A centennial-scale variability of tropical North Atlantic surface hydrography during the late Holocene

Nyberg, Johan; Malmgren, Björn A.; Kuijpers, Antoon; Winter, Amos

doi:10.1016/s0031-0182(01)00446-1

Cited by 69 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…[Nyberg et al, 2002] shows the same general pattern as the Mg/Ca data (Figure 4d), but there is a temporal offset between the two records that cannot be explained by age model differences alone.…”

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confidence: 53%

An 8‐century tropical Atlantic SST record from the Cariaco Basin: Baseline variability, twentieth‐century warming, and Atlantic hurricane frequency

et al. 2007

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[1] We present the first direct comparison and calibration of a downcore foraminiferal Mg/Ca record to historical instrumental sea surface temperature (SST). Mg/Ca measured on the planktic foraminifer Globigerina bulloides from a Cariaco Basin sediment core strongly correlate with spring (March-May) instrumental SSTs between A.D. 1870 and 1990. A Mg/Ca SST equation is derived and a paleo-SST record is presented spanning the last 8 centuries, an interval that includes the end of the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. The long-term record displays a surprising amount of variability. The temperature swings are not necessarily related to local upwelling variability but instead represent wider conditions in the Caribbean and western tropical Atlantic. The Mg/Ca SST record also captures the decadal and multidecadal variability observed in records of global land and sea surface temperature anomalies and Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane frequency over the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A divergence between the SST proxy record and Atlantic storm frequency around 1970 appears to reflect a fundamental change in Atlantic hurricane behavior noted in historical data. On average, twentieth-century temperatures are not the warmest in the entire record, but they do show the largest increase in magnitude and fastest rate of SST change over the last 800 a.

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confidence: 53%

An 8‐century tropical Atlantic SST record from the Cariaco Basin: Baseline variability, twentieth‐century warming, and Atlantic hurricane frequency

et al. 2007

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“…The reconstructed LIA temperature depression in the high altitudes of the Venezuelan Andes is greater than that inferred for Caribbean sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) [Ϸ2°C (34)(35)(36)]. This result is likely a consequence of changes in adiabatic lapse rates due to cooling.…”

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confidence: 88%

Solar modulation of Little Ice Age climate in the tropical Andes

Polissar

Abbott

Wolfe

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

103

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The underlying causes of late-Holocene climate variability in the tropics are incompletely understood. Here we report a 1,500-year reconstruction of climate history and glaciation in the Venezuelan Andes using lake sediments. Four glacial advances occurred between anno Domini (A.D.) 1250 and 1810, coincident with solaractivity minima. Temperature declines of ؊3.2 ؎ 1.4°C and precipitation increases of Ϸ20% are required to produce the observed glacial responses. These results highlight the sensitivity of highaltitude tropical regions to relatively small changes in radiative forcing, implying even greater probable responses to future anthropogenic forcing.climate forcing ͉ glacier reconstruction ͉ moisture balance ͉ Venezuela

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“…Low-latitude cooling during the LIA is evident from tropical glacier advances (5,6), and reduced sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean (7)(8)(9). Dry LIA conditions in the Caribbean are relatively well documented and explained by a change in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) (10,11), but little is known about the impact that this climatic event had on the lowland tropical ecosystems of the Americas.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tracing the effects of the Little Ice Age in the tropical lowlands of eastern Mesoamerica

Lozano‐García¹,

Caballero

Ortega

et al. 2007

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The causes of late-Holocene centennial to millennial scale climatic variability and the impact that such variability had on tropical ecosystems are still poorly understood. Here, we present a highresolution, multiproxy record from lowland eastern Mesoamerica, studied to reconstruct climate and vegetation history during the last 2,000 years, in particular to evaluate the response of tropical vegetation to the cooling event of the Little Ice Age (LIA). Our data provide evidence that the densest tropical forest cover and the deepest lake of the last two millennia were coeval with the LIA, with two deep lake phases that follow the Spö rer and Maunder minima in solar activity. The high tropical pollen accumulation rates limit LIA's winter cooling to a maximum of 2°C. Tropical vegetation expansion during the LIA is best explained by a reduction in the extent of the dry season as a consequence of increased meridional flow leading to higher winter precipitation. These results highlight the importance of seasonal responses to climatic variability, a factor that could be of relevance when evaluating the impact of recent climate change.climate variability ͉ Late Holocene ͉ Mexico ͉ seasonality ͉ tropical ecosystems T he Little Ice Age (LIA) (1350-1850 A.D.) has been identified as one of the most important climatic oscillations of the late Holocene and the last of several centennial to millennial scale Holocene cooling events centered over the North Atlantic (1-4). Low-latitude cooling during the LIA is evident from tropical glacier advances (5, 6), and reduced sea-surface temperatures in the Caribbean (7-9). Dry LIA conditions in the Caribbean are relatively well documented and explained by a change in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) (10, 11), but little is known about the impact that this climatic event had on the lowland tropical ecosystems of the Americas. Lago Verde, near the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1), is a highly sensitive record of recent climate change (12,13) where the response of the tropical vegetation and the lake system to the LIA cooling can be clearly traced, without any significant human impact. Multiproxy data from this lake show that in this tropical region the LIA is recorded by the deepest lake level and the densest forest cover of the last two millennia. In this article, we present arguments evaluating the role of solar forcing as an important element explaining climatic variability in the tropics and the North Atlantic region. We also discuss the role of regional moisture balance as a condition for the expression of regional precipitation trends, and, finally, we present an argument about the importance that changes in the seasonality of precipitation can have over the Gulf of Mexico coastal region, mitigating the dry LIA trend recorded in some areas of the Caribbean. Study SiteThis study is based mainly on pollen, charcoal particles, and diatom analyses on the sediment record from Lago Verde, a small, closed-basin lake at 200 m above sea level, on the outskirts of ...

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A centennial-scale variability of tropical North Atlantic surface hydrography during the late Holocene

Cited by 69 publications

References 58 publications

An 8‐century tropical Atlantic SST record from the Cariaco Basin: Baseline variability, twentieth‐century warming, and Atlantic hurricane frequency

An 8‐century tropical Atlantic SST record from the Cariaco Basin: Baseline variability, twentieth‐century warming, and Atlantic hurricane frequency

Solar modulation of Little Ice Age climate in the tropical Andes

Tracing the effects of the Little Ice Age in the tropical lowlands of eastern Mesoamerica

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