doi:10.14379/iodp.sp.363.2016
International Ocean Discovery Program
Expedition 363 Scientific Prospectus
Western Pacific Warm Pool
Neogene and Quaternary records of Western Pacific Warm Pool paleoceanography1
Department of Marine Sciences and Earth and Planetary Sciences
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel
Expedition Project Manager/Staff Scientist
International Ocean Discovery Program
Published February 2016
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Abstract
Expedition 363 seeks to document the regional expression of climate variability (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and productivity) in the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) as it relates to global and regional climate change from the middle Miocene to Late Pleistocene on millennial, orbital, and secular timescales. The WPWP is the largest reservoir of warm surface water on Earth and thus is a major source of heat and moisture to the atmosphere. Variations in sea-surface temperature and the extent of the WPWP influence the location and strength of convection and thus impact oceanic and atmospheric circulation, heat transport, and tropical hydrology. Given its documented importance for modern climatology, changes in the WPWP are assumed to have also played a key role in the past. The proposed drill sites are strategically located at the heart of the WPWP (northern Papua New Guinea and south of Guam) and around its western edge (western margin of Australia to the south and southern Philippine Islands to the north) to capture the most salient features of the WPWP. Combining marginal and open ocean sites will allow us to study these time intervals at different temporal resolutions. The coring program prioritizes seven primary sites and nine alternate sites in 880–3427 m water depth. This depth range will allow the reconstruction of intermediate and deepwater properties through time.
1Rosenthal, Y., Holbourn, A., and Kulhanek, D.K., 2016. Expedition 363 Scientific Prospectus: Western Pacific Warm Pool. International Ocean Discovery Program. http://dx.doi.org/10.14379/iodp.sp.363.2016
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