Satellite Remote Sensing of Sea-Surface Variability in the Bering Sea: Calibrating Modern Changes in Order to Interpret Past Changes from Sediment Cores

Satellite-derived measurements of surface ocean parameters in the Bering Sea will be compiled and evaluated in the context of modern large-scale climate forcing mechanisms that are known to be responsible for sea-surface variability. The suitability of utilizing modern interannual to interdecadal variability as a proxy for interpreting prehistoric shifts in Bering Sea climate inferred from sediment core records will also be evaluated. The novelty of the proposed research is that the modern interannual to interdecadal variability observed in sea-surface characteristics will be used as a proxy for past variability in the Bering Sea, instead of using modern satellite-derived measurements to infer forthcoming shifts and/or variability in the Earth's climate system. A deeper understanding of past sea-surface variability in the far North Pacific Basin, upwind of the North American continent, is exceedingly relevant to our understanding of how the changing climate of the Pacific Ocean will influence atmospheric circulation in the United States in the future, and is pertinent to NASA's mission of providing longterm global observations.