The Younger Dryas from VM27-232 in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic

Mg/Ca values of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (pink, 20 individuals from the 355-425micron size fraction) from deep-sea sediment core VM27-232 (from the Gulf of Guinea at latitude 0.23degS, longitude 7.55degE from a water depth of 2615m off the coast of Gabon) indicate a decrease in upper ocean temperatures during the Younger Dryas period between 12.9 and 11.6ka. This result is slightly different from those of a nearby location recently published by Weldeab et al. (2005, 2007). A decrease in Gulf of Guinea sea surface temperatures is consistent with other paleoclimate records from other regions of the Atlantic basin which suggest the mechanism of the Younger Dryas event involved changes in deep-ocean circulation, intensification of the trade winds, and increases in equatorial Atlantic upwelling.