The North Atlantic Oscillation Over Three Millennia

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Abstract

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), defined as the atmospheric pressure differences between the Iceland Low and Azores High, is a dominant feature of climate in the North Atlantic region and is associated with climate changes at interannual and interdecadal timescales. The NAO is also associated with changes in temperature, salinity, and circulation patterns in the northwest Atlantic, but high-quality instrumental records of these variables are only available for the past 60 years. This project, led by a researcher from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will develop the first long term record of the ocean's response to the NAO. Specifically, benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen isotope records from sediment cores from the Gulf of Maine, Scotian shelf, and the Newfoundland continental shelf will be used to reconstruct temperature and salinity patterns in sea surface conditions associated with positive and negative phases of the NAO. The project will include a research expedition to collect sediment cores that are not available in existing collections. The results will complement land-based NAO records and together these data sets should provide a holistic picture of the atmosphere-ocean-cryosphere variability in the North Atlantic region over the past few millennia. Funding also supports research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, and an at-sea research experience for a high school teacher.