Constraints on the magnitude and patterns of ocean cooling at the Last Glacial Maximum - Supplementary material

Observation-based reconstructions of sea surface temperature from relatively stable periods in the past, such as the Last Glacial Maximum, represent an important means of constraining climate sensitivity and evaluating model simulations. The first quantitative global reconstruction of sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum was developed by the Climate Long-Range Investigation, Mapping and Prediction (CLIMAP) project in the 1970s and 1980s. Since that time, several shortcomings of that earlier effort have become apparent. Here we present an updated synthesis of sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum, rigorously defined as the period between 23 and 19 thousand years before present, from the Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean Surface (MARGO) project. We integrate microfossil and geochemical reconstructions of surface temperatures and include assessments of the reliability of individual records. Our reconstruction reveals the presence of large longitudinal gradients in sea surface temperature in all of the ocean basins, in contrast to the simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum climate available at present.

Relative abundance of pteropod species of the plankton pump samples in the surface water of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (Table 4)

Plankton pump samples and plankton tows (size fractions between 0.04 mm and 1.01 mm) from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean contain the following shell- and skeleton-producing planktonic and nektonic organisms, which can be fossilized in the sediments: diatoms, radiolarians, foraminifers, pteropods, heteropods, larvae of benthic gastropods and bivalves, ostracods, and fish. The abundance of these components has been mapped quantitatively in the eastern North Atlantic surface waters in October - December 1971. More ash (after ignition of the organic matter, consisting mostly of these components) per cubic meter of water is found close to land masses (continents and islands) and above shallow submarine elevations than in the open ocean. Preferred biotops of planktonic diatoms in the region described are temperate shallow water and tropical coastal upwelling areas. Radiolarians rarely occur close to the continent, but are abundant in pelagic warm water masses, even near islands. Foraminifers are similar to the radiolarians, rarer in the coastal water mass of the continent than in the open ocean or off oceanic islands. Their abundance is highest outside the upwelling area off NW Africa. Molluscs generally outnumber planktonic foraminifers, implying that the carbonate cycle of the ocean might be influenced considerably by these animals. The molluscs include heteropods, pteropods, and larvae of benthic bivalves and gastropods. Larvae of benthic molluscs occur more frequently close to continental and island margins and above submarine shoals (in this case mostly guyots) than in the open ocean. Their size increases, but they decrease in number with increasing distance from their area of origin. Ostracods and fish have only been found in small numbers concentrated off NW Africa. All of the above-mentioned components occur in higher abundances in the surface water than in subsurface waters. They are closely related to the hydrography of the sampled water masses (here defined through temperature measurements). Relatively warm water masses of the southeastern branches of the Gulf Stream system transport subtropical and southern temperate species to the Bay of Biscay, relatively cool water masses of the Portugal and Canary Currents carry transitional faunal elements along the NW African coast southwards to tropical regions. These mix in the northwest African upwelling area with tropical faunal elements which are generally assumed to live in the subsurface water masses and which probably have been transported northwards to this area by a subsurface counter current. The faunas typical for tropical surface water masses are not only reduced due to the tongue of cool water extending southwards along the coast, but they are also removed from the coastal zone by the upwelling subsurface water masses carrying their own shell and skeleton assemblages. Tropical water masses contain much more shelland skeleton-producing plankters than subtropical and temperate ones. The climatic conditions found at different latitudes control the development and intensity of a separate continental coastal water mass with its own plankton assemblages. Extent of this water mass and steepness of gradients between the pelagic and coastal environment limit the occurrence of pelagic plankton close to the continental coast. A similar water mass in only weakly developed off oceanic islands.

Planktic foraminiferal abundance and stable oxygen isotope ratios of sediment cores from the Southern California Borderlands

A variety of evidence suggests that average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during the last glacial maximum in the California Borderlands region were significantly colder than during the Holocene. Planktonic foraminiferal delta18O evidence and average SST estimates derived by the modern analog technique indicate that temperatures were 6°-10°C cooler during the last glacial relative to the present. The glacial plankton assemblage is dominated by the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral coiling) and the coccolith Coccolithus pelagicus, both of which are currently restricted to subpolar regions of the North Pacific. The glacial-interglacial average SST change determined in this study is considerably larger than the 2°C change estimated by Climate: Long-Range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP) [1981]. We propose that a strengthened California Current flow was associated with the advance of subpolar surface waters into the Borderlands region during the last glacial.

Stable isotope record of foraminifera from sediment core EW9209-1JPC

Stable isotopic measurements of G. sacculifer and C. wuellerstorfi in a core from the western equatorial Atlantic imply that there are parallel, suborbital oscillations in surface water hydrography and deep water circulation occurring during oxygen isotope stages 2 and 3. Low values of G. sacculifer delta18O accompany high values of C. wuellerstorfi delta13C, linking warmer sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropics with increased production of lower North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). The amplitude of the delta18O oscillations is 0.6 per mil (or 2°-3°C), which is superimposed on a glacial/interglacial amplitude of about 2.1per mil. Using the G. sacculifer delta18O data, we calculate that surface waters were colder during stage 2 than calculated by CLIMAP [1976, 1981]. The longer-period (>2 kyr) oscillations in air temperature recorded in the Greenland and Antarctic ice cores appear to correlate with oscillations in sea surface temperature in the equatorial Atlantic. The magnitude of these oscillations in tropical SST is too large to have resulted from changes in meridional heat transport caused by the global conveyor alone. The apparent synchroneity of equatorial SST and polar air temperature changes, as well as the amplitude of the SST changes at the equator, are consistent with the climate effects expected from changes in the atmosphere's greenhouse gas content (H2Ovapor, CO2, and CH4).

Oxygen isotope composition of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber in sediment core GeoB1413 from the eastern edge of the South Atlantic central gyre

Die Paläozeanographie versucht die Klimageschichte des Quartärs zu rekonstruieren und die Zusammenhänge zwischen Klimaänderungen und ozeanischer Zirkulation besser zu verstehen. Ein wichtiges Hilfsmittel stellen die planktischen Foraminiferen dar. Die Analyse planktischer Foraminiferengemeinschaften hat gezeigt, daß die Verbreitung dieser Protozoa durch die Umweltbedingungen in den Oberflächenwasserströmen bestimmt wird (BoLTOVSKOY, 1969; CIFELLI& BENIER, 1976; OTIENS, 1991). Durch ihre Ablagerung und Erhaltung am Meeresboden speichern sie diese Informationen und bilden einen Indikator für Wassermassen und Oberflächenwassertemperaturschichtung. Zeitliche und räumliche Veränderungen der Faunenvergesellschaftungen und der Verhältnisse stabiler Sauerstoff- und Kohlenstoffisotope einzelner Foraminiferenarten haben damit einen maßgeblichen Beitrag zur Kenntnis der spätquartären Temperatur- und Zirkulationsänderungen der Oberflächenströme geliefert (SHACKLETON & OPDYKE, 1973; BE et al., 1976; RUDDIMAN & McooYRE, 1976; VINCENT & BERGER, 1981; CLIMAP, 1981; RA VELO et al., 1990). Mit Hilfe der planktischen Foraminiferen soll diese Arbeit einen Beitrag zur Rekonstruktion der spätquartären Ozeanographie des Südatlantiks liefern. Die Oberflächenströme des Südatlantiks sind das Bindeglied im Wärmeaustausch zwischen niederen und hohen Breiten. Durch den Südäquatorialstrom (SEC) werden warme Wassermassen, die sich aufgrund der hohen Sonneneinstrahlung im tropischen Atlantik gebildet haben, in den Nordatlantik transportiert. Die Wärme wird im Nordatlantik unter Bildung des Nordatlantischen-Tiefenwassers (NADW) an die Atmosphäre abgegeben. Durch dieses Ereignis wird maßgeblich das nordeuropäische Klima beeinflußt (BROECKER & DENTON, 1989). Die Intensität des SEC wird durch den saisonal variierenden SE-, NE-Passat gesteuert, der hauptsächlich durch die Präzession der geneigten Erdachse bzw. durch die Insolation auf der Nordhalbkugel kontrolliert wird (Mc OOYRE et aI., 1989; MOLFINO & Mc INTYRE, 1990). Der SEC fließt entlang des Äquators von Ost nach West und kalte, nährstotfreiche, tiefere Wassermassen (Südatlantisches-Zentralwasser (SACW)) steigen vor allem im Osten auf und erzeugen das hochproduktive äquatoriale Auftriebsgebiet. Im Osten ist der Temperaturgradient in der Wassersäule steiler, und die Thermoklinentiefe nimmt von Ost nach West zu. Die Lage der Thermokline ist damit ein wesentlicher Faktor, der den Wärmehaushalt im Atlantik mitbestimmt. So wird z. B. im äquatorialen Auftriebsgebiet und im Auftriebsgebiet des küstennahen Benguela-Stroms, wo die Thermoklinentiefe durch aufsteigende kalte Wassermassen gering ist, eine Wärmezunahme von 100 W/qm im Wärmehaushalt erreicht (PETERSON & STRAMMA, 1991). Zur spätquartären Rekonstruktion des Wärmeflusses und der Oberflächenzirkulation im Südostatlantik ist es daher wichtig, auch die zeitlichen und räumlichen Veränderungen tieferer Wasserschichten (bis 300 m) zu erfassen.

Stable isotope data of sediment cores in the western equatorial Atlantic

In order to reconstruct hydrographic changes during glacial-interglacial cycles for a transequatorial transect we analyzed oxygen isotopes of Globigerinoides sacculifer (without sac-like chamber) and abundances of Globorotalia truncatulinoides (dextral) from FS Meteor cores GeoB 2204-2 (Brazilian continental slope) and GeoB 1523-1 (Ceara Rise). Delta d18O values of G. sacculifer between the two cores were calculated. Modern Delta d18O (G. sacculifer) is ~0.2 per mill between the two core positions, reflecting differences in sea surface salinity (SSS). Higher SSS at GeoB 1523-1 (Ceara Rise) is the result of increased precipitation in the region of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. During glacials the ?18O records from the two cores converge to the same absolute value, resulting in ??18O values of around 0 per mill. Maximum abundances of G. truncatulinoides (dex) correlate with minimum Delta d18O, suggesting a possible increase of SSS at GeoB 1523-1 during stages 2, 3, 4, and 6, which is related to a glacial weakening of the tropical Hadley Cell [Gates, 1976]. Variations in tropical sea surface temperatures are assumed to be low [Climate: Long-Range Investigation, Mapping, and Prediction (CLIMAP), 1981].