THE CALIFORNIA CURRENT AS A DRIVER OF MILLENNIAL SCALE VARIABILITY ON THE NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC MARGIN FROM 10-50 KA

A high resolution record of δ¹⁸O_calcite and Mg/Ca-based temperatures spanning 10-50 ka has been reconstructed from jumbo piston core MD02-2496 (48˚58.47’ N, 127˚02.14’ W, water depth of 1243 m), collected off Vancouver Island from two planktonic foraminiferal species, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) and Globigerina bulloides. δ¹⁸O_calcite records Greenland ice core interstadials like other eastern North Pacific cores, while sea surface warming coincides with Dansgaard-Oeschgar events from 30-50 ka, and the Bølling-Allerød. Sea surface warming coincided with changes in water mass characteristics such as δ¹⁸O_seawater and enriched δ¹⁵N. These water mass characteristics are suggestive of the presence of surface water advected from the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) in agreement with core reconstructions south of MD02-2496 on the California margin, where records also indicate the presence of warm/salty waters during Greenland interstadials. The presence of ETNP waters in surface waters along the northeastern Pacific margin suggests a relative strengthening of the California Undercurrent during interstadials.