School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Nature. 2011 Feb 10;470(7333):250-4. doi: 10.1038/nature09751.
The disintegration of ice shelves, reduced sea-ice and glacier extent, and shifting ecological zones observed around Antarctica highlight the impact of recent atmospheric and oceanic warming on the cryosphere. Observations and models suggest that oceanic and atmospheric temperature variations at Antarctica's margins affect global cryosphere stability, ocean circulation, sea levels and carbon cycling. In particular, recent climate changes on the Antarctic Peninsula have been dramatic, yet the Holocene climate variability of this region is largely unknown, limiting our ability to evaluate ongoing changes within the context of historical variability and underlying forcing mechanisms. Here we show that surface ocean temperatures at the continental margin of the western Antarctic Peninsula cooled by 3-4 °C over the past 12,000 years, tracking the Holocene decline of local (65° S) spring insolation. Our results, based on TEX(86) sea surface temperature (SST) proxy evidence from a marine sediment core, indicate the importance of regional summer duration as a driver of Antarctic seasonal sea-ice fluctuations. On millennial timescales, abrupt SST fluctuations of 2-4 °C coincide with globally recognized climate variability. Similarities between our SSTs, Southern Hemisphere westerly wind reconstructions and El Niño/Southern Oscillation variability indicate that present climate teleconnections between the tropical Pacific Ocean and the western Antarctic Peninsula strengthened late in the Holocene epoch. We conclude that during the Holocene, Southern Ocean temperatures at the western Antarctic Peninsula margin were tied to changes in the position of the westerlies, which have a critical role in global carbon cycling.
南极洲周围冰架的崩解、海冰和冰川范围的减少以及生态区的转移，突出了近期大气和海洋变暖对冰冻圈的影响。观测和模型表明，南极洲边缘的海洋和大气温度变化影响全球冰冻圈的稳定性、海洋环流、海平面和碳循环。特别是，南极半岛最近的气候变化是剧烈的，但该地区全新世的气候变化在很大程度上是未知的，这限制了我们在历史变异性和潜在驱动机制的背景下评估正在发生的变化的能力。在这里，我们表明，过去 12000 年来，西南极半岛大陆架边缘的表层海洋温度下降了 3-4°C，与当地（65°S）春季太阳辐射的全新世下降相吻合。我们的结果基于海洋沉积物核心中 TEX(86)海面温度（SST）代理证据，表明区域夏季持续时间作为南极季节性海冰波动的驱动因素的重要性。在千年时间尺度上，2-4°C 的突然 SST 波动与全球公认的气候变化相一致。我们的 SST、南半球西风重建和厄尔尼诺/南方涛动变化之间的相似性表明，现代气候在热带太平洋和西南极半岛之间的联系在全新世末期加强了。我们的结论是，在全新世期间，西南极半岛边缘的南大洋温度与西风位置的变化有关，西风在全球碳循环中起着关键作用。
