1. Australian Antarctic Data Centre
2. Discover and Manage Data
3. Records
4. AAS_4156_Macquarie_Island_Emerald_Lake

Description

Reconstructed sea spray and minerogenic data for a 12,000 year lake sediment record from Emerald Lake, Macquarie Island. Proxies are based on biological (diatoms) and geochemical (micro x-ray fluorescence and hyperspectral imaging) indicators.
Data correspond to the figures in: Saunders et al. 2018 Holocene dynamics of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds and possible links to CO2 outgassing. Nature Geoscience 11:650-655. doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0186-5.
Detailed supplementary information: https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41561-018-0186-5/MediaObjects/41561_2018_186_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Abstract: The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds (SHW) play an important role in regulating the capacity of the Southern Ocean carbon sink. They modulate upwelling of carbon-rich deep water and, with sea ice, determine the ocean surface area available for air–sea gas exchange. Some models indicate that the current strengthening and poleward shift of these winds will weaken the carbon sink. If correct, centennial- to millennial-scale reconstructions of the SHW intensity should be linked with past changes in atmospheric CO2, temperature and sea ice. Here we present a 12,300-year reconstruction of wind strength based on three independent proxies that track inputs of sea-salt aerosols and minerogenic particles accumulating in lake sediments on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island. Between about 12.1 thousand years ago (ka) and 11.2 ka, and since about 7 ka, the wind intensities were above their long-term mean and corresponded with increasing atmospheric CO2. Conversely, from about 11.2 to 7.2 ka, the wind intensities were below their long-term mean and corresponded with decreasing atmospheric CO2. These observations are consistent with model inferences of enhanced SHW contributing to the long-term outgassing of CO2 from the Southern Ocean.

Purpose

Holocene westerly wind record from Macquarie Island for use as a comparison to other studies from Macquarie Island or elsewhere.

Quality

Please note: final record is a composite of sediment cores collected in 2006, 2009/10 and 2013. Details are in supplementary information.

Dates provided in temporal coverage correspond to the runtime of the project.

Access

These data are publicly available for download from the provided URL.

Temporal Coverages

• Start date: 2012-07-01 - Stop date: 2019-06-30

Spatial Coverages

Science Keywords

• EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > GEOCHEMISTRY
• EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > PLANTS > MICROALGAE > DIATOMS
• EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > SEDIMENTS
• EARTH SCIENCE > TERRESTRIAL HYDROSPHERE > WATER QUALITY/WATER CHEMISTRY > SOLIDS > SEDIMENTS
• EARTH SCIENCE > PALEOCLIMATE > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > RADIOCARBON
• EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > PALEOCLIMATE INDICATORS > OCEAN/LAKE RECORDS > SEDIMENTS
• EARTH SCIENCE > SOLID EARTH > ROCKS/MINERALS/CRYSTALS > MINERALS

Use Constraints

This data set conforms to the CCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=AAS_4156_Macquarie_Island_Emerald_Lake when using these data.