Dynamical interpretation of paleoclimate data: Corals and atmospheric circulation

We show that the winter time series of the Ras Umm Sidd coral oxygen isotope record from the northern Red Sea is linked to the Arctic Oscillation phenomenon, the Northern Hemisphere's dominant mode of atmospheric variability. Until now, the detection of this mode, which is most prominent in winter, in proxy climate records was difficult due to the lack of a clear seasonality in most paleoclimatic archives. The results suggest that northern Red Sea corals can provide information about the low-frequency variability of the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation during the pre-instrumental period.

Rimbu, N., Lohmann, G., Felis, T., and Pätzold, J., 2001: Arctic Oscillation signature in a Red Sea coral.Geophysical Research Letters, 28 (15), 2959-2962.

Felis, T., G. Lohmann, H. Kuhnert, S. Lorenz, D. Scholz, J. Pätzold, S. A. Al-Rousan, S. M. Al-Moghrabi, 2004: Increased seasonality in Middle East temperatures during the last interglacial period. Nature 429, 164-168.

Lohmann, G., 2002: Meteorologische Interpretation geologischer Daten - neue Wege in der Paläoklimaforschung. Promet 28 (3/4), 147-152.