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Climate in the Iberian Peninsula is impacted by both internal and external climate modes, which are expected to shift in position and intensity due to anthropogenic climate change. Examples of such modes include the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic mode (EA). Changes in the behavior in these regional climate modes could significantly alter water availability in the Iberian Peninsula, a region identified by model projections as particularly sensitive to future warming scenarios. There has been extensive research and paleoclimate reconstructions of the NAO and its impacts on Iberian climate. However, to date few paleoclimate records have been developed to evaluate the behavior of the EA over the late Holocene and into the present. The development of highly resolved regional paleoclimate records from Iberia is critical for improving the predictive capability of regional climate models under future warming scenarios and to determine the extent to which different teleconnection patterns are influencing climate. Here we present a near annually resolved stable carbon isotope (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope time-series from three stalagmites from the Algarve region of southern Portugal from two caves within 2.3 km of each other. The southern coast of Portugal offers an ideal location to study the behavior of the EA due to the modulation of storm tracks coming across the North Atlantic Ocean into Iberia associated with the EA. U/Th dating indicates that our composite record spans the last millennia continuously through 2018 CE. Two stalagmites (GIA-19-1 and C-18-1) stopped growing around 1600 CE, during a dry interval, and sample GIA-19-2 grew continuously since the 15th century. GIA-19-2, with sub-annual resolution, is compared to modern instrumental records to evaluate the influence of specific environmental controls, including temperature and precipitation amounts. Isotope data from all three stalagmites exhibit substantial multidecadal variability indicating relatively wet and dry intervals. Based on our initial results, it is likely that both temperature and precipitation amount effects are the dominant controls on isotopic variability in these stalagmites. Comparison of the GIA-19-2 oxygen isotope time-series with the instrumental index (1950 to present) and reconstructed index (1650 CE to present) of the EA mode shows strong coherence with both index records. Hence, multidecadal variability observed in our stalagmite isotope time series may provide insight into the historical behavior of the EA mode and its resulting impacts on southern Portuguese climate. 

The Azores High (AH), a subtropical ridge in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic comprising one node of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) system, has a dominant influence on the weather and climate of the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. The behavior of the entire NAO system over the last millennium has been the subject of much debate in both proxy- and model-based studies. Many studies have focused on the behavior of the entire NAO system, but we focus solely on the behavior of the AH due to its proximity to this region. Other proxies from this region, mainly from Spain and Morocco, have provided details about atmospheric dynamics yet spatiotemporal gaps remain. In this study, we present a continuous, sub-decadally-resolved composite stalagmite carbon isotopic record from three partially overlapping stalagmites from Buraca Gloriosa (BG) cave, western Portugal, situated within the center of the AH, that preserves evidence of regional hydroclimate variability from approximately 800 CE to the present. This composite record, developed from U-Th dating and laminae counting paired with carbon isotopes, primarily reflects effective moisture in western Portugal. Given the close pairing of AH behavior (intensity, size, and location) and moisture transport in this region, the BG composite record allows for a thorough analysis of AH behavior over time. Multidecadal to centennial scale variability in the BG record and state-of-the-art last millennium climate model simulations show considerable coherence with precipitation-sensitive records from Spain and Morocco that, like BG, are strongly influenced by the intensity, size, and location of the AH. Synthesis of model output and proxy data suggests that western Portugal was persistently dry during much of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; ~850-1250 CE) and Modern era (1850 CE-present) and experienced wetter conditions during Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1400-1850 CE). Even considering age uncertainties from the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa proxy records, the apparent timing in the transition from a relatively dry MCA to a wetter LIA is spatially variable across this region, likely due to the non-stationary behavior of the AH system. 

Anthropogenic climate change is expected to alter global hydrological regimes in the near future, resulting in significant changes to water availability. However, the magnitude of such changes will vary regionally. The Iberian Peninsula, and specifically Portugal, has been identified by climate model projections as an area where climate change will increase drought frequency and severity. Climate in the Iberian Peninsula is impacted by both internal and external climate modes, potentially producing different precipitation patterns within a small geographic region. Thus, the development of regional highly resolved paleoclimate records from Portugal is critical for improving the predictive capability of regional climate models under future warming scenarios and to determine the extent to which different teleconnection patterns are influencing hydroclimate. Here we present a near annually resolved stable carbon isotope (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope time-series from three stalagmites from the Algarve region of southern Portugal from two caves within 2.3 km of each other. U/Th dating indicates that our composite record spans the last millennia continuously through 2019 CE. Two stalagmites (GIA-19-1 and C-18-1) stopped growing around 1550 CE, during a dry interval, and sample GIA-19-2 grew continuously since the 17th century. GIA-19-2, with sub-annual resolution, is compared to modern instrumental records to evaluate the influence of specific environmental controls, including temperature and precipitation amounts. Isotope data from all three stalagmites exhibit substantial multidecadal variability indicating relatively wet and dry intervals. Based on our initial results, it is likely that both temperature and precipitation amount effects are the dominant controls on isotopic variability in these stalagmites. Comparison of the GIA-19-2 oxygen isotope time-series with the instrumental record and reconstructed index of the East Atlantic (EA) pattern (1650 CE to present) shows strong coherence with a reconstructed EA index (1650-2018 CE) and an instrumental EA index (1950 to present). Hence, variability in Southern Portuguese hydroclimate associated with the EA mode should also be considered by policy makers planners as they prepare for future warming and associated water stresses. 

The Antarctic scallop Adamussium colbecki is a promising proxy for sea-ice persistence and can potentially resolve subannual seawater conditions characteristic of annual and multiannual sea ice. Alternating groups of widely- and narrowly-spaced striae (small ridges on valve surfaces) are thought to indicate seasonal growth differences: wide groups in summer, narrow groups in winter. Shell oxygen (δ18Os) and carbon (δ13Cs) in striae groups may therefore reflect seasonal seawater conditions. We expect lower δ18Os in wide summer striae groups under both annual and multiannual sea ice if glacial meltwater mixes through the water column. We also expect higher δ13Cs in wide striae groups under annual sea ice but not under multiannual sea ice, as phytoplankton blooms post seaice breakout enrich seawater δ13CDIC. Scallops were collected from two sites in western McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea) located ~30 km apart: Explorers Cove (EC) has multiannual sea ice and Bay of Sails (BOS) has annual sea ice. Adults were collected live by divers at 9–18 m depth in 2008 from EC and BOS. Additional juveniles (< 2 yrs) were collected from EC in 2016. Two adults each from EC and BOS and two 2016 juveniles were serially sampled for stable isotopes. δ13Cs decreases over ontogeny due to metabolic effects; the linear trend was removed to enable seasonal comparison. Detrended residuals are referred to as δ13Cs det. Mean δ18Os (~3.7‰) is not different in narrow and wide striae groups under either annual or multiannual sea ice, suggesting negligible glacial meltwater mixing at depth and minimal seasonal temperature change at both sites. δ18Os values are within expected equilibrium range and decrease over ontogeny, suggesting increased growth during warmer temperatures in older scallops. In contrast, mean δ13Cs det is ~1‰ higher in wide summer striae groups than narrow winter striae groups under annual sea ice at BOS, but not different between striae groups under multiannual sea ice in EC adults. δ13Cs det is also higher in wide summer striae groups from 2016 EC juveniles, however sea ice broke out at EC in 2015, so juveniles experienced annual-like sea-ice conditions. Seasonal differences in δ13Cs suggest that carbon isotopes coupled with striae width in A. colbecki may be a good proxy for sea-ice persistence in Antarctica both in modern and fossil assemblages.