118-year hydroclimate reconstruction from Christmas Island (Indian Ocean); an extended record of variability in the Indonesian Throughflow

Future climate trends indicate that changes in temperature and precipitation are likely to influence global supply chains, agricultural productivity, water security, health and well-being; particularly in densely populated nations across the southeast Indian Ocean region. The Indonesian Throughflow is an ocean current that transports low-latitude, warm and relatively fresh water from the western Pacific into the eastern Indian Ocean. It is thought that variability and changes in the Indonesian Throughflow have significant impacts on the climate and oceanography of the Indo-Pacific region. The short coverage of observational records makes assessments of hydrological changes across the region challenging on longer timescales, with changes before the 1970s being particularly unreliable. An extended record of Indonesian Throughflow variability needs to be established to contextualise changes and improve model projections of future variability.

Christmas Island, located in the southeast Indian Ocean (not to be confused with the Pacific Ocean Kiritimati Island), is located along an outflow of the Indonesian Throughflow. This Island is an ideal location to develop new palaeo-reconstructions of sea surface temperature and hydroclimate, extending our understanding of Indonesian Throughflow variability. Here we present a newly developed coral palaeoclimate reconstruction for Christmas Island, covering the last 118 years at approximately monthly-fortnightly resolution. Corals are sensitive recorders of critical environmental variables, including sea surface temperature and hydroclimate through the analysis of paired stable oxygen isotopes (δ¹⁸O) and trace element (Sr/Ca) ratios. This reconstruction consists of a composite of four newly developed coral records and one previously published record and provides a newly developed δ¹⁸O_sw variability record for the region. The newly developed δ¹⁸O_sw coral reconstruction correlates strongly with salinity variability, however, presents a weak relationship to in-situ precipitation, indicating that coral hydroclimate reconstructions from Christmas Island likely isolate salinity variability associated with changes in the strength of the Indonesian Throughflow. This relationship highlights the importance that ocean advection plays on δ¹⁸O_sw variability at this site. Comparisons to both observational records of the Indonesian throughflow, and previously published coral δ¹⁸O_sw records from the Ombai Strait (Timor), a major outflow passage, reveal strong relationships to variability at Christmas Island. The Christmas Island reconstruction provides a unique opportunity to extend current knowledge of the Indonesian Throughflow beyond the observational record. This Christmas Island record also provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact that interannual to multidecadal variability has on the climate across the southeast tropical Indian Ocean.