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Vertical thermal structure history in the western subtropical North Pacific since the Last Glacial Maximum
Author(s) -
Sagawa Takuya,
Yokoyama Yusuke,
Ikehara Minoru,
Kuwae Michinobu
Publication year - 2011
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 - 10.1029/2010gl045827
Subject(s) - subtropics , geology , glacial period , climatology , last glacial maximum , oceanography , paleontology , fishery , biology
Variations in sea surface temperature (SST) and vertical thermal structure in the western subtropical North Pacific, which has the largest air‐sea heat flux of the world's oceans, provide insights into the mechanisms of climate change related to air‐sea interactions. Here, we present planktonic δ 18 O and Mg/Ca records from the western subtropical gyre of the North Pacific spanning the last 30 kyrs. The results indicate that subtropical SSTs were approximately 3°C lower during the last glacial than in the Holocene interglacial, indicating that glacial cooling occurred uniformly in the low to mid‐latitudes of the western North Pacific. A decrease in intermediate depth temperatures at the late glacial suggests that the formation and/or advection of the subtropical mode water was enhanced due to a strong East Asian winter monsoon. The results suggest that the change in the thermal structure of the subtropical gyre was related to changes in East Asian monsoon activity.