New Publication in the Journal Climate of the Past

The evolution of the sea surface conditions of the central-western Mediterranean Sea has been reconstructed by scientists at OPERA Project. The multy-proxy reconstruction has been performed on five sediment cores, combining sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from alkenones and Globigerina bulloides Mg/Ca ratios and, oxygen isotope measurements in order to also reconstruct changes in the regional evaporation–precipitation (E–P) balance. G. bulloides Mg/Ca–SST calibration has been revisited and readjusted based for the study area. The robust Chronological framework has allowed the construction of "stacked" proxy records. The warmest sustained period occurred during the Roman Period, which was immediately followed by a general cooling trend interrupted by several centennial-scale oscillations. Comparison of the obtained SST stacks with other European palaeoclimatic records suggests a rather heterogeneous thermal response along the European continent and surrounding marine regions. The SST stacks show a tied relation to AMO during the last four centuries (the available period of AMO reconstructions) in which warm SST dominated during high AMO values. This evidence supports a close connection between Mediterranean and North Atlantic climatology over the last 2 kyr. Sea surface temperature variability in the central-western Mediterranean Sea during the last 2700 years: a multi-proxy and multi-record approach