EAPS

Jess will be discussing climatic changes in the Southern Ocean over the last few thousand years inferred from leaf wax dD and bulk organic d13C records from fjords in New Zealand.
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Jessica Hinojosa, Ph.D.
California Institute of Technology

Friday, July 22, 10:00 AM
E25-119

The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds strongly influence air-sea CO2 exchange in the Southern Ocean, one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth. The winds may have played a significant role in accelerating deep ocean CO2 release during the last glacial termination, thus creating a positive feedback leading to enhanced warming. However, the strength and position of the westerly winds remain unclear on multi-millennial timescales, especially in different sectors of the wind field. In particular, there are limited data from the southwest Pacific sector. Here, we present a new 17.5 kyr lacustrine sedimentary record of climate variability from Lake Hayes, New Zealand. Using a multiproxy approach, we reconstruct precipitation, catchment and lake hydrology, and lake productivity, all of which inform us on regional wind strength and direction. This new record provides a climate chronology that matches well with existing records from South America, indicating zonally symmetric wind patterns during the deglaciation and Holocene.

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