Evaluating climate indices and their geochemical proxies measured in corals

Fairbanks, Richard G.; Evans, M. N.; Rubenstone, J.L.; Mortlock, Richard A.; Broad, Kenneth; Moore, Michael D.; Charles, Christopher D.

doi:10.1007/s003380050245

Cited by 204 publications

(162 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Furthermore, a number of studies have examined issues associated with the quality of the station data and the properties of the SOI (Allan et al, 1996;Trenberth and Caron, 2000). For example, Troup (1965) noted that the centres of action involved in the Southern Oscillation (Fairbanks et al, 1997). Ocean temperature time series that are present may be corrupted by changes in the measurement process, such as the gradual switch from bucket to engine intake water starting around 1940 (Fairbanks et al, 1997).…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, Troup (1965) noted that the centres of action involved in the Southern Oscillation (Fairbanks et al, 1997). Ocean temperature time series that are present may be corrupted by changes in the measurement process, such as the gradual switch from bucket to engine intake water starting around 1940 (Fairbanks et al, 1997). Post-1949 SSTs, therefore, may represent the best available, in situ measurements of SST variability.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

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Classification of synchronous oceanic and atmospheric El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events for palaeoclimate reconstruction

Gergis

Fowler

2005

Int. J. Climatol.

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Since the mid-1970s, ENSO has changed in character to a predominance of El Niño conditions, the extreme phase of which appears coincidental with increases in global temperature records. Instrumental time series (<150 years) are too short to adequately address the significance of late twentieth-century ENSO variability, thus, multi-century palaeoclimate reconstructions derived from long proxy records are sought. Despite the global influence exerted by ENSO on society, limited consensus exists within the scientific community as to which index best defines the timing, duration and strength of events. Here we address issues associated with the complexity of ENSO characterisation by comparing the 'event capture' ability of two currently used indices of ENSO. It is suggested that the use of a sole ENSO index is undesirable as a given index is only indicative of one physical aspect of the phenomenon, and as such is unlikely to be representative of the wider interactions experienced in the coupled ocean-atmospheric system. In an attempt to describe more of the nature and evolution of ENSO events, the Coupled ENSO Index (CEI) classification scheme was devised to identify synchronous oceanic (Niño 3.4 SST) and atmospheric (Southern Oscillation Index) anomalies associated with ENSO for the instrumental period . The CEI is of practical relevance to the ENSO community as it provides an amplitude preserving instrumental baseline for the calibration of proxy records to reconstruct both components of the ENSO system. Analysis of the nature of instrumental ENSO events from the CEI suggests that the frequency and intensity of post-1970 ENSO events (when 50% of all extreme events identified occur) appears the most anomalous in the context of at least the past century. It is hoped that the CEI will facilitate palaeo-ENSO research to systematically resolve the long-term context of past ENSO behaviour to assess whether the apparently anomalous nature of late twentieth-century variability is unprecedented within existing palaeoclimate archives.

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Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Classification of synchronous oceanic and atmospheric El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events for palaeoclimate reconstruction

Gergis

Fowler

2005

Int. J. Climatol.

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“…period of reduced ENSO amplitude seen both here and in other records within and beyond the tropical Paci"c. In addition, corals from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia reveal interannual variability in O that is strongly correlated with the Southern Oscillation (Tudhope et al, 1995;Fairbanks et al, 1997).…”

Section: Decadal Variability and Ensomentioning

confidence: 99%

New views of tropical paleoclimates from corals

Gagan

Ayliffe

Beck

et al. 2000

Quaternary Science Reviews

448

287

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Corals o!er a rich archive of past climate variability in tropical ocean regions where instrumental data are limited and where our knowledge of multi-decadal climate sensitivity is incomplete. In the eastern equatorial Paci"c, coral isotopic records track variations in ENSO-related changes in sea-surface temperature; further west, corals record variability in sea-surface temperature and rainfall that accompanies zonal displacement of the Indonesian Low during ENSO events. These multi-century records reveal previously unrecognised ENSO variability on time scales of decades to centuries. Outside the ENSO-sensitive equatorial Paci"c, long-term trends towards recent warmer/wetter conditions suggest the tropics respond to global forcings. New coral paleothermometers indicate that surface-ocean temperatures in the tropical southwestern Paci"c were depressed by 4}63C during the Younger Dryas climatic event and rose episodically during the next 4000 yr. High temporal-resolution measurements of Sr/Ca and O in corals provide information about the surface-ocean hydrologic balance and can resolve the seasonal balance between precipitation and evaporation. Radiocarbon measurements in corals, coupled with ocean circulation models, may be used to reconstruct near-surface ocean circulation, past mixing rates, and the distribution of fossil fuel CO in the upper ocean. Most recently, seasonal to interannual variations in the radiocarbon of corals from the equatorial Paci"c have been linked to the redistribution of surface waters associated with the ENSO.

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“…Today these two processes result in a surface water 18 O/salinity relationship that has a slope of between 0.3 and 0.4 per practical salinity unit (p.s.u.) 6,7 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3). On the basis of the modern 18 O-salinity relationship 6,7 , a decrease in 18 O SW of 0.5 reflects a decease in surface salinity of between 1 and 1.5 p.s.u. This observation implies that in the early Holocene WTP surface water was as salty as surface water in the south central equatorial Pacific today (more than 35.2 p.s.u.).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%