Mid-late Holocene El Niño variability in the equatorial Pacific from coral microatolls

Abstract

Oxygen isotope ratios in Porites microatolls from Christmas Island in the central Pacific provide high-resolution proxy records of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability since 3.8 thousand years ago (ka). Compared with modern microatolls, reconstructions from fossil microatolls imply that interannual variations in ENSO sea-surface temperature and precipitation were less intense 3.8-2.8 ka, but more pronounced at 1.7 ka. Amplification of ENSO at ∼2 ka is consistent with precessional changes in insolation seasonality, but exceeds model predictions and may reflect stronger rainfall teleconnections through enhanced interaction between the Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone.