Bahamas Coral SST Reconstruction Since 1552 Saenger, C.P.; Cohen, A.L.; Oppo, D.W.; Halley, R.B.; Carilli, J.E. Saenger, C.P. Cohen, A.L. Oppo, D.W. Halley, R.B. Carilli, J.E. Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges (sea surface temperature,extension rate,one standard error lower bound,degree Celsius,null,climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges,anomalized,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/corals and sclerosponges (extension rate,Siderastrea siderea,null,centimeter per year,null,corals and sclerosponges,raw,computed tomography,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges (sea surface temperature,extension rate,one standard error upper bound,degree Celsius,null,climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges,anomalized,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges (sea surface temperature,extension rate,null,degree Celsius,null,climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges,anomalized,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges (age,null,null,year Common Era,null,climate reconstructions|corals and sclerosponges,null,null,N,null) earth science/paleoclimate/reconstructions (Gingerbreads Reef>LATITUDE 25.84>LONGITUDE -78.62) Sea surface temperature variability in the North Atlantic Ocean recorded since about 1850 has been ascribed to a natural multidecadal oscillation superimposed on a background warming trend. It has been suggested that the multidecadal variability may be a persistent feature, raising the possibility that the associated climate impacts may be predictable. However, our understanding of the multidecadal ocean variability before the instrumental record is based on interpretations of high-latitude terrestrial proxy records. Here we present an absolutely dated and annually resolved record of sea surface temperature from the Bahamas, based on a 440-year time series of coral growth rates. The reconstruction indicates that temperatures were as warm as today from about 1552 to 1570, then cooled by about 1°C from 1650 to 1730 before warming until the present. Our estimates of background variability suggest that much of the warming since 1900 was driven by anthropogenic forcing. Interdecadal variability with a period of 15-25 years is superimposed on most of the record, but multidecadal variability becomes significant only after 1730. We conclude that the multidecadal variability in sea surface temperatures in the low-latitude western Atlantic Ocean may not be persistent, potentially making accurate decadal climate forecasts more difficult to achieve. STUDY NOTES: A low-latitude western Atlantic reconstruction of SST since 1552 derived from annual growth variations in the coral Siderastrea siderea sampled at Gingerbreads Reef, Bahamas. Unfiltered Siderastrea extension data determined by CT scan, added in July 2011. NCDC-Paleoclimatology https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/paleoclimatology-data - Bauer Bruce Investigator : Saenger, C.P. Investigator : Cohen, A.L. Investigator : Oppo, D.W. Investigator : Halley, R.B. Investigator : Carilli, J.E. 2009-06-01 ONLINE Files online, ASCII https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/16440 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.xls https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.xls English https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/16440 https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.txt https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/coral/atlantic/bahamas2009sst.xls Casey Saenger, Anne L. Cohen, Delia W. Oppo, Robert B. Halley, and Jessica E. Carilli2009Surface-temperature trends and variability in the low-latitude North Atlantic since 1552Nature Geoscience2492-49510.1038/NGEO552http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v2/n7/full/ngeo552.html START YEAR: 1552 AD * END YEAR: 1991 AD -78.62 25.84 -78.62 25.84