Western Tropical Pacific Holocene Sea Surface Temperature and Salinity Reconstructions Stott, L.D.; Cannariato, K.G.; Thunell, R.C.; Haug, G.H.; Koutavas, A.; Lund, S.P. Stott, L.D. Cannariato, K.G. Thunell, R.C. Haug, G.H. Koutavas, A. Lund, S.P. Other Hydroclimate Reconstruction Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (magnesium/calcium,Globigerinoides ruber,null,dimensionless,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (delta 18O,delta 18O|magnesium/calcium|sea water,null,per mil SMOW,null,climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,G. ruber) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (age,null,null,radiocarbon year before present,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|paleoceanography (sea surface temperature,magnesium/calcium,null,degree Celsius,null,climate reconstructions|paleoceanography,null,null,N,on G. ruber) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (depth,null,null,centimeter,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleoceanography (delta 18O,Globigerinoides ruber,null,per mil PDB,null,paleoceanography,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean earth science/paleoclimate/paleocean (MD98-2176>LATITUDE -5>LONGITUDE 133.45) (MD98-2170>LATITUDE -10.6>LONGITUDE 125.38) (MD98-2181>LATITUDE 6.3>LONGITUDE 125.83) In the present-day climate, surface water salinities are low in the western tropical Pacific Ocean and increase towards the eastern part of the basin. The salinity of surface waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean is thought to be controlled by a combination of atmospheric convection, precipitation, evaporation and ocean dynamics, and on interannual timescales significant variability is associated with the El Niņo/Southern Oscillation cycles. However, little is known about the variability of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system on timescales of centuries to millennia. Here we combine oxygen isotope and Mg/Ca data from foraminifers retrieved from three sediment cores in the western tropical Pacific Ocean to reconstruct Holocene sea surface temperatures and salinities in the region. We find a decrease in sea surface temperatures of ~0.5 °C over the past 10,000 yr, whereas sea surface salinities decreased by ~1.5 practical salinity units. Our data imply either that the Pacific basin as a whole has become progressively less salty or that the present salinity gradient along the Equator has developed relatively recently. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Stott, L.D. Investigator : Cannariato, K.G. Investigator : Thunell, R.C. Investigator : Haug, G.H. Investigator : Koutavas, A. Investigator : Lund, S.P. 2004-01-01 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/2634 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982176-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/stott2004 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982181-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982170-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982176-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/stott2004 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982181-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982170-tab.txt English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/2634 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982176-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/contributions_by_author/stott2004 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982181-tab.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/paleocean/sediment_files/complete/md982170-tab.txt Stott, L.D., K.G. Cannariato, R.C. Thunell, G.H. Haug, A. Koutavas, and S.P. Lund. 2004. Decline of surface temperature and salinity in the western tropical Pacific Ocean in the Holocene epoch. Nature, v. 431, p. 56-59. START YEAR: 14920 14C yr BP * END YEAR: 0 14C yr BP 125.38 -10.6 133.45 6.3