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Sea-Surface Temperatures and the History of Monsoon Upwelling in the Northwest Arabian Sea during the Last 500,000 Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kay-Christian Emeis
Affiliation:
Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemuende, Germany
David M. Anderson
Affiliation:
NOAA Paleoclimatology Program, Boulder, Colorado
Heidi Doose
Affiliation:
Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Dick Kroon
Affiliation:
Grant Institute of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Detlef Schulz-Bull
Affiliation:
Institut für Meereskunde, Kiel, Germany

Abstract

Arabian Sea sediments record changes in the upwelling system off Arabia, which is driven by the monsoon circulation system over the NW Indian Ocean. In accordance with climate models, and differing from other large upwelling areas of the tropical ocean, a 500,000-yr record of productivity at ODP Site 723 shows consistently stronger upwelling during interglaciations than during glaciations. Sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) reconstructed from the alkenone unsaturation index (U K′ 37) are high (up to 27°C) during interglaciations and low (22-24°C) during glaciations, indicating a glacial-interglacial temperature change of >3°C in spite of the dampening effect of enhanced or weakened upwelling. The increased productivity is attributed to stronger monsoon winds during interglacial times relative to glacial times, whereas the difference in SSTs must be unrelated to upwelling and to the summer monsoon intensity. The winter (NE) monsoon was more effective in cooling the Arabian Sea during glaciations then it is now.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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