Open AccessLast deglaciation in the Okinawa Trough: Subtropical northwest Pacific link to Northern Hemisphere and tropical climate
Author(s) -
Sun Youbin,
Oppo Delia W.,
Xiang Rong,
Liu Weiguo,
Gao Shu
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/2004pa001061
Subject(s) - holocene , deglaciation , geology , oceanography , trough (economics) , climatology , northern hemisphere , subtropics , westerlies , precipitation , geography , fishery , biology , meteorology , economics , macroeconomics
Detailed deglacial and Holocene records of planktonic δ 18 O and Mg/Ca–based sea surface temperature (SST) from the Okinawa Trough suggest that at ∼18 to 17 thousand years before present (kyr B.P.), late spring/early summer SSTs were approximately 3°C cooler than today, while surface waters were up to 1 practical salinity unit saltier. These conditions are consistent with a weaker influence of the summer East Asian Monsoon (EAM) than today. The timing of suborbital SST oscillations suggests a close link with abrupt changes in the EAM and North Atlantic climate. A tropical influence, however, may have resulted in subtle decoupling between the North Atlantic and the Okinawa Trough/EAM during the deglaciation. Okinawa Trough surface water trends in the Holocene are consistent with model simulations of an inland shift of intense EAM precipitation during the middle Holocene. Millennial‐scale alternations between relatively warm, salty conditions and relatively cold, fresh conditions suggest varying influence of the Kuroshio during the Holocene.