Sea surface temperature evolution in the Yellow Sea Warm Current pathway and its teleconnection with high and low latitude forcing during the mid-late Holocene

Abstract

Sea surface temperature (SST) in the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) pathway is sensitive to the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) and YSWC. However, the role of the YSWC in the evolution of regional SST remains unclear. Here, we present new ${\rm{U}}_{^{37}}^{{\rm{k}}\prime }$ based SST and grain size sequences spanning the last 6 092 years in the sediment core Z1, which was retrieved from the central Yellow Sea muddy area. Overall, ${\rm{U}}_{^{37}}^{{\rm{k}}\prime }$-SST gradually increased since 6.1 ka BP, with a series of centennial-scale fluctuations. Its variation was mainly caused by EAWM when YSWC was weak between 6.1 and ∼3.9 ka BP, as shown by the end-member content of grain size. However, after YSWC was fully developed, i.e., since ∼3.9 ka BP, it exerted critical effects on SST evolution in its pathway. The 1 010, and 538-year cycles of the SST sequence indicated a basic control of solar activity on the oceanic conditions in the Yellow Sea. It is suggested that the variation of total solar irradiance was amplified by thermohaline circulation and then transmitted to the Yellow Sea through the EAWM. Meanwhile, the tropical Pacific signal of El Niño was transmitted to the YSWC through the Kuroshio Current. The dual properties of warm water transported by YSWC to compensate the EAWM and driving by Kuroshio Current closely linked the variation of SST in the YSWC pathway to the Northern Hemisphere high latitude climate and the tropical Pacific. These findings highlight the significance of YSWC on regional SST evolution and its teleconnection to high and low latitude forcing, which grains a better understanding of the long-term evolution of SST in the middle latitude Yellow Sea.