An 11,300 yr record of paleoclimatology and paleoceanography of the central California coast in a gravity core from Pioneer Seamount

Diatom, pollen, silicoflagellate, and biogenic opal analyses from a 155 cm-long gravity core from Pioneer Seamount, offshore Santa Cruz, California (PS1410-06 GC, latitude 37.3?degrees N, longitude 123.4?degrees W, water depth 2165 m) are compiled for the last-11,300 years and compared with those of ODP 1019 and TN062-O550 from northern California. The relative abundance record of the subtropical diatom Fragilariopsis doliolus has similar bimodal Holocene patterns in all three cores, suggesting that sea surface temperatures (SST) were lower during the middle part of the Holocene than they were during the later and earlier parts. The relative abundance of coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) pollen, a proxy for fog and coastal upwelling, displays stepwise increases in ODP 1019 and TN062-O550 between -4000 and 3000 cal yr. BP, but its relative abundance in PS1410-06 GC increases gradually throughout the past 10,200 yr without any major steps. Similarly, biogenic silica (opal) displays stepwise increases at-3600 and 2900 cal yr. BP in ODP 1019 and TN062-O550, respectively, whereas opal increases more gradually in PS1410-06 GC during the past 10,100 yr with relatively minor steps at-3100 and-2600 cal yr. BP. Together, coastal redwood and opal argue for a more gradual late Holocene increase in coastal upwelling along the coast of central California compared with that off northern California, where onshore-offshore gradients are more distinct.

Automated summary

The analysis of diatom, pollen, silicoflagellate, and biogenic opal from a gravity core in Pioneer Seamount provides insights into the variations in sea surface temperatures and coastal upwelling over the past 11,300 years. The data suggests that in the middle part of the Holocene, sea surface temperatures were lower and coastal upwelling was less pronounced along the central California coast compared to the northern coast.