Bridging Proxy Discrepancies: SST Reconstructions from the Alboran Sea During the Last Glacial Maximum and Deglaciation.

The last glacial maximum (LGM) is the most recent time period in Earth’s history with a climate that was much colder than the present. Robust temperature reconstructions from this period are needed to improve estimates of Earth's climate sensitivity and aid in future climate change projections. However, reconstructing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during this period can be challenging due to the various limitations with the commonly used proxies. Here, we present new SST estimates from the Alboran Sea in the Western Mediterranean, an area where existing SST records for the LGM (derived from UK37, TEX86, planktic foraminiferal Mg/Ca) show large disagreements. Our new SST estimates are based on clumped isotope analyses of planktic foraminifera (G. bulloides), the same species as used for the Mg/Ca measurements in this area. Due to the insensitivity of the clumped isotope thermometer to changes in seawater chemistry, our results offer new independent constraints on the range of temperature shifts between glacial and interglacial periods in this area. Our findings are evaluated against existing SST estimates, highlighting the benefits and limitations of different proxy estimates. We find that while all proxies agree on the general millennial scale temperature trends during the period of deglaciation, they diverge in the magnitude of these temperature changes. Temperature reconstructions derived from clumped isotopes align more closely with those based on alkenone and Mg/Ca proxies than with those from TEX86, which show large differences. Our research demonstrates that clumped isotopes are a potentially effective tool to improve the accuracy of climate reconstructions from the LGM and the subsequent deglacial period.