Decadal to interdecadal variability in TEX86 temperature on the inner shelf of the East China Sea over the last 3.7 kyr

Abstract

To understand the long-term environmental evolution of the East China Sea (ECS) and adjacent areas, the variation in TEX86H-derived sea surface temperature (SST) at site T08 collected from the mud area on the inner continental shelf of the ECS over the last 3725 years was reconstructed. The core-top TEX86H SST is 23.2 °C, close to the annual mean SST (22.9 °C) at site T08. The branched and isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index, which is a proxy for soil organic matter, ranges from 0.029 to 0.059, indicating that the influence of terrestrial input on the TEX86H SST proxy is negligible. The ratio between glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) GDGT-0 and GDGT-5 (R0/5), which is used to indicate the contribution of methanogenic archaea to the GDGT pool, varies between 0.04 and 0.62, suggesting a minor influence of methanogens on the TEX86H proxy. During the past 3725 years, variation in TEX86H SST can be divided into three periods with an overall increasing trend. During Period I (3725–2500 yr BP), TEX86H SST ranged from 19.0 to 20.6 °C with a mean of 20.1 °C. The values were generally relatively low but with marked fluctuation, attributed to increased input of cold coastal water caused by a strengthened East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) and a weakened Kuroshio Current (KC). During Period II (2500–750 yr BP), after a low-temperature period at 2400–2200 yr BP, TEX86H SST increased gradually from 19.2 to 23.5 °C. During this period, an intensified East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and a strengthened KC and Taiwan Warm Current (TWWC) transported warm water from low-latitude areas to ECS coastal areas. During Period III (750 yr BP to present), TEX86H SST increased gradually and reached a maximum (24.2 °C) at ∼565 yr BP. Subsequently, TEX86H SST decreased and reached a low value (21.9 °C) at ∼279 yr BP. During the period (<750 yr BP), higher TEX86H SST values were caused mainly by intensified KC, whereas lower values corresponded to the Little Ice Age. Spectral analysis reveals that variation in TEX86H SST exhibits periodicities of 175, 80, and 68 years, consistent with the periodicities of solar activity.