| Popis: |
Oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca ratios in long-lived coralline algae record ambient seawater temperature in their calcified tissues over time. Similarly, carbon stable isotopes (δ13C) in the calcified tissue may record δ13C values of ambient seawater dissolved inorganic carbon. Here, we measured δ13C in the coralline algae Clathromorphum nereostratum to test the feasibility of reconstructing the intrusion of anthropogenic CO2 into the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. δ13C was measured in the high Mg-calcite calcified tissue of three C. nereostratum specimens from two islands 500 km apart in the Aleutian archipelago. In the records spanning 1887 to 2003, the average rate of decline in δ13C values increased from 0.03‰ yr−1 in the 1960s to 0.1‰ yr−1 in the 1990s, which was higher than expected due to solely the δ13C-Suess effect. Deeper water in this region exhibits higher concentrations of CO2 and low δ13C values. Transport of deeper water into surface water (i.e., upwelling) is increased when the Aleutian Low is intensified. We hypothesize that the acceleration of δ13C decline may result from an increase in upwelling from the 1960s to 1990s, which in turn was driven by an increase in the intensity of the Aleutian Low. Detrended δ13C records also vary on 4–7 years and bidecadal timescales supporting an atmospheric teleconnection of tropical climate patterns to the northern North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea manifested as changes in upwelling. |
