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Coral δ18O records as an indicator of winter monsoon intensity in the South China Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Zicheng Peng ,
Tegu Chen ,
Baofu Nie ,
M. John Head ,
Xuexian He  and
Weijian Zhou
Zicheng Peng*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, People’s Republic of China State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi’an 710075, People’s Republic of China
Tegu Chen
Affiliation:
South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, People’s Republic of China
Baofu Nie
Affiliation:
South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510301, People’s Republic of China
M. John Head
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi’an 710075, People’s Republic of China School of Geosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Xuexian He
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, People’s Republic of China
Weijian Zhou
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, CAS, Xi’an 710075, People’s Republic of China
*
*Corresponding author. Email Address:pzc@ustc.edu.cn
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Abstract

We have used correlative analysis between mean December–January–February winter wind velocities, measured at the Xisha Meteorological Observatory (16°50′N, 112°20′E) in the middle of the South China Sea, and mean δ18O data for the corresponding month from Porites lutea coral, collected in Longwan waters (19°20′N, 110°39′E), to obtain a linear equation relating the two datasets. This winter wind velocity for the South China Sea (WMIIscs) can then be correlated to the coral δ18O by the equation WMIIscs = −1.213–1.351 δ18O (‰ PDB), r = −0.60, n = 40, P = 0.01. From this, the calculated WMIIscs-δ18O series from 1944 to 1997 tends to decrease during the 1940s to the 1960s; it increases slightly during the 1970s and then decreases again in the 1980s and 1990s. The calculated decadal mean WMIIscs-δ18O series had a obvious decrease from 5.92 to 4.63 m/s during the period of 1944–1997. The calculated yearly mean WMIIscs-δ18O value is 5.58 m/s from 1944 to 1976 and this decreases to 4.85 m/s from 1977 to 1998. That is the opposite trend to the observed yearly mean SST variation. The yearly mean SST anomaly is −0.27° from 1943 to 1976 and this increases to +0.16° from 1977 to 1998. Spectral analysis used on a 54-year-long calculated WMIIscs-δ18O series produces spectral peaks at 2.4–7 yr, which can be closely correlated with the quasibiennial oscillation band (QBO band, 2–2.4 yr) and the El Ñino southern oscillation band (ENSO band, 3–8 yr). Hence most of the variability of the winter monsoon intensity in the middle of the South China Sea is mainly constrained by changes in the thermal difference between the land and the adjoining sea area, perhaps due to global warming.

Keywords

Coral δ18O valuesWinter monsoon intensityInterannual and interdecadal variabilityGlobal warming
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 59 , Issue 3 , May 2003 , pp. 285 - 292
Copyright
Elsevier Science (USA)

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