The variation of upper ocean structure and paleoproductivity in the Kuroshio source region during the last 200 kyr

A core from the source region of the Kuroshio warm current (east of the Luzon Island) was analyzed using several proxies in order to study the variability of the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) during the last two glacial-interglacial cycles. Primary productivity (PP) variations were deduced from variations in the coccolith flora. Primary productivity was higher during glacial periods (the end of Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 3, some periods in MIS 2 and 6), and decreased during interglacial periods (MIS 7, MIS Se and probably MIS 5c-5d), with the lowest PP in MIS 5e. variations in the delta C-13 difference in benthic and bulk carbonate, thus in the vertical gradient of delta C-13 in dissolved inorganic carbon (Delta delta C-13(c). (wuellerstorfi-N. dutertrei) and Delta delta C-13(c.) (wuellerstorfi-coccolith)) Coincided With the PP Changes, showing that export productivity was low during interglacial periods (MIS 7, MIS 5e and Holocene) and high during glacial periods (MIS 6, probably MIS 5c-5d, late MIS 4 and late MIS 3). Comparison of foraminiferal carbonate dissolution indicators and PP changes reveals that nannofossil assemblage in core Ph05-5 is not sensitive to carbonate dissolution intensity. The depth of the thermocline (DOT) was estimated from planktonic forminiferal assemblages, and was relatively greater during interglacial periods (MIS 7, MIS 5e, probably MIS 5c and Holocene) than during glacials (middle MIS 6, probably MIS 5b and 5d, some periods in MIS 4, MIS 3 and MIS 2). Good coherence between the paleoproductivity records and the DOT suggests that the DOT changes could be the primary control factor in changes of paleoproductivity, and the glacial high productivity in the Kuroshio source region could be associated with a global increase of nutrient concentration in the intermediate waters that upwelled into the photic zone. The low CO2 values derived for intervals of high productivity and a relatively shallow DOT suggest that the changes in biological productivity and DOT in the equatorial Pacific could have modified atmospheric CO2 concentrations. High Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) during the warm MIS 5e in combination with intensified monsoonal rain fall could have resulted in a more intense stratification of the upper waters, resulting in low nutrient supply to the surface waters and a resulting decrease in productivity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variation in joint mode of the tropical Indian-Pacific Ocean thermodynamic anomaly

Previous research has defined the index of the Indian-Pacific thermodynamic anomaly joint mode (IPTAJM) and suggested that the winter IPTAJM has an important impact on summer rainfall over China. However, the possible causes for the interannual and decadal variability of the IPTAJM are still unclear. Therefore, this work investigates zonal displacements of both the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) and the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool (EIOWP). The relationships between the WPWP and the EIOWP and the IPTAJM are each examined, and then the impacts of the zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans on the IPTAJM are studied. The WPWP eastern edge anomaly displays significant interannual and decadal variability and experienced a regime shift in about 1976 and 1998, whereas the EIOWP western edge exhibits only distinct interannual variability. The decadal variability of the IPTAJM may be mainly caused by both the zonal migration of the WPWP and the 850 hPa zonal wind anomaly over the central equatorial Pacific. On the other hand, the zonal migrations of both the WPWP and the EIOWP and the zonal wind anomalies over the central equatorial Pacific and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean may be all responsible for the interannual variability of the IPTAJM.

热带太平洋次表层海温变化及其与ENSO循环的研究

随着全球变暖和各种极端天气事件发生频率的增加，气候变化已成为全世界关注的焦点问题，ENSO事件是年际尺度上气候变化的最强信号，它的影响波及到世界各地，所以，对ENSO事件进行深入研究，弄清其发生机制，具有重要的科学意义。虽然，目前对ENSO事件的研究已经取得了巨大成果，但仍不能对其发生发展的全过程进行准确的预测，因此，仍需要对其进行深入研究，本文正是从热带太平洋次表层温度场和流场的变化着手，对ENSO循环过程中的相关机理进行研究。 通过对TOGA/TAO、SODA和NCEP等海洋大气实测和再分析资料的分析，研究了热带太平洋次表层海温和流场的变化特征，分析了它们的变化机理，进而深入探讨了它们与ENSO事件的相互关系，并利用全球海洋数值模式的敏感性试验，探讨了大气风场的变化对海洋次表层要素的影响，主要得到以下结论： 1. 上世纪70年代末的气候突变之后，用28℃定义西太平洋暖池（WPWP），已不能合理的描述WPWP的基本特征。我们通过对比分析提出，用28.5℃来定义WPWP更合理，这一定义即可以充分反映WPWP突变前的特征，又能够合理的反映WPWP突变后的特征；对新定义的WPWP区域不同深度的海温距平的分析表明，次表层（148m）海温距平的变化趋势和变化幅度与表层和深层的变化差异较大，次表层海温的变化幅度最大并且年代际变化趋势与上下层正好相反；进一步的研究表明，WPWP次表层海温的年代际变化与PDO的变化有一定关系。 2. 利用热带太平洋次表层海温的变化特征，定义了表征ENSO事件的新指数——赤道太平洋温跃层海温振荡指数（EPOI），与其它ENSO指数相比，EPOI将东、西太平洋次表层海温的变化信息都包括在内，能够较全面的反映出ENSO事件的变化特征，特别是EPOI可以较好的反映出ENSO循环的年代际变化特征。另外，EPOI的变化比ONI的变化超前2个月，更有利于对ENSO事件的提前预报。由于EPOI主要反映海洋次表层的变化特征，因此能够更好的满足对ENSO机理研究的需要。 3. 赤道潜流距平场的EOF分析表明，其前两个模态的方差贡献较大，第一模态方差贡献为30.75%，主要反映东太平洋赤道潜流的变化特征；第二模态方差贡献为16.18%，主要反映中太平洋赤道潜流的变化特征。赤道潜流前两个模态与ENSO指数的变化有很好的相关关系，其中东太平洋潜流在滞后ENSO指数1个月时，二者达到最大负相关（r=-0.74）。中太平洋赤道潜流的变化对“东部型”和“中部型”El Niño事件的形成有一定影响。“东部型”El Niño事件发生前，中太平洋赤道潜流异常增强，次表层异常海温信号随着潜流中心迅速向东移动到达东太平洋，使得“东部型”El Niño事件爆发；而“中部型”El Niño事件发生前，中太平洋赤道潜流则异常减弱，西太平洋异常海温信号不能迅速向东传播，而是在中西太平洋堆积并向上扩展，使得异常海温首先在中太平洋出现，“中部型”El Niño事件爆发。 4. ENSO循环过程中，异常冷（暖）信号之所以在8ºN-10ºN附近向西传播的原因较多，其中温跃层深度在8ºN-10ºN的特殊分布特征对其有一定贡献，具体表现为在北半球8ºN-10ºN正好是温跃层深度较浅的区域，该区域的温跃层相当于从东到西的一个海下“山脊”，使得来自南北两侧的异常信号都很难穿过这一区域，而只能沿该纬度向西传播；而南半球的温跃层对来自赤道地区的异常信号没有阻挡作用，使其可以直接传播到高纬度地区。ENSO信号的强度在传播过程中发生了明显的变化，主要是ENSO事件爆发后，4-5年的周期信号并没有传到东太平洋10ºN附近，在从东到西的传播过程中，4-5年的周期信号有所增加，但增加的幅度较小。在西太平洋有来自南、北半球中高纬度异常信号的补充，从而使得ENSO循环得以维持。 5. 数值模拟表明，不同区域风应力的变化对海洋的影响各不相同。赤道地区风应力对海洋的影响主要通过纬向分量的变化来产生作用，它的变化主要对赤道次表层海温的变化产生影响，并且东西太平洋呈现反位相变化趋势；而对流场的影响则是上下层反位相变化。北太平洋副热带地区风应力的变化对海洋的影响与赤道有明显不同，对温度场的影响表现为东西太平洋次表层海温的变化一致，而对流速的影响则是东西太平洋反位相变化。

Sable oxygen isotope and Mg/Ca ratios of planktonic foraminifera from DSDP Hole 31-292

This study presents new evidence of when and how the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) was established in its present form. We analyzed planktic foraminifera, oxygen isotopes, and Mg/Ca ratios in upper Miocene through Pleistocene sediments collected at Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP) Site 292. These data were then compared with those reported from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 806. Both drilling sites are located in the western Pacific Ocean. DSDP Site 292 is located in the northern margin of the modern WPWP and ODP Site 806 near the center of the WPWP. Three stages of development in surface-water conditions are identified in the region using planktic foraminferal data. During the initial stage, from 8.5 to 4.4 Ma, Site 806 was overlain by warm surface water but Site 292 was not, as indicated by the differences in faunal compositions and sea-surface temperature (SST) between the two sites. In addition, the vertical thermal gradient at Site 292 was weak during this period, as indicated by the small differences in the delta18O values between Globigerinoides sacculifer and Pulleniatina spp. During stage two, from 4.4 to 3.6 Ma, the SST at Site 292 rapidly increased to 27 °C, but the vertical thermal gradient had not yet be strengthened, as shown by Mg/Ca ratios and the presence of both mixed-layer dwellers and thermocline dwellers. Finally, a warm mixed layer with a high SST ca. 28 °C and a strong vertical thermal gradient were established at Site 292 by 3.6 Ma. This event is marked by the dominance of mixed-layer dwellers, a high and stable SST, and a larger differences in the delta18O values between G. sacculifer and Pulleniatina spp. Thus, evidence of surface-water evolution in the western Pacific suggests that Site 292 came under the influence of the WPWP at 3.6 Ma. The northward expansion of the WPWP from 4.4 to 3.6 Ma and the establishment of the modern WPWP by 3.6 Ma appear to be closely related to the closure of the Indonesian and Central American seaways.

Annual average Sr/Ca measurements from Porites lutea coral at Ha'afera Island, Tonga

In the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), the variability in a sub-seasonally resolved microatoll Porites colony Sr/Ca record from Tonga and a previously published high-resolution record from Fiji are strongly influenced by sea surface temperature (SST) over the calibration period from 1981 to 2004 (R^2 = 0.67 - 0.68). However, the Sr/Ca-derived SST correlation to instrumental SST decreases back in time. The lower frequency secular trend (~1°C) and decadal-scale (~2 - 3°C) modes in Sr/Ca-derived SST are almost two times larger than that observed in instrumental SST. The coral Sr/Ca records suggest that local effects on SST generate larger amplitude variability than gridded SST products indicate. Reconstructed d18O of seawater (d18Osw) at these sites correlate with instrumental sea surface salinity (SSS; r = 0.64 - 0.67) but not local precipitation (r = -0.10 to - 0.22) demonstrating that the advection and mixing of different salinity water masses may be the predominant control on d18Osw in this region. The Sr/Ca records indicate SST warming over the last 100 years and appears to be related to the expansion of the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) including an increasing rate of expansion in the last ~20 years. The reconstructed d18Osw over the last 100 years also shows surface water freshening across the SPCZ. The warming and freshening of the surface ocean in our study area suggests that the SPCZ has been shifting (expanding) southeast, possibly related to the southward shift and intensification of the South Pacific gyre over the last 50 years in response to strengthened westerly winds.

Stable oxygen isotope, UK'37, productivity, CaCO3 and XRF records from sediment core MD06-3075

Proxy records of hydrologic variability in the West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) have revealed wide-scale changes in past convective activity in response to orbital and sub-orbital climate forcings. However, attributing proxy responses to regional changes in WPWP hydrology versus local variations in precipitation requires independent records linking the terrestrial and marine realms. We present high-resolution stable isotope, UK'37 sea-surface temperature, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning and coccolithophore-derived paleoproductivity records covering the past 120 ka from International Marine Global Change (IMAGES) Program Core MD06-3075 (6°29' N, 125°50' E, water depth 1878 m), situated in the Davao Gulf on the southern side of Mindanao. XRF-derived log(Fe/Ca) records provide a robust proxy for runoff-driven sedimentary discharge from Mindanao, whilst past changes in local productivity are associated with variable freshwater runoff and stratification of the surface layer. Significant precessional-scale variability in sedimentary discharge occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, with peaks in discharge contemporaneous with Northern Hemisphere summer insolation minima. We attribute these changes to the latitudinal migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) over the WPWP together with variability in the strength of the Walker circulation acting on precessional timescales. Between 60 and 15 ka sedimentary discharge at Mindanao was muted, displaying little orbital- or millennial-scale variability, likely in response to weakened precessional insolation forcing and lower sea level driving increased subsidence of air masses over the exposed Sunda Shelf. These results highlight the high degree of local variability in the precipitation response to past climate changes in the WPWP.

Compilation of planktonic foraminiferal census counts from the Southern Hemisphere Oceans

We present an improved database of planktonic foraminiferal census counts from the Southern Hemisphere Oceans (SHO) from 15°S to 64°S. The SHO database combines 3 existing databases. Using this SHO database, we investigated dissolution biases that might affect faunal census counts. We suggest a depth/[DCO3]2- threshold of ~3800 m/[DCO3]2- = ~-10 to -5 µmol/kg for the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and ~4000 m/[DCO3]2- = ~0 to 10 µmol/kg for the Atlantic Ocean, under which core-top assemblages can be affected by dissolution and are less reliable for paleo-sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions. We removed all core-tops beyond these thresholds from the SHO database. This database has 598 core-tops and is able to reconstruct past SST variations from 2° to 25.5°C, with a root mean square error of 1.00°C, for annual temperatures. To inspect dissolution affects SST reconstruction quality, we tested the data base with two "leave-one-out" tests, with and without the deep core-tops. We used this database to reconstruct Summer SST (SSST) over the last 20 ka, using the Modern Analog Technique method, on the Southeast Pacific core MD07-3100. This was compared to the SSST reconstructed using the 3 databases used to compile the SHO database. Thus showing that the reconstruction using the SHO database is more reliable, as its dissimilarity values are the lowest. The most important aspect here is the importance of a bias-free, geographic-rich, database. We leave this dataset open-ended to future additions; the new core-tops must be carefully selected, with their chronological frameworks, and evidence of dissolution assessed.

Benthic foraminiferal abundances from eight sites of the Northwest Australian shelf

Foraminiferal analysis of Miocene to recent strata of the Northwest Shelf of Australia is used to chart West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) influence. The assemblage is typified by "larger" foraminifera with ingressions of the Indo-Pacific "smaller" taxa Asterorotalia and Pseudorotalia at around 4 Ma and from 1.6 to 0.8 Ma. A review of recent and fossil biogeography of these taxa suggests their stratigraphic distribution can be used to document WPWP evolution. From 10 to 4.4 Ma a lack of biogeographic connectivity between the Pacific and Indian Ocean suggests Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) restriction. During this period, the collision of Australia and Asia trapped warmer waters in the Pacific, creating a central WPWP biogeographic province from the equator to 26°N. By 3 Ma Indo-Pacific species migrated to Japan with the initiation of the "modern" Kuroshio Current coinciding with the intensification of the North Pacific Gyre and Northern Hemisphere ice sheet expansion. Indo-Pacific taxa migrated to the northwest Australia from 4.4 to 4 Ma possibly because of limited ITF. The absence of Indo-Pacific taxa in northwest Australia indicates possible ITF restriction from 4 to 1.6 Ma. Full northwest Australian biogeographic connectivity with the WPWP from 1.6 to 0.8 Ma suggests an unrestricted stronger ITF (compared to today) and the initiation of the modern Leeuwin Current. The extinction of some Indo-Pacific species in northwest Australia after 0.8 Ma may be related to the effects of large glacial/interglacial oscillations and uplift of the Indonesian Archipelago causing Indonesian seaway restriction.