Influence of the Indonesian Throughflow in the western Indian Ocean thermocline--the 20th century record from sclerosponges

热带温跃层对持续温室气体强迫的动力响应是影响未来海洋变暖演变的主要反馈之一，基于古记录了解这一响应的过去变率对于通过全球海洋/大气模式精确模拟未来变化至关重要。印度尼西亚通流对西印度洋温跃层的影响在气候模式中很少被明确考虑，尽管事实上它代表了大量的热量和能量转移。该项目旨在分析多个同时期硬化海绵标本中稳定同位素、微量元素和放射性碳的趋势，以获得20世纪西部热带印度洋温跃层变化的可靠、两年一次的重建。放射性碳趋势与稳定同位素/微量元素趋势的比较将有助于确定印度尼西亚通流（ITF）的特征或强度对推断的温跃层变化的影响程度。这项研究将产生宝贵的基线数据，以评估人为环境变化对深礁动物群目前和未来的影响。该奖项支持研究生的论文研究，以及与斯克里普斯的伯奇水族馆合作的推广工作。

The dynamical response of the tropical thermocline to continued greenhouse gas forcing represented one of the primary feedbacks influencing the future evolution of ocean warming, and understanding of past variability of this response based on paleo records is crucial for accurate simulation of future changes by global ocean/atmosphere models. The impact of the Indonesian Throughflow on the western Indian Ocean thermocline is rarely considered explicitly in climate models, despite the fact that it represents a substantial transfer of heat and energy. This project is aimed at analyzing trends in stable isotopes, trace elements, and radiocarbon in multiple coeval sclerosponge specimens to arrive at a robust, biennially resolved reconstruction of western tropical Indian Ocean thermocline change across the 20th century. The comparison of the radiocarbon trends with stable isotopic/trace element trends will help determine the extent to which the characteristics or strength of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) were responsible for the inferred thermocline changes. The research will generate valuable baseline data for assessing present and future impacts of anthropogenic environmental change on deep reef fauna. The award supports a graduate student's dissertation research, as well as outreach efforts in collaboration with the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.