NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Yamamoto et al. 2005 Northwestern Pacific 144KYr Alkenone SST Estimates

We have generated a high-resolution record of alkenone sea surface temperature (SST) between 10ŋ24 ka from Core MD01-2421 off central Japan, in the northwestern Pacific. The cooling by 5°C from 21 ka to 12.8 ka implies the equatorward shift of the subarctic boundary in the northwestern Pacific by ~2.8° in latitude. This shift was a result of the stronger summer Okhotsk High. The Okhotsk High was likely enhanced by the combined effects of El Niņo-like conditions in the tropical Pacific and the heating of the land surface of northeastern Siberia.