Paleoclimate of the Gulf of California (northwestern Mexico) during the last 2000 years

Abstract

This selective 2000 years, paleoclimate review expounds on a range of key issues appertaining to Mexico's Gulf of California (GC). Many of these issues are unresolved and in some cases are controversial in nature. This chapter will explore the following areas: (1) significant climate variation involving differing timescales ranging from interannual, to centennial, to millennial; (2) processes responsible for the sedimentation cycle; (3) assessing the fidelity of Alfonso Basin's siliceous phytoplankton record through linkage with integrated water-vertical settling studies, in that paleoclimate proxies are one of the most relevant and important tools utilized in reconstructions of (paleo)temperature and primary production; and (4) examine some global surface hydrological and climate processes and the connections to anthropogenic changes that can structure marine records recovered from marginal environments. Additionally, brief highlights from several areas under investigation will be presented, which have the potential to further an understanding of the role that temporal changes in export production may have played on carbon sequestration and how the resultant effects might have significantly affected climate variations.