Abstract

Paleosalinity reconstructions of the subsurface Equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) has been carried out using the Mg/Ca and δ 18 O records of sub Mixed Layer (ML) dwelling planktonic foraminifera T. sacculifer (w/s) from a sediment core SK-312/12 spanning over the last 44 kyr. An assessment of temporal variability in the Arabian Sea High Salinity Water (ASHSW) influx into the EIO during the last glacial-interglacial transition has been obtained. The results provide clear evidence of increased ASHSW influx during the cold glacial period caused by its enhanced formation over the northern AS as a result of intensified NorthEast Monsoon (NEM) activity. Conversely, a decrease in the ASHSW influx during the warm interglacial period took place as a result of reduced ASHSW production, following an intensification in the SouthWest Monsoon (SWM) activity. The Heinrich events (H2 and H3) mark distinct signatures of North Atlantic tele-climatic variability resulted by concurrent increases in the NEM activity. The present study is thus unique to report a maiden record of the Indian Monsoon and the North Atlantic tele-climatic controls upon the temporal production and equatorward distribution of ASHSW during the past geologic time periods. The study also acknowledges the ASHSW as an additional marker of the North Atlanctic tele-climatic influence over the tropical Indian Oceanic paleoclimate as a maiden historic report.