Varying responses to Indian monsoons during the past 220 kyr recorded in deep‐sea sediments in inner and outer regions of the Gulf of Aden

Abstract

AbstractAlthough the climate in the Arabian Sea is controlled primarily by the southwest monsoon, the southwest monsoon has little influence in the Gulf of Aden. To examine the different responses to monsoons between the Gulf of Aden and areas outside the gulf, a comprehensive data set of bulk organic and inorganic geochemistry, sea surface temperature, and δ15N of pheopigments was obtained from deep‐sea sediment cores recovered from inner and outer regions of the gulf. The results indicated that during the past 220 kyr, the influence of the southwest monsoon was stronger in the outer region of the gulf than in the inner region, which implies that the southwest monsoon trajectory has not changed substantially during that time period. Furthermore, influxes of O2‐depleted water from the Southern Ocean and the lateral advection of upwelled seawater also had limited influence in the inner region. In contrast, concentrations of lithogenic materials transported by the southwest monsoon were similar in the two regions. δ15N of pheopigments indicated that during the last glacial maximum, the southwest monsoon was weaker and the northeast monsoon was stronger than at present. A stronger southwest monsoon during interglacials enhanced primary productivity and may have caused anoxic conditions to develop in the Arabian Sea, as indicated by redox proxies in the outer region. Anoxic conditions also formed during MIS 3, but no increase in the primary productivity is indicated; therefore, another mechanism, such as an influx of O2‐depleted water from the Southern Ocean, may have been the cause.