Rapid reorganization in ocean biogeochemistry off Peru towards the end of the Little Ice Age

作者：Dimitri Gutiérrez, Abdelfettah Sifeddine, David B. Field, Luc Ortlieb, Gabriel Vargas, Francisco Pérez Chávez, Federico Velazco, José Ferreira, Pedro M. Tapia, Renato Salvatteci, H. Boucher, M. C. Morales, Jorge Valdés, Jean‐Louis Reyss, A. Campusano, Mohammed Boussafir, M. Mandeng-Yogo, Maria da Glória Motta Garcia, T. Baumgartner · 发表于：Biogeosciences · 年份：2009 · DOI：10.5194/bg-6-835-2009 · 被引用次数：143 · 研究领域：Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Isotope Analysis in Ecology、Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Abstract. Climate and ocean ecosystem variability has been well recognized during the twentieth century but it is unclear if modern ocean biogeochemistry is susceptible to the large, abrupt shifts that characterized the Late Quaternary. Time series from marine sediments off Peru show an abrupt centennial-scale biogeochemical regime shift in the early nineteenth century, of much greater magnitude and duration than present day multi-decadal variability. A rapid expansion of the subsurface nutrient-rich, oxygen-depleted waters resulted in higher biological productivity, including pelagic fish. The shift was likely driven by a northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the South Pacific Subtropical High to their present day locations, coupled with a strengthening of Walker circulation, towards the end of the Little Ice Age. These findings reveal the potential for large reorganizations in tropical Pacific climate with immediate effects on ocean biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem structure.