Compiled Southern Ocean sea surface temperatures correlate with Antarctic Isotope Maxima
The magnitude and spatial variability of millennial-scale changes in Southern Ocean temperature during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS-3) are poorly constrained. Here we present a compilation of 14 previously published high-resolution sea surface temperature records from 30S to 70S. At each site we re-c...
| Published in: | Quaternary Science Reviews |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106821 http://ecite.utas.edu.au/150358 |
| Summary: | The magnitude and spatial variability of millennial-scale changes in Southern Ocean temperature during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS-3) are poorly constrained. Here we present a compilation of 14 previously published high-resolution sea surface temperature records from 30S to 70S. At each site we re-calibrate radiocarbon dates and synchronise records with the Antarctic Ice Core Chronology 2012 and then determine the presence, amplitude and duration of millennial-scale warming that correspond to Antarctic Isotope Maximum (AIM) events. Individual sediment cores recorded warming during an average of 7 out of 10 AIM events. These warming events were then used as tie-points to refine the age models at each site before combining records into Southern Ocean and basin-wide averaged temperature anomaly records or stacks. The resulting stacks of Southern Ocean, Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Ocean basin temperature anomalies show a signal consistent with AIM events during MIS-3. Stacked amplitudes of warming are also positively correlated with the amplitude of temperature increases in the EPICA Dome C ice core (n=10, r 2 =0.65, p=0.001). Additionally, rates of warming in the Southern Ocean are consistent across all warming events. These findings are consistent with the thermal seesaw hypothesis, where a reduction in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation causes decreased cross-equatorial heat transport in the Atlantic resulting in heat accumulation in the south. Our results solidify the link between northern high latitude climate variability , Antarctic temperature and Southern Ocean surface temperature variability during MIS-3. This compilation of records with updated age models tied to the same ice core provides the first basin-scale synthesis of the sea surface temperature changes in the Southern Ocean during the rapid climate changes of MIS-3. |
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