Subtropical coral reveals abrupt early-twentieth-century freshening in the western North Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 2009 Subtropical coral reveals abrupt early-twentieth-century freshening in the western North Pacific Ocean Thomas Felis; Thomas Felis * 1MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany *E-mail: tfelis@uni-bremen.de Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Atsushi Suzuki; Atsushi Suzuki 2Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Henning Kuhnert; Henning Kuhnert 1MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mihai Dima; Mihai Dima 3Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany 4Department of Atmospheric Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, 77125 Bucharest, Romania Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gerrit Lohmann; Gerrit Lohmann 3Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hodaka Kawahata Hodaka Kawahata 2Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan 5Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan 6Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Thomas Felis * 1MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany Atsushi Suzuki 2Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan Henning Kuhnert 1MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany Mihai Dima 3Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany 4Department of Atmospheric Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, 77125 Bucharest, Romania Gerrit Lohmann 3Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany Hodaka Kawahata 2Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8567, Japan 5Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan 6Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 164-8639, Japan *E-mail: tfelis@uni-bremen.de Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 06 Oct 2008 Revision Received: 23 Jan 2009 Accepted: 29 Jan 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (6): 527–530. https://doi.org/10.1130/G25581A.1 Article history Received: 06 Oct 2008 Revision Received: 23 Jan 2009 Accepted: 29 Jan 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Thomas Felis, Atsushi Suzuki, Henning Kuhnert, Mihai Dima, Gerrit Lohmann, Hodaka Kawahata; Subtropical coral reveals abrupt early-twentieth-century freshening in the western North Pacific Ocean. Geology 2009;; 37 (6): 527–530. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G25581A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Instrumental climate observations provide robust records of global land and ocean temperatures during the twentieth century. Unlike for temperature, continuous salinity observations in the surface ocean are scarce prior to 1970, and the magnitude of salinity changes during the twentieth century is largely unknown. Surface ocean salinity is a major component in climate dynamics, as it influences ocean circulation and water mass formation. Here we present an annually resolved reconstruction of salinity variations in the surface waters of the western subtropical North Pacific Ocean since 1873, based on bimonthly records of δ18O, Sr/Ca, and U/Ca in a coral from the Ogasawara Islands. The reconstruction indicates that an abrupt regime shift toward fresher surface ocean conditions occurred between 1905 and 1910. Observational atmospheric data suggest that the abrupt freshening was associated with a weakening of the winds that drive the Kuroshio Current system and the associated subtropical gyre circulation. We note that the abrupt early-twentieth-century freshening in the western subtropical North Pacific precedes abrupt climate change in the northern North Atlantic by a few years. The potential for abrupt regime shifts in surface ocean salinity should be considered in climate predictions for the coming decades. 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