SGER: Investigation of the Monsoon Teleconnection Between the South China Sea and the Northern High-Latitudes During the Holocene

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

Summary: This research explores the potential links between the east Asian monsoon and the North Atlantic Ocean through atmospheric teleconnections as revealed by analyses of climate records in the Late Holocene of ODP Site 1144 in the South China Sea. The research will use total faunal census data of planktic foraminifer assemblages and isotopic and trace element analyses (Mg/Ca ratios) in surface dwelling and thermocline indicator species to determine sea surface temperature variations, surface salinity variation, and thermocline structure. The results will be used to test the hypothesis that quasi-periodic cold events identified in subpolar and subtropical North Atlantic Ocean Holocene records are present in Holocene records from the South China Sea.