NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Angola-Benguela Front ODP1078C 25KYr Alkenone SST Reconstructions

A prominent feature in the Southeast Atlantic is the Angola-Benguela Front (ABF), the convergence between warm tropical and cold subtropical upwelled waters. At present, the sea-surface temperature (SST) gradient across the ABF and its position are influenced by the strength ofsoutheasterly (SE) trade winds. Here, we present a record of changes in the ABF SST gradient over the last 25 kyr. Variations in this SST contrast indicate that periods of strengthened SE trade-wind intensity occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, the Younger Dryas, and the Mid to Late Holocene, while Heinrich Event 1, the early part of the Bølling-Allerød, and the Early Holocene were periods of weakened SE trade-winds. Alkenone sea-surface temperature (SST) estimates for the past 33 kyr from a sediment core located near the modern Angola-Benguela Front.