Evidence of multidecadal climate variability and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation from a Gulf of Mexico sea-surface temperature-proxy record

Abstract Simulations of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and tropical Atlantic climate variability in the newest version of the Community Climate System Model [version 3 (CCSM3)] are examined in comparison with observations and previous versions of the model. The analyses are based upon multicentury control integrations of CCSM3 at two different horizontal resolutions (T42 and T85) under present-day CO2 concentrations. Complementary uncoupled integrations with the atmosphere and ocean component models forced by observed time-varying boundary conditions allow an assessment of the impact of air–sea coupling upon the simulated characteristics of ENSO and tropical Atlantic variability. The amplitude and zonal extent of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature variability associated with ENSO is well simulated in CCSM3 at both resolutions and represents an improvement relative to previous versions of the model. However, the period of ENSO remains too short (2–2.5 yr in CCSM3 compared to 2.5–8 yr in observations), and the sea surface temperature, wind stress, precipitation, and thermocline depth responses are too narrowly confined about the equator. The latter shortcoming is partially overcome in the atmosphere-only and ocean-only simulations, indicating that coupling between the two model components is a contributing cause. The relationships among sea surface temperature, thermocline depth, and zonal wind stress anomalies are consistent with the delayed/recharge oscillator paradigms for ENSO. We speculate that the overly narrow meridional scale of CCSM3's ENSO simulation may contribute to its excessively high frequency. The amplitude and spatial pattern of the extratropical atmospheric circulation response to ENSO is generally well simulated in the T85 version of CCSM3, with realistic impacts upon surface air temperature and precipitation; the simulation is not as good at T42. CCSM3's simulation of interannual climate variability in the tropical Atlantic sector, including variability intrinsic to the basin and that associated with the remote influence of ENSO, exhibits similarities and differences with observations. Specifically, the observed counterpart of El Niño in the equatorial Atlantic is absent from the coupled model at both horizontal resolutions (as it was in earlier versions of the coupled model), but there are realistic (although weaker than observed) SST anomalies in the northern and southern tropical Atlantic that affect the position of the local intertropical convergence zone, and the remote influence of ENSO is similar in strength to observations, although the spatial pattern is somewhat different.

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Diet shifts of Rhizoprionodon terraenovae from the southern Gulf of Mexico: possible scenario by temperature changes

Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research ◽

10.3856/vol48-issue3-fulltext-2433 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 406-420

Author(s):

Javier E. Viana-Morayta ◽

Yassir E. Torres-Rojas ◽

Jaime Camalich-Carpizo

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Trophic Level ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Diet Breadth ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae ◽

Southern Gulf Of Mexico

The current study examined the stomach contents of the Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) in the southern Gulf of Mexico during 2015 to understand the relationship between diet and changes in sea surface temperature (SST). Prey-specific index of relative importance (%PSIRI), diet breadth (Bi), trophic level (TrL), and trophic overlap (PERMANOVA) were calculated between sexes, body size, and climatic seasons (dry, rainy and winter storm). The lowest temperature recorded in the area was during February (23.9°C), and the highest was during August (29.1°C). A total of 124 stomachs were analyzed, with 54.84% containing food. The trophic spectrum was composed of 32 identified prey, with demersal fish (Haemulon plumierii; %PSIRI = 22.82) and pelagic fish (Sardinella aurita; %PSIRI = 12.83) being the most important. According to the diet breadth (Bi = 0.002), Costello's graph, and trophic level (TrL = 4.2), R. terraenovae is a specialist tertiary consumer. PERMANOVA indicated significant trophic differences between sexes (F = 32.22; P < 0.05), body size (F = 13.68; P < 0.05), and among climatic seasons (F = 23.86; P < 0.05). Spearman's correlation indicated a negative relationship between the diversity of prey consumed by R. terraenovae and sea surface temperature (r = -0.75; P < 0.05). Therefore, diet for R. terraenovae is associated with SST, allowing for the development of possible scenarios related to climatic phenomena like climate change.

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Holocene evolution of sea‐surface temperature and salinity in the Gulf of Mexico

Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology ◽

10.1029/2021pa004221 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kaustubh Thirumalai ◽

Julie N. Richey ◽

Terrence M. Quinn

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface

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Holocene climate variability as derived from alkenone sea surface temperature and coupled ocean-atmosphere model experiments

Climate Dynamics ◽

10.1007/s00382-004-0435-8 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 215-227 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

N. Rimbu ◽

G. Lohmann ◽

S. J. Lorenz ◽

J. H. Kim ◽

R. R. Schneider

Keyword(s):

Climate Variability ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Holocene Climate ◽

Model Experiments ◽

Ocean Atmosphere ◽

Atmosphere Model

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Can oceanic paleothermometers reconstruct the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation?

Climate of the Past ◽

10.5194/cp-7-151-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 151-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

D. Heslop ◽

A. Paul

Keyword(s):

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Large Scale ◽

Climate Model ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Prediction Errors ◽

The Past ◽

Instrumental Records

Abstract. Instrumental records of the North Atlantic sea surface temperature reveal a large-scale low frequency mode of variability that has become known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Proxy and modelling studies have demonstrated the important consequences of the AMO on other components of the climate system both within and outside the Atlantic region. Over longer time scales, the past behavior of the AMO is predominantly constrained by terrestrial proxies and only a limited number of records are available from the marine realm itself. Here we use an Earth System-Climate Model of intermediate complexity to simulate AMO-type behavior in the Atlantic with a specific focus placed on the ability of ocean paleothermometers to capture the associated surface and subsurface temperature variability. Given their lower prediction errors and annual resolution, coral-based proxies of sea surface temperature appear to be capable of reconstructing the temperature variations associated with the past AMO with an adequate signal-to-noise ratio. In contrast, the relatively high prediction error and low temporal resolution of sediment-based proxies, such as the composition of foraminiferal calcite, limits their ability to produce interpretable records of past temperature anomalies corresponding to AMO activity. Whilst the presented results will inevitably be model-dependent to some degree, the statistical framework is model-independent and can be applied to a wide variety of scenarios.

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Coupled Interannual Variability of Wind and Sea Surface Temperature in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico

Journal of Climate ◽

10.1175/jcli-d-18-0573.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (14) ◽

pp. 4263-4280 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Geidy Rodriguez-Vera ◽

Rosario Romero-Centeno ◽

Christopher L. Castro ◽

Víctor Mendoza Castro

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Sea Surface Temperature ◽

Interannual Variability ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Sea Surface ◽

Coupled Modes ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Coupled Variability

Abstract This work describes dominant patterns of coupled interannual variability of the 10-m wind and sea surface temperature in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (CS&GM) during the period 1982–2016. Using a canonical correlation analysis (CCA) between the monthly mean anomalies of these fields, four coupled variability modes are identified: the dipole (March–April), transition (May–June), interocean (July–October), and meridional-wind (November–February) modes. Results show that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences almost all the CS&GM coupled modes, except the transition mode, and that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in February has a strong negative correlation with the dipole and transition modes. The antisymmetric relationships found between the dipole mode and the NAO and ENSO indices confirm previous evidence about the competing remote forcings of both teleconnection patterns on the tropical North Atlantic variability. Precipitation in the CS and adjacent oceanic and land areas is sensitive to the wind–SST coupled variability modes from June to October. These modes seem to be strongly related to the interannual variability of the midsummer drought and the meridional migration of the intertropical convergence zone in the eastern Pacific. These findings may eventually lead to improving seasonal predictability in the CS&GM and surrounding land areas.

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