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R.Z. Poore

Publications and source records attributed to R.Z. Poore.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Last interglacial climates

The last interglacial, commonly understood as an interval with climate as warm or warmer than today, is represented by marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, which is a proxy record of low global ice volume and high sea level. It is arbitrarily dated to begin at approximately 130,000 yr B.P. and end at 116,000 yr B.P. with the onset of the early glacial unit MIS 5d. The age of the stage is determined by correlation to uranium-thorium dates of raised coral reefs. The most detailed proxy record of interglacial climate is found in the Vostok ice core where the temperature reached current levels 132,000 yr ago and continued rising for another two millennia. Approximately 127,000 yr ago the Eemian mixed forests were established in Europe. They developed through a characteristic succession of tree species, probably surviving well into the early glacial stage in southern parts of Europe. After ca. 115,000 yr ago, open vegetation replaced forests in northwestern Europe and the proportion of conifers increased significantly farther south. Air temperature at Vostok dropped sharply. Pulses of cold water affected the northern North Atlantic already in late MIS 5e, but the central North Atlantic remained warm throughout most of MIS 5d. Model results show that the sea surface in the eastern tropical Pacific warmed when the ice grew and sea level dropped. The essentially interglacial conditions in southwestern Europe remained unaffected by ice buildup until late MIS 5d when the forests disappeared abruptly and cold water invaded the central North Atlantic ca. 107,000 yr ago. ?? 2002 University of Washington.

Quaternary Research↗
USGS2011

Benthic habitat classification in Lignumvitae Key Basin, Florida Bay, using the U.S. Geological Survey Along-Track Reef Imaging System (ATRIS)

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) funded in partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, and other Federal, local and Tribal members has in its mandate a guideline to protect and restore freshwater flows to coastal environments to pre-1940s conditions (CERP, 1999). Historic salinity data are sparse for Florida Bay, so it is difficult for water managers to decide what the correct quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of freshwater are to maintain a healthy and productive estuarine ecosystem. Proxy records of seasurface temperature (SST) and salinity have proven useful in south Florida. Trace-element chemistry on foraminifera and molluscan shells preserved in shallow-water sediments has provided some information on historical salinity and temperature variability in coastal settings, but little information is available for areas within the main part of Florida Bay (Brewster-Wingard and others, 1996). Geochemistry of coral skeletons can be used to develop subannually resolved proxy records for SST and salinity. Previous studies suggest corals, specifically Solenastrea bournoni, present in the lower section of Florida Bay near Lignumvitae Key, may be suitable for developing records of SST and salinity for the past century, but the distribution and species composition of the bay coral community have not been well documented (Hudson and others, 1989; Swart and others, 1999). Oddly, S. bournoni thrives in the study area because it can grow on a sandy substratum and can tolerate highly turbid water. Solenastrea bournoni coral heads in this area should be ideally located to provide a record (~100-150 years) of past temperature and salinity variations in Florida Bay. The goal of this study was to utilize the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Along-Track Reef Imaging System (ATRIS) capability to further our understanding of the abundance, distribution, and size of corals in the Lignumvitae Key Basin. The study area was subdivided into four areas whereby corals and other benthic habitats were classified based on ATRIS imagery.

Florida↗
USGS2010

Holocene aggradation of the Dry Tortugas coral reef ecosystem

Radiometric age dating of reef cores acquired at the Dry Tortugas coral reef ecosystem (DTCRE) was merged with lidar topographic mapping to examine Holocene reef development linked to spatial variation in growth and erosion under the control of sea level. Analysis of variance of lidar topography confirmed the presence of three distinct terraces on all three major DTCRE banks (Loggerhead Bank, Garden Bank, and Pulaski Bank). Reef building on the middle terrace (T2) began atop Pleistocene edifices on Loggerhead Bank by 8.0 ka (thousands of years ago) and on Garden Bank by 7.2 ka at elevations of about −16.0 m and −11.9 m, respectively, relative to present mean sea level. Following this initiation at different elevations, T2 aggraded vertically on both banks at different rates during the early Holocene under foundering conditions until a highstand at 5.2 ka, resulting in a 2.21 m offset in present mean T2 elevation between these banks. Initiation of an upper terrace (T1) occurred on both Loggerhead Bank and Garden Bank in association with sea-level fall to a lowstand at near 4.8 ka. This upper terrace initiated on Garden Bank at about 5.0 ka and then grew upward at rate of 2.5 mm year −1 until approximately 3.8 ka . On Loggerhead Bank, the upper T1 terrace formed after 4.5 ka at a higher vertical aggradation rate of 4.1 mm year −1 , but at a lower elevation than on Garden Bank. Terrace T1 aggraded on Loggerhead Bank below the elevation of lowstands during late Holocene sea-level oscillation, and consequently erosion on Loggerhead Bank was minimal and likely limited to the crest of the upper terrace. In contrast, after 3.8 ka terrace T1 on Garden Bank likely tracked sea level and consequently underwent erosion when sea level fell to second, third and fourth lowstands at 3.3, 1.1, and 0.3 ka.

Florida↗
USGS2010

Gulf of Mexico dead zone - 1000 year record

An area of oxygen-depleted bottom- and subsurfacewater (hypoxia = dissolved oxygen < 2 mg per Liter) occurs seasonally on the Louisiana shelf near the Mississippi River. The area of hypoxia, also known as the 'dead zone,' forms when spring and early summer freshwater flow from the Mississippi River supplies a large amount of nutrients to the shelf while creating a freshwater lens, or cap, above the shelf water. The excess nutrients cause phytoplankton blooms in the shallow shelf water. After the bloom ceases, the organic material sinks in the water column and uses up oxygen during decomposition. Thus, the subsurface waters become oxygen depleted. The seasonal dead zone exists until a reduction in freshwater flow, or overturning by storms, allows mixing of the water column to restore normal oxygen conditions. Since systematic measurement of the extent of the dead zone was begun in 1985, the overall pattern indicates that the area of the dead zone is increasing. Several studies have concluded that the expansion of the Louisiana shelf dead zone is related to increased nutrients (primarily nitrogen, but possibly also phosphorous) in the Mississippi River drainage basin and is responsible for the degradation of Gulf of Mexico marine habitats. The goal of this research is to augment information on the recent expansion of Louisiana shelf hypoxia and to investigate the temporal and geographic extent of the lowoxygen bottom-water conditions prior to 1985 in sediment cores collected from the Louisiana shelf. We use a specific low-oxygen faunal proxy termed the PEB index based on the cumulative percentage of three foraminifers (= % Protononion atlanticum, + % Epistominella vitrea, + % Buliminella morgani) that has been shown statistically to represent the modern seasonal Louisiana hypoxia zone. Our hypothesis is that the increased relative abundance of PEB species in dated sediment cores accurately tracks past seasonal low-oxygen conditions on the Louisiana shelf.

Gulf Of Mexico↗
USGS2010

Do three massive coral species from the same reef record the same SST signal? A test from the Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys

Paleoclimatologists have reconstructed century-long records of sea surface temperature (SST) in the Pacific using the Sr/Ca of massive corals, whereas similar reconstructions in the Atlantic have not proceeded at the same pace. Past research in the Florida Keys has focused on Montastrea spp. , an abundant and fast-growing massive coral, thus a good candidate for climate reconstructions. However, coral records from the Florida Keys are complicated by freshwater flux, which varies the Sr/Ca in seawater, thus confounding the Sr/Ca to SST signal. In this research, we compared the monthly Sr/Ca variations in three massive corals species ( Montastraea faveolata, Diploria strigosa, and Siderastrea siderea ) from the same reef in the nearly pristine Dry Tortugas National Park (24.70N, 82.80W) at the southwestern extent of the Florida Keys. This location is ideal for a calibration study as hourly water temperature records are available and the remote reef is far from mainland freshwater influence. These corals experienced the same environmental conditions (water depth, clarity, Sr/Ca of seawater, etc.) but differ in the mean annual growth rates (0.86 &plusmn;0.10 (1&sigma;) cm/year M. faveolata ; 0.67 &plusmn;0.04 (1&sigma;) cm/year D. strigosa ; 0.44 &plusmn;0.04 (1&sigma;) cm/year S. siderea ). The mean Sr/Ca values are not the same but decrease with mean annual growth rates (9.201 &plusmn;0.091 (1&sigma;) mmol/mol M. faveolata ; 9.177 &plusmn;0.081 (1&sigma;) mmol/mol D. strigosa ; 8.964 &plusmn;0.12 (1&sigma;) mmol/mol S. siderea ), thus supporting the &ldquo;vital effect&rdquo; or biological differences during calcification between coral species. The amplitude of the seasonal cycle in Sr/Ca varies with the slower growing S. siderea having the largest mean amplitude and D. strigosa the smallest (0.340 mmol/mol S. siderea ; 0.284 mmol/mol M. faveolata ; 0.238 mmol/mol D. strigosa ). We confirmed our sampling methods by conducting several intracolony and intercolony coral Sr/Ca replication tests and found a high correlation in all tests (>0.95 S. siderea ; >0.90 D. strigosa ; >0.83 M. faveolata; p < 0.05). The weighted linear regression of monthly coral Sr/Ca to mean monthly SST revealed that S. siderea captured the seasonal and interannual variability in SST ( r = -0.97, -0.61 monthly and monthly anomalies, respectively, p < 0.05). The other corals have reduced correlation with monthly anomalies and do not capture the seasonal variability with the same fidelity as S. siderea . All three corals were sampled along the thecal wall following the same procedures; however, each coral species has a different skeletal structure, density, and micro-scale growth patterns. We hypothesize the thecal wall of S. siderea calcifies at a continuous rate along the time-growth axis whereas the wall of D. strigosa and M. faveolata reflects a more complex signal. Of the three species, the slow growing S. siderea provides a robust reconstruction of mean monthly SST for the Dry Tortugas thus suitable for longer centennial-scale reconstructions.

Florida↗
USGS2009

Evidence of multidecadal climate variability and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation from a Gulf of Mexico sea-surface temperature-proxy record

A comparison of a Mg/Ca-based sea-surface temperature (SST)-anomaly record from the northern Gulf of Mexico, a calculated index of variability in observed North Atlantic SST known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and a tree-ring reconstruction of the AMO contain similar patterns of variation over the last 110 years. Thus, the multidecadal variability observed in the instrumental record is present in the tree-ring and Mg/Ca proxy data. Frequency analysis of the Gulf of Mexico SST record and the tree-ring AMO reconstruction from 1550 to 1990 found similar multidecadal-scale periodicities (~30–60 years). This multidecadal periodicity is about half the observed (60–80 years) variability identified in the AMO for the 20th century. The historical records of hurricane landfalls reveal increased landfalls in the Gulf Coast region during time intervals when the AMO index is positive (warmer SST), and decreased landfalls when the AMO index is negative (cooler SST). Thus, we conclude that alternating intervals of high and low hurricane landfall occurrences may continue on multidecadal timescales along the northern Gulf Coast. However, given the short length of the instrumental record, the actual frequency and stability of the AMO are uncertain, and additional AMO proxy records are needed to establish the character of multidecadal-scale SST variability in the North Atlantic.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas↗
USGS2009

Vibracore, radiocarbon, microfossil, and grain-size data from Apalachicola Bay, Florida

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey collected 24 vibracores within Apalachicola Bay, Florida. The vibracores were collected by using a Rossfelder electric percussive (P-3) vibracore system during a cruise on the Research Vessel (R/V) G.K. Gilbert. Selection of the core sites was based on a geophysical survey that was conducted during 2005 and 2006 in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Services Center (CSC) and the Apalachicola Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. This report contains the vibracore data logs, photographs, and core-derived data including grain-size analyses, radiocarbon ages, microfossil counts, and sedimentological interpretations. The long-term goal of this study is to provide maps, data, and assistance to the Apalachicola Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in their effort to monitor and understand the geology and ecology of Apalachicola Bay Estuary. These data will inform coastal managers charged with the responsibility for resource preservation.

Florida↗
USGS2007

Pliocene environments

The Pliocene spans the interval of Earth history from ca. 5.3 to 1.8 million years ago (Ma). Although details are still debated there is much evidence from continental and oceanic locations indicating that conditions from 5.3 to about 3.0 Ma were often warmer than in modern times in mid- and high latitudes and that climate variability was subdued compared to the Pleistocene. Millennial-scale early Pliocene climate records are dominated by 19–21 thousand years ago (ka) oscillations. Starting at about 3.0 Ma, a long-term trend toward climate cooling and the ice ages of the Pleistocene accelerated. Significant build-up of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets began around 2.9 Ma and climate variability as measured by the oxygen isotope record in deep-sea carbonate microfossils increased. Distinct glacial–interglacial cycles developed in the late Pliocene between 2.9 and 2.7 Ma.

Book chapter↗
USGS2007

A ~25 ka Indian Ocean monsoon variability record from the Andaman Sea

Recent paleoclimatic work on terrestrial and marine deposits from Asia and the Indian Ocean has indicated abrupt changes in the strength of the Asian monsoon during the last deglaciation. Comparison of marine paleoclimate records that track salinity changes from Asian rivers can help evaluate the coherence of the Indian Ocean monsoon (IOM) with the larger Asian monsoon. Here we present paired Mg/Ca and &delta; 18 O data on the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (white) from Andaman Sea core RC12-344 that provide records of sea-surface temperature (SST) and &delta; 18 O of seawater (&delta; 18 O sw ) over the past 25,000 years (ka) before present (BP). Age control is based on nine accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates on mixed planktic foraminifera. Mg/Ca-SST data indicate that SST was &sim;3 &deg;C cooler during the last glacial maximum (LGM) than the late Holocene. Andaman Sea &delta; 18 O sw exhibited higher than present values during the Lateglacial interval ca 19&ndash;15 ka BP and briefly during the Younger Dryas ca 12 ka BP. Lower than present &delta; 18 O sw values during the B&Oslash;lling/Aller&Oslash;d ca 14.5&ndash;12.6 ka BP and during the early Holocene ca 10.8&ndash;5.5 ka BP are interpreted to indicate lower salinity, reflect some combination of decreased evaporation&ndash;precipitation (E&ndash;P) over the Andaman Sea and increased Irrawaddy River outflow. Our results are consistent with the suggestion that IOM intensity was stronger than present during the B&Oslash;lling/Aller&Oslash;d and early Holocene, and weaker during the late glaciation, Younger Dryas, and the late Holocene. These findings support the hypothesis that rapid climate change during the last deglaciation and Holocene included substantial hydrologic changes in the IOM system that were coherent with the larger Asian monsoon.

Quaternary Science Reviews↗
USGS2007

1400 yr multiproxy record of climate variability from the northern Gulf of Mexico

A continuous decadal-scale resolution record of climate variability over the past 1400 yr in the northern Gulf of Mexico was constructed from a box core recovered in the Pigmy Basin, northern Gulf of Mexico. Proxies include paired analyses of Mg/Ca and δ 18 O in the white variety of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber and relative abundance variations of G. sacculifer in the foraminifer assemblages. Two multi-decadal intervals of sustained high Mg/Ca indicate that Gulf of Mexico sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were as warm or warmer than near-modern conditions between 1000 and 1400 yr B.P. Foraminiferal Mg/Ca during the coolest interval of the Little Ice Age (ca. 250 yr B.P.) indicate that SST was 2–2.5 °C below modern SST. Four minima in the Mg/Ca record between 900 and 250 yr B.P. correspond with the Maunder, Spörer, Wolf, and Oort sunspot minima, suggesting a link between changes in solar insolation and SST variability in the Gulf of Mexico. An abrupt shift recorded in both δ 18 O calcite and relative abundance of G. sacculifer occurred ca. 600 yr B.P. The shift in the Pigmy Basin record corresponds with a shift in the sea-salt-sodium (ssNa) record from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 ice core, linking changes in high-latitude atmospheric circulation with the subtropical Atlantic Ocean.

Geology↗
USGS2006

Gulf of Mexico dead zone —The last 150 years

'Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone-The Last 150 Years' discusses the dead zone that forms seasonally in the northern Gulf of Mexico when subsurface waters become depleted in dissolved oxygen and cannot support most life.

Louisiana↗
USGS2005

Record of the North American southwest monsoon from Gulf of Mexico sediment cores

Summer monsoonal rains (the southwest monsoon) are an important source of moisture for parts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Improved documentation of the variability in the southwest monsoon is needed because changes in the amount and seasonal distribution of precipitation in this semiarid region of North America influence overall water supply and fire severity. Comparison of abundance variations in the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer in marine cores from the western and northern Gulf of Mexico with terrestrial proxy records of precipitation (tree-ring width and packrat-midden occurrences) from the southwestern United States indicate that G. sacculifer abundance is a proxy for the southwest monsoon on millennial and submillennial time scales. The marine record confirms the presence of a severe multicentury drought centered ca. 1600 calendar (cal.) yr B.P. as well as several multidecadal droughts that have been identified in a long tree-ring record spanning the past 2000 cal. yr from westcentral New Mexico. The marine record further suggests that monsoon circulation, and thus summer rainfall, was enhanced in the middle Holocene (ca. 6500-4500 14C yr B.P.; ca. 6980-4710 cal. yr B.P.). The marine proxy provides the potential for constructing a highly resolved, well-dated, and continuous history of the southwest monsoon for the entire Holocene. ?? 2005 Geological Society of America.

Geology↗
USGS2004

Century-scale movement of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone linked to solar variability

The abundance of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) sediments is a proxy for the influx of Caribbean surface waters (the Loop Current) into the GOM. Penetration of the Loop Current into the GOM is related to the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ): northward migration of the ITCZ results in increased incursion of the Loop Current into the GOM; southward migration of the ITCZ results in decreased penetration of the Loop Current into the GOM. Abundance variations of G. sacculifer in a sediment core from the Pigmy Basin in the GOM show distinct century-scale cyclicity over the last 5,000 years. The periodicity of these abundance variations is similar to the century-scale periodicity observed in proxy records of solar variability, which suggests that the average position of the ITCZ and thus Holocene century-scale variability in the Caribbean-GOM region is linked to solar variability. Copyright 2004 by the American Geophysical Union.

Geophysical Research Letters↗
USGS1992

Micropaleontological evidence for increased meridional heat transport in the North Atlantic Ocean during the pliocene

The Middle Pliocene (∼3 million years ago) has been identified as the last time the Earth was significantly warmer than it was during the Last Interglacial and Holocene. A quantitative micropaleontological paleotemperature transect from equator to high latitudes in the North Atlantic indicates that Middle Pliocene warmth involved increased meridional oceanic heat transport.

Science↗