Felis Thomas, McGregor Helen V, Linsley Braddock K, Tudhope Alexander W, Gagan Michael K, Suzuki Atsushi, Inoue Mayuri, Thomas Alexander L, Esat Tezer M, Thompson William G, Tiwari Manish, Potts Donald C, Mudelsee Manfred, Yokoyama Yusuke, Webster Jody M
MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia.
Nat Commun. 2014 Jun 17;5:4102. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5102.
Tropical south-western Pacific temperatures are of vital importance to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), but the role of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the growth of the GBR since the Last Glacial Maximum remains largely unknown. Here we present records of Sr/Ca and δ(18)O for Last Glacial Maximum and deglacial corals that show a considerably steeper meridional SST gradient than the present day in the central GBR. We find a 1-2 °C larger temperature decrease between 17° and 20°S about 20,000 to 13,000 years ago. The result is best explained by the northward expansion of cooler subtropical waters due to a weakening of the South Pacific gyre and East Australian Current. Our findings indicate that the GBR experienced substantial meridional temperature change during the last deglaciation, and serve to explain anomalous deglacial drying of northeastern Australia. Overall, the GBR developed through significant SST change and may be more resilient than previously thought.
热带西南太平洋的温度对大堡礁（GBR）至关重要，但自末次盛冰期以来海面温度（SST）在大堡礁生长过程中的作用仍很大程度上未知。在此我们展示了末次盛冰期和冰消期珊瑚的Sr/Ca和δ(18)O记录，这些记录显示大堡礁中部的经向SST梯度比现今陡得多。我们发现在约20000至13000年前，南纬17°至20°之间的温度下降幅度比现在大1 - 2°C。这一结果最好的解释是由于南太平洋环流和东澳大利亚洋流减弱，较冷的亚热带海水向北扩张。我们的研究结果表明，大堡礁在末次冰消期经历了显著的经向温度变化，并有助于解释澳大利亚东北部异常的冰消期干旱。总体而言，大堡礁是在显著的SST变化中形成的，可能比之前认为的更具恢复力。
