loading page

Growth increments of coralline red alga Clathromorphum compactum capture sea-ice variability links to Atlantic Multidecadal and Arctic Oscillations (1805 - 2015)
  • +2
  • Natasha Leclerc,
  • Jochen Halfar,
  • Steffen Hetzinger,
  • Alexandra Tsay,
  • G. W. K. Moore
Natasha Leclerc
University of Toronto at Mississauga

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Jochen Halfar
University of Toronto at Mississauga
Author Profile
Steffen Hetzinger
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung
Author Profile
Alexandra Tsay
University of Geneva
Author Profile
G. W. K. Moore
University of Toronto
Author Profile

Abstract

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), Arctic Oscillation (AO), and related North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) have been linked to multidecadal, decadal, and/or interannual sea-ice variability in the arctic, but their relative influences are still under evaluation. While instrumental AMO and reliable AO records are available since the mid-1800s and 1958, respectively, satellite sea-ice concentration datasets start only in 1979, limiting the shared timespan to study their interplay. Growth increments of the coralline algae, Clathromorphum compactum, can provide sea-ice proxy information for years prior to 1979. We present a seasonal 210-year algal record from Lancaster Sound in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago capturing low frequency AMO variability and high frequency interannual AO/NAO prior to 2000. We suggest that sea-ice variability here is strongly coupled to these large-scale climate processes, and that sea-ice cover was greater and the AO more negative in the early and late 19th century compared to the 20th.
16 Aug 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
17 Aug 2023Published in ESS Open Archive