Mid to late-Holocene sea-surface temperature variability off north-eastern Newfoundland and its linkage to the North Atlantic Oscillation ...

• Main Authors: Orme, Lisa C, Miettinen, Arto, Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz, Tuominen, Kirsi, Pearce, Christof, Divine, Dmitry V, Oksman, Mimmi, Kuijpers, Antoon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: SAGE Journals 2020
• Subjects: Geography; History; Newfoundland; Labrador Sea; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25384/sage.c.5144562.v1; https://sage.figshare.com/collections/Mid_to_late-Holocene_sea-surface_temperature_variability_off_north-eastern_Newfoundland_and_its_linkage_to_the_North_Atlantic_Oscillation/5144562/1

In recent decades the surface water temperature and salinity in the Labrador Sea have been influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), as well as a trend to increasingly warm atmospheric temperatures in recent years. These changes are concerning, given the important role that temperature and salinity have on deep convection in the Labrador Sea. Yet, due to the shortness of available records, the long-term patterns of climate variability in the region are not clear. Here, a diatom-based reconstruction of summer sea-surface temperature (SST) developed from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, provides insight into variations of SST since 7.2 cal ka BP in the southwestern Labrador Sea. The results show that the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) lasted until c. 5.2 cal ka BP, which was followed by a gradual cooling trend overprinted by centennial temperature fluctuations of 1–2°C. Long-term cooling was likely the result of declining Northern Hemisphere orbital summer ...