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Late 20th century warming and freshening in the central tropical Pacific
Author(s) -
Nurhati Intan S.,
Cobb Kim M.,
Charles Christopher D.,
Dunbar Robert B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl040270
Subject(s) - upwelling , oceanography , climatology , equator , convergence zone , tropics , tropical atlantic , sea surface temperature , coral , coral reef , climate change , tropical climate , global warming , geology , environmental science , geography , latitude , ecology , archaeology , biology , geodesy
Global climate models and analyses of instrumental datasets provide a wide range of scenarios for future tropical Pacific climate change, limiting the accuracy of regional climate projections. Coral records provide continuous reconstructions of tropical Pacific climate trends that are difficult to quantify using the short, sparse instrumental datasets available from the tropical Pacific. Here, we present coral‐based reconstructions of late 20th century sea‐surface temperature and salinity trends from several islands in the central tropical Pacific. The coral data reveal warming trends that increase towards the equator, implying a decrease in equatorial upwelling in the last decades. Seawater freshening trends on the southern edge of the Inter‐Tropical Convergence Zone suggest a strengthening and/or an equatorward shift of the convergence zone. Together, the new coral records support a late 20th century trend towards “El Niño‐like” conditions in the tropical Pacific, in line with the majority of coupled global climate model projections.