Atmospheric modulation of western Antarctic Peninsula Holocene climate variability: Insights from the TEX86 record of Palmer Deep

A novel TEX86-derived sea surface temperature (SST) record was generated from well-dated hemipelagic sediments drilled in Palmer Deep, on the western Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf (ODP Hole 1098B; 64°51.162'S, 64°12.4795'W; 1010 m). Regional surface sediment samples with paired CTD casts are the first to demonstrate the potential utility of the TEX86 proxy in carbonate-poor western Antarctic Peninsula continental margin sediments. Average down core TEX86-derived temperatures at Site 1098 ranged between 1 and 6°C during the Holocene (0-12 ka). A long-term cooling of 3°C between 12 and 0 ka is punctuated by millennial scale temperature variability. While the absolute SST values and associated uncertainties should be regarded with caution until a more robust calibration of the TEX86 proxy at colder (0-5°C) temperatures emerges, both the long term and millennial scale variations in ODP Site 1098 TEX86 derived SSTs are consistent with temperature trends observed regionally (in both ice and marine sediment cores) and globally distributed Holocene paleoclimate records. The observed linkages suggest atmospheric (via the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds) control over the Holocene hydrography of Palmer Deep.