Mechanisms of southern Caribbean SST variability over the last two millennia

We present a high-resolution Mg/Ca reconstruction of tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) spanning the last 2000 years using seasonally representative foraminifera from the Cariaco Basin. The range of summer/fall SST over this interval is restricted to 1.5°C, while winter/spring SST varies by 4.5°C over the same time period suggesting that boreal winter variations control interannual SST variability in the tropical North Atlantic. Antiphasing between the two data sets, including a large divergence in the seasonal records circa 900 Common Era, can be explained by changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and associated changes in surface/subsurface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic as well as resultant changes in trade wind belt location and intensity. A statistically significant but nonlinear relation exists between reconstructed winter/spring temperatures and solar variability.