Paired measurements of Mg/Ca and δ18O of Globigerenoides sacculifer from an Eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) sediment core indicate that sea-surface temperature (SST) varied within 2°C and sea-surface salinity within 2 psu during the last 100 ka. SST was coldest (∽ 27°C) during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and 2. Sea-surface salinity was highest (∽ 37.5 psu) during most of the last glacial period (∽ 60–18 ka), concurrent with increased δ18O G.sacculifer and C/N ratios of organic matter and indicative of sustained intense winter monsoons. SST time series are influenced by both Greenland and Antarctic climates. However, the sea-surface salinity time series and the deglacial warming in the SST record (beginning at ∽18 ka) compare well with the LR04 benthic δ18O-stack and Antarctic temperatures. This suggests a teleconnection between the climate in the Southern Hemisphere and the EAS. Therefore, the last 100-ka variability in EAS climatology appears to have evolved in response to a combination of global climatic forcings and regional monsoons. The most intense summer monsoons within the Holocene occurred at ∽8 ka and are marked by SST cooling of ∽ 1°C, sea-surface salinity decrease of 0.5 psu, and δ18O G.sacculifer decrease of 0.2‰.

The aim of the MINERVE project (Mesures à l’INterface Eau-aiR de la Variabilité des Échanges de CO2) is to observe and understand the seasonal and interannual variability of the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in surface waters using hydrological and biogeochemical data in the Southern Ocean south of Australia. Logistics routes of the RV Astrolabe provide access to scarcely studied areas, thus allowing us to understand the different processes acting in this area of the Antarctic Ocean. The surface area covered by these cruises, however, is tiny compared with the total surface area of the Antarctic Ocean. Correlations between in situ surface temperature and salinity data were applied to satellite images of sea surface temperature to map ocean surface salinity over a much wider area than under the cruise tracks. Comparisons with salinity data from satellites which provide ~100 km resolution and 0.1 accuracy indicate that we are able to map salinity at 4 km resolution and almost the same accuracy of ± 0.1.