Description
Summary:Here, we have calculated new sea-surface temperature estimates over Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events 5-8 (c. 30-40 ka) from 14 sites in the North Atlantic, based on previously published planktic foraminifera relative abundance datasets. These proxy records suggest a large variability in North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures during DO-events of the last glacial period. However, proxy data availability is limited and cannot provide a full spatial picture of the oceanic changes. Therefore, we combine fully coupled, general circulation model simulations with the planktic foraminifera based sea-surface temperature reconstructions to obtain a broader spatial picture of the ocean state during DO-events 5-8. The resulting spatial sea-surface temperature patterns agree over a number of different general circulation models and simulations. We find that sea-surface temperature variability over the DO-events is characterized by colder conditions in the subpolar North Atlantic during stadials than during interstadials, and the variability is linked to changes in the AMOC, and in the sea-ice cover. Forced simulations are needed to capture the strength of the temperature variability and to reconstruct the variability in other climate records not directly linked to the sea-surface temperature reconstructions.