# 1000 Year Composite Sea Surface Temperature Record from the North Atlantic Ocean
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#               World Data Center for Paleoclimatology, Boulder 
#                                  and 
#                     NOAA Paleoclimatology Program 
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# NOTE: Please cite original publication, online resource and date accessed when using this data.
#  If there is no publication information, please cite investigator, title, online resource and date accessed.
#
# Online_Resource: http://hurricane.ncdc.noaa.gov/pls/paleox/f?p=519:1:::::P1_STUDY_ID:14193
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# Archive:  Paleoceanography
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# Contribution_Date
#	Date: 2013-04-11
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# Title
#	Study_Name: 1000 Year Composite Sea Surface Temperature Record from the North Atlantic Ocean
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# Investigators
#	Investigators: Cunningham, L.K.; Austin, W.E.N.; Knudsen, K.L.; Eiríksson, J.; Scourse, J.D; Wanamaker Jr., A.D.; Butler, P.G.; Cage, A.; Richter, T.; Husum, K.; Hald, M.; Andersson C.; Zorita, A.; Linderholm, H.W.; Gunnarson, B.E.; Sicre, M.A.; Sejrup, H.P.; Jiang, H.; Wilson, R.J.S.
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# Description of Files in ftp directory
#
#  cunningham2013-data-overview.txt: Listing of sites and studies used in this study.
#  cunningham2013-data-table.txt: complete data table of series used and composite records generated in this study.
#
# The files that follow are NOAA-generated, machine-readable templates of the time series contained in the full data table:
#  cunningham2013-n-comp.txt: Norwegian composite SST reconstruction from Norwegian proxy records in this study.
#  cunningham2013-i-comp.txt: North Iceland Shelf composite SST reconstruction from Icelandic proxy records in this study.
#  cunningham2013-nena-comp.txt: NE North Atlantic composite SST reconstruction from all proxy records in this study.
#  cunningham2013-malangen.txt: Malangen Fjord SST from d18O of benthic foraminifera data from Hald et al., 2011.
#  cunningham2013-voring.txt: Voring Plateau SST from planktonic foraminifera data from Andersson et al., 2003.
#  cunningham2013-ranafjord.txt: Ranafjord SST from d18O of benthic foraminifera data from Klitgaard Kristensen et al., 2003.
#  cunningham2013-nor-margin.txt: Norwegian Margin SST from d18O of planktonic foraminifera data from Sejrup et al., 2010.
#  cunningham2013-nor-channel.txt: Norwegian Channel SST from d18O of benthic foraminifera data from Eiriksson et al., 2006.
#  cunningham2013-iceland-shelf.txt:  North Iceland Shelf SST from Arctica islandica shell growth increments data from Wanamaker et al., 2008, 2012; Butler et al., 2013.
#  cunningham2013-diatom.txt:  North Iceland Shelf, site MD99-2275, SST from diatom data from Ran et al., 2011.
#  cunningham2013-alkenone.txt:  North Iceland Shelf, site MD99-2275, SST from alkenone data from Sicre et al., 2008; 2011.
#  cunningham2013-sunart.txt:  Loch Sunart SST from d18O of benthic foraminifera data from Cage and Austin, 2010.
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#
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# Publication
#	Authors: Cunningham, L.K., Austin, W.E.N., Knudsen, K.L., Eiríksson, J., Scourse, J.D, Wanamaker Jr., A.D., Butler, P.G., Cage, A., Richter, T., Husum, K., Hald, M., Andersson C., Zorita, A., Linderholm, H.W., Gunnarson, B.E., Sicre, M.A., Sejrup, H.P., Jiang, H. and Wilson, R.J.S.
#       Published_Date_or_Year: 2013 
#	Published_Title: Reconstructions of surface ocean conditions from the northeast Atlantic and Nordic seas during the last millennium.
#	Journal_Name: The Holocene
#	Volume:
#	Issue:
#	Pages: 
#	DOI: 10.1177/0959683613479677
#	Abstract: We undertake the first comprehensive effort to integrate North Atlantic marine climate records for the last millennium, highlighting some key components common within this system at a range of temporal and spatial scales. In such an approach, careful consideration needs to be given to the complexities inherent to the marine system. Composites therefore need to be hydrographically constrained and sensitive to both surface water mass variability and three-dimensional ocean dynamics. This study focuses on the northeast (NE) Atlantic, particularly sites influenced by the North Atlantic Current. A composite plus regression approach is used to create an inter-regional NE Atlantic reconstruction of sea surface temperature (SST) for the last 1000 years. We highlight the loss of spatial information associated with large-scale composite reconstructions of the marine environment. Regional reconstructions of SSTs off the Norwegian and Icelandic margins are presented, along with a larger-scale reconstruction spanning the NE North Atlantic. The latter indicates that the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’ warming was most pronounced before ad 1200, with a long-term cooling trend apparent after ad 1250. This trend persisted until the early 20th century, while in recent decades temperatures have been similar to those inferred for the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’. The reconstructions are consistent with other independent records of sea-surface and surface air temperatures from the region, indicating that they are adequately capturing the climate dynamics of the last millennium. Consequently, this method could potentially be used to develop large-scale reconstructions of SSTs for other hydrographically constrained regions.