Summer monsoon–induced upwelling dominated coastal sea surface temperature variations in the northern South China Sea over the last two millennia

Abstract

The South China Sea (SCS), situated to the north of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP), is under the strong influence of the Asian monsoon system. However, coastal sea surface temperature (SST) records from the SCS, which are of vital importance to exploring ocean-atmosphere-land interactions behind the Asian monsoon system, remain scarce. Here, we use a sediment core collected at the coast of northern SCS to investigate alkenone-SST variations over the past two millennia. On multi-centennial timescale, SST changes in our record exhibit an opposite pattern to that of Northern Hemisphere temperature and solar irradiance, for example, relatively cool SST during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and warm conditions during the Little Ice Age (LIA). Together with alkenone content and existing records, we suggest that the regional SST changes result from a strengthening (weakening) of wind-driven coastal upwelling, associated with variability of the Asian summer monsoon intensity during the MWP (LIA). © The Author(s) 2019.