Earth Sciences Commons^™

Western Caribbean Sea Surface Temperatures During The Late Quaternary, Matthew W. Schmidt, Maryline J. Vautravers, Howard J. Spero

OES Faculty Publications

[1] Mg/Ca ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Globigerinoides ruber from Colombian Basin core ODP 999A suggest that Caribbean sea surface temperatures ( SSTs) were from 2.1 to 2.7°C colder than the present during the last three glacial maximums. In comparison, faunal derived SSTs ( SIMMAX method) show that August SSTs in the Caribbean varied < 2° over the past 360 kyr, whereas February SSTs varied between 21.0°C and 26.5°C. Changes in the Mg/Ca-SST record contain a strong 23 kyr periodicity, suggesting the Mg/Ca-SST record reflects a warm season weighted SST average rather than an annual mean SST. Combining several dissolution indices, we identify brief periods of decreased carbonate preservation in our record and show that MIS 11 stands out as the most intensive dissolution cycle in the Caribbean over the last 460 kyr. Comparison of Caribbean SST change with a similar estimate of tropical SST variability in the western Pacific over the past 360 kyr reveals shifts in the east-west tropical SST gradient that are coeval with glacial-interglacial climate change and consistent both with a southward migration of the glacial ITCZ and with a glacial El Niño-like mode of tropical circulation.