Sea surface temperature estimation of the South Tasman Rise ...

• Main Authors: Sikes, Elisabeth L, Howard, William R, Samson, Catherine R, Mahan, T S, Robertson, L G, Volkman, John K
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2009
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.831975; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.831975

The Subtropical Front (STF) marking the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean has a steep gradient in sea surface temperature (SST) of approximately 4°C over 0.5° of latitude. Presently, in the region south of Tasmania, the STF lies nominally at 47°S in the summer and 45°S in the winter. We present here SST reconstructions in a latitudinal transect of cores across the South Tasman Rise, southeast of Australia, during the late Quaternary. SST reconstructions are based on two paleotemperature proxies, alkenones and faunal assemblages, which are used to assess past changes in SST in spring and summer. The north-south alignment in core locations allows reconstruction of movement of the STF over the last 100 ka. Surface water temperatures during the last glaciation in this region were ~4°C colder than today. Additional temperature changes greater in magnitude than 4°C seen in individual cores can be attributed to changes in the water mass overlying the core site caused by the movement of the front across that ... : Supplement to: Sikes, Elisabeth L; Howard, William R; Samson, Catherine R; Mahan, T S; Robertson, L G; Volkman, John K (2009): Southern Ocean seasonal temperature and Subtropical Front movement on the South Tasman Rise in the late Quaternary. Paleoceanography, 24(2), PA2201 ...