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Surface ocean temperatures in the north‐east Atlantic during the last 500 000 years: evidence from foraminiferal census data
Author(s) -
Kandiano Evguenia S.,
Bauch Henning A.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3121.2003.00488.x
Subject(s) - interglacial , sea surface temperature , geology , glacial period , oceanography , quaternary , climatology , δ18o , marine isotope stage , stable isotope ratio , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics
Changes in North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) are regarded as a key element of the climate during the Quaternary. However, there are relatively few long‐term records providing quantitative SST estimates from this region. Using planktic foraminiferal‐derived SSTs together with changes on species level and iceberg‐rafted debris, the last 500 ka were studied. Pronounced SST changes, as determined from the last glacial–interglacial cycle, characterize most colder periods. Peak interglacial temperatures were found for marine isotope stages (MIS) 1, 5e and 11, the latter two being the warmest. The warm substages within MIS 7 and 9 are marked by enhanced dissimilarity coefficients, indicating that SSTs obtained for these times appear to be overestimated. This is corroborated by differences within the species assemblage, which show enhanced cold water components. It is therefore concluded that detailed analysis down to species level is a crucial prerequisite to better reconstructions of SST.