Paleoproductivity Variations in the Equatorial Arabian Sea: Implications for East African and Indian Summer Rainfalls and the El Niño Frequency

Abstract

We analyzed a sediment core from the equatorial Arabian Sea, chronologically constrained by accurate accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates on selected planktonic foraminiferal species, for paleoproductivity variations corresponding to the variations in the Indian Ocean Equatorial Westerlies (IEW). The IEW in turn are positively correlated to the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), which is a measure of El Niño, Southwest monsoon (SWM), and east African rainfall (EAR). The productivity data show that Indian and east African rainfalls declined from 35,000 calendar yr BP up to the last glacial maximum (LGM), with the maximum El Niño frequency during the last glacial period. From ∼14,500 to ∼2000 calendar yr BP (i.e. core top), we find strengthening SWM and EAR along with declining El Niño frequency.