A 4500-year reconstruction of sea surface temperature variability at decadal time-scales off North Iceland

Marine paleo-records acquired at high temporal resolution provide critical data for testing numerical climate models and help to understand processes underlying ocean variability. This study presents a unique 4500-year reconstruction of sea surface temperature (SST) obtained from alkenones in the North Atlantic Polar Front area off North Iceland, at an average temporal resolution of 4–5 years. Spectral analysis of this signal shows dominant multidecadal oscillations which occurred with a stronger amplitude between 2500 and 4200 years BP, hand in hand with fluctuations of bottom currents indicated by paleomagnetic proxies. Contemporaneous large excursions of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) are also recorded by the distant Cariaco titanium time series, suggesting a link with low latitude Atlantic climate. We speculate that the oscillations reflect changes of the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) induced by increased ENSO activity.