(Table S1) Age determination of ODP Site 202-1240

Interannual-decadal variability in the equatorial Pacific El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) induces climate changes at global scale, but its potential influence during past global climate change is not yet well constrained. New high-resolution eastern equatorial Pacific proxy records of thermocline conditions present new evidence of strong orbital control in ENSO-like variability over the last 275,000 years. Recurrent intervals of saltier thermocline waters are associated with the dominance of La Niña-like conditions during glacial terminations, coinciding with periods of low precession and high obliquity. The parallel dominance of d13C-depleted waters supports the advection of Antarctic origin waters toward the tropical thermocline. This "oceanic tunneling" is proposed to have reinforced orbitally induced changes in ENSO-like variability, composing a complex high- and low-latitude feedback during glacial terminations.

Chronostratigraphy of eastern Mediterranen Sea sediment cores

An Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) 14C dated multiparameter event stratigraphy is developed for the Aegean Sea on the basis of highly resolved (centimeter to subcentimeter) multiproxy data collected from four late glacial to Holocene sediment cores. We quantify the degree of proportionality and synchroneity of sediment accumulation in these cores and use this framework to optimize the confidence levels in regional marine, radiocarbon-based chronostratigraphies. The applicability of the framework to published, lower-resolution records from the Aegean Sea is assessed. Next this is extended into the wider eastern Mediterranean, using new and previously published high-resolution data from the northern Levantine and Adriatic cores. We determine that the magnitude of uncertainties in the intercore comparison of AMS 14C datings based on planktonic foraminifera in the eastern Mediterranean is of the order of ±240 years (2 SE). These uncertainties are attributed to synsedimentary and postsedimentary processes that affect the materials dated. This study also offers a background age control that allows for vital refinements to radiocarbon-based chronostratigraphy in the eastern Mediterranean, with the potential for similar frameworks to be developed for any other well-studied region.

Fine-silt luminescence dating and mineral composition of sediments from the Arctic Ocean

New geochronometers are needed for sediments of the Arctic Ocean spanning at least the last half million years, largely because oxygen-isotope stratigraphy is relatively ineffective in this ocean, and because other dating techniques require significant assumptions about sedimentation rates. Multi-aliquot luminescence sediment-dating procedures were applied to polymineral, fine-silt samples from 9 core-top and 37 deeper samples from 20 cores representing 19 sites across the Arctic Ocean. Most samples have independent age assignments and other known properties (e.g., % coarse fraction, % carbonate, U-Th isotopes). Thick-source alpha-particle counting indicates that for most regions the contribution of measured unsupported 230Th and 231Pa to calculated dose rates is correction when older interglacial samples are selected. Samples from a giant gravity core from the western region (Northwind Ridge) yield acceptable long-bleach TL and IR-PSL ages up to 100 kyr. A sample from the eastern region (near Gakkel Ridge) gives a long-bleach age of ca 60 kyr, agreeing with an independent age assignment. Several samples in the 10-40 kyr 14C range from other sites produce large long-bleach age overestimates, indicating the variable effects of ice-rafting and other depositional and bottom-currentreworking (re-suspension) processes during glacial stages. Short-bleach dating tests provide IR-PSL age estimates for core tops that appear to penetrate the 'reworking veil' of inherited ages, and not only suggest a procedure to greatly reduce long-bleach inherited ages but also have implications for the 14C reservoir correction. This study identifies the most promising regions for future luminescence dating, and suggests that for several regions of the Arctic Ocean, interglacial-stage (foram-'rich') sediments from ridge tops are preferred for the fine-grain luminescence dating methods.

Age models for sediment cores off Peru

Planktonic foraminiferal faunas of the southeast Pacific indicate that sea surface temperatures (SST) have varied by as much as 8-10°C in the Peru Current, and by ?5-7°C along the equator, over the past 150,000 years. Changes in SST at times such as the Last Glacial Maximum reflect incursion of high-latitude species Globorotalia inflata and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma into the eastern boundary current and as far north as the equator. A simple heat budget model of the equatorial Pacific shows that observed changes in Peru Current advection can account for about half of the total variability in equatorial SSTs. The remaining changes in equatorial SST, which are likely related to local changes in upwelling or pycnocline depth, precede changes in polar climates as recorded by d18O. This partitioning of processes in eastern equatorial Pacific SST reveals that net ice-age cooling here reflects first a rapid response of equatorial upwelling to insolation, followed by a later response to changes in the eastern boundary current associated with high-latitude climate (which closely resembles variations in atmospheric CO2 as recorded in the Vostok ice core). Although precise mechanisms responsible for the equatorial upwelling component of climate change remain uncertain, one likely candidate that may operate independently of the ice sheets is insolation-driven changes in El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequency. Early responses of equatorial SST detected both here and elsewhere highlight the sensitivity of tropical systems to small changes in seasonal insolation. The scale of tropical changes we have observed are substantially greater than model predictions, suggesting a need for further quantitative assessment of processes associated with long-term climate change.

An on-line application for ΔR calculation

A regional offset (ΔR) from the marine radiocarbon calibration curve is widely used in calibration software (eg CALIB, OxCal) but often is not calculated correctly. While relatively straightforward for known age samples, such as mollusks from museum collections or banded corals, it is more difficult to calculate ΔR and the uncertainty in ΔR for 14C dates on paired marine and terrestrial samples. Previous researchers have often utilized classical intercept methods (Reimer et al. 2002; Dewar et al. 2012, Russell et al. 2011) but this does not account for the full calibrated probability density function (PDF). We have developed an on-line application for performing these calculations for known age, paired marine and terrestrial 14C dates, or U-Th dated corals which is available at http://calib.qub.ac.uk/deltar

Marine and estuarine reservoir effects in central Queensland, Australia: Determination of Delta R values

As a component of archaeological investigations on the central Queensland coast, a series of five marine shell specimens live-collected between A.D. 1904 and A.D. 1929 and 11 shell/ charcoal paired samples from archaeological contexts were radiocarbon dated to determine local DeltaR values. The object of the study was to assess the potential influence of localized variation in marine reservoir effect in accurately determining the age of marine and estuarine shell from archaeological deposits in the area. Results indicate that the routinely applied DeltaR value of -5 +/- 35 for northeast Australia is erroneously calculated. The determined values suggest a minor revision to Reimer and Reimer's (2000) recommended value for northeast Australia from DeltaR = +11 +/- 5 to + 12 +/- 7, and specifically for central Queensland to DeltaR = +10 +/- 7, for near-shore open marine environments. In contrast, data obtained from estuarine shell/charcoal pairs demonstrate a general lack of consistency, suggesting estuary-specific patterns of variation in terrestrial carbon input and exchange with the open ocean. Preliminary data indicate that in some estuaries, at some time periods, a DeltaR value of more than - 155 +/- 55 may be appropriate, In estuarine contexts in central Queensland, a localized estuary-specific correction factor is recommended to account for geographical and temporal variation in C-14 activity. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals.

Radiocarbon ages, diatom abundance and laminae description of sediment core MD03-2597

Laminated sediments are unique archives of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoceanographic conditions, recording changes on seasonal and interannual timescales. Diatom-rich laminated marine sediments are examined from Dumont d'Urville Trough, East Antarctic Margin, to determine changes in environmental conditions on the continental shelf from 1136 to 3122 cal. yr BP. Scanning electron microscope backscattered electron imagery (BSEI) and secondary electron imagery are used to analyse diatom assemblages from laminations and to determine interlamina relationships. Diatom observations are quantified with conventional assemblage counts. Laminae are primarily classified according to visually dominant species identified in BSEI and, secondarily, by terrigenous content. Nine lamina types are identified and are characterized by: Hyalochaete Chaetoceros spp. resting spores (CRS); CRS and Fragilariopsis spp.; Fragilariopsis spp.; Corethron pennatum and Rhizosolenia spp.; C. pennatum; Rhizosolenia spp.; mixed diatom assemblage; Stellarima microtrias resting spores (RS), Porosira glacialis RS and Coscinodiscus bouvet; and P. glacialis RS. Formation of each lamina type is controlled by seasonal changes in sea ice cover, nutrient levels and water column stability. Quantitative diatom assemblage analysis revealed that each lamina type is dominated by CRS and Fragilariopsis sea ice taxa, indicating that sea ice cover was extensive and persistent in the late Holocene. However the lamina types indicate that the sea ice regime was not consistent throughout this period, notably that a relatively warmer period, ~3100 to 2500 cal. yr BP, was followed by cooling which resulted in an increase in year round sea ice by ~1100 cal. yr BP.