Reconciling divergent histories of Eastern Pacific climate with new coral data from Galapagos (Ecuador)

El Niño （ENSO）系统协调了全球气候变率和极端事件，其在温室变暖下的行为仍然是预测未来气候变化的最大不确定性之一。ENSO对加拉帕戈斯群岛的气候产生了巨大的影响，这种影响被保存在群岛的古气候记录中。但是，从加拉帕戈斯群岛发表的古气候记录中，人们对该群岛最近的气候历史产生了不同的看法，包括最近变暖的幅度以及ENSO变化的范围和时间。为了解决这些分歧，该项目将利用长寿命的年带状珊瑚的同位素地球化学重建区域海面温度。有了这些直接追踪海洋状况的记录，有关这一标志性地区近期气候变化和变化的重要问题就可以得到解决。例如，加拉帕戈斯群岛的变暖速度是否与世界其他地区一样快？该地区厄尔尼诺Niño变率的历史是怎样的？该地区的变化是否与高纬度气候变率时期相吻合，例如1500-1850年间较冷的（“小冰河期”）条件？全面了解ENSO变化和持续趋势对于改善加拉帕戈斯国家公园和海洋保护区的保护规划和气候适应工作非常重要。这项研究的结果将对许多学科有用，从Galápagos的保护管理到全球气候模型的评估。资金还用于支持研究生和本科阶段的学生教育和培训。

The El Niño (ENSO) system orchestrates climate variability and extremes worldwide, and its behavior under greenhouse warming remains one of the largest uncertainties in anticipating future climate change. ENSO has a dramatic impact on the climate of the Galapagos Islands, and this impact is preserved in paleoclimate records from the archipelago. But published paleoclimate records from the Galapagos yield disagreeing versions of the islands' recent climate history, including the magnitude of recent warming and the range and timing of ENSO variability. To resolve these disagreements, this project will develop reconstructions of regional sea surface temperature using the isotope geochemistry of long-lived, annually banded corals. With these records, which directly track ocean conditions, important questions about recent climate variability and change in this iconic region can be addressed. For example, is the Galapagos warming as fast as the rest of the world? What is the history of El Niño variability in the region? Do changes in this region coincide with periods of higher-latitude climate variability such as cooler ("Little Ice Age") conditions between 1500-1850? Understanding the full range of ENSO variability and ongoing trends is important locally, for improving conservation planning and climate adaptation efforts in the Galapagos National Park and Marine Protected Area. The results of the research will be useful across many disciplines, from conservation management in Galápagos to evaluation of global climate models. Funding also supports student education and training at the graduate and undergraduate level.