLANKTONIC-FORAMINIFERA; OCEAN-CIRCULATION; LATE PLEISTOCENE; GREENLAND SNOW; OXYGEN-ISOTOPE; HOLOCENE; VARIABILITY; Paleontology; Greenland; Pacific; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://ir.nigpas.ac.cn/handle/332004/40162; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2020.12.005

Based on the high-resolution Mg/Ca and oxygen isotope ratio (818O) of planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber, sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity (SSS) were reconstructed in Core PC-1 from the northern Okinawa Trough during the last 24 kyr. From the last glacial maximum to Holocene, SST varied from 20.2 degrees C to 24.6 degrees C. Millennial-scale climatic events of the SST during the last glacial, such as the Heinrich events, Bolling-Allerod warming, and Younger Dryas, have been identified, which are synchronous with the climate changes in the North Atlantic, suggesting a teleconnection between the northwestern Pacific and the North Atlantic. During the last 24 kyr, the SSS variation can be divided into three parts: (1) during 21-15.5 ka, there was a significantly low SSS; (2) during 15.5- 11.7 ka, the SSS increased obviously; (3) since 11.7 ka, the SSS is relatively stable. In order to discuss the main factors influencing the SSS in the northern Okinawa Trough, the relative abundance of Pulleniatina obliquiloculata and the oxygen isotope difference between the northern and middle Okinawa Trough (D818Osw) have been used to indicate the intensity of the Kuroshio Current and Changjiang freshwater discharge, respectively. The D818Osw result shows that there is a large amount of Changjiang freshwater emptied into the northern Okinawa Trough during 18-15.5 ka, which is caused by the subtropical monsoon rain band lingering in the lower reaches of the Changjiang River drainage, supporting the Jet Transition Hypothesis. As the Kuroshio Current strengthened since 15.5 ka as indicated by the increased relative abundance of P. obliquiloculata, the variation of Kuroshio Current became the more important contribution to the SSS in the study region. The results of our study indicate that the key factor influencing the SSS in the northern Okinawa Trough is variable during the last 24 kyr. (c) 2020 Elsevier B.V. and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS. All rights reserved.