Mohtadi Mahyar

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Last Name
Mohtadi
First Name
Mahyar
ORCID
0000-0003-3306-0969

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Preprint
    Glacial to Holocene swings of the Australian–Indonesian monsoon
    ( 2011-06) Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Oppo, Delia W. ; Steinke, Stephan ; Stuut, Jan-Berend W. ; De Pol-Holz, Ricardo ; Hebbeln, Dierk ; Luckge, Andreas
    The Australian-Indonesian monsoon is an important component of the climate system in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. However, its past variability, relation with northern and southern high latitude climate and connection to the other Asian monsoon systems are poorly understood. Here we present high-resolution records of monsoon-controlled austral winter upwelling during the past 22,000 years, based on planktic foraminiferal oxygen isotope and faunal composition in a sedimentary archive collected offshore southern Java. We show that glacial-interglacial variations in the Australian-Indonesian winter monsoon were in phase with the Indian summer monsoon system, consistent with their modern linkage through cross-equatorial surface winds. Likewise, millennial-scale variability of upwelling shares similar sign and timing with upwelling variability in the Arabian Sea. On the basis of element composition and grain-size distribution as precipitation-sensitive proxies in the same archive, we infer that (austral) summer monsoon rainfall was highest during the Bølling-Allerød period and the past 2,500 years. Our results indicate drier conditions during Heinrich Stadial 1 due to a southward shift of summer rainfall and a relatively weak Hadley Cell south of the Equator. We suggest that the Australian-Indonesian summer and winter monsoon variability were closely linked to summer insolation and abrupt climate changes in the northern hemisphere.
  • Article
    Isotopic characterization of water masses in the Southeast Pacific Region: paleoceanographic implications
    (American Geophysical Union, 2021-12-23) Reyes-Macaya, Dharma ; Hoogakker, Babette ; Martínez-Méndez, Gema ; Llanillo, Pedro J. ; Grasse, Patricia ; Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Mix, Alan C. ; Leng, Melanie J. ; Struck, Ulrich ; McCorkle, Daniel C. ; Troncoso, Macarena ; Gayo, Eugenia M. ; Lange, Carina B. ; Farias, Laura ; Carhuapoma, Wilson ; Graco, Michelle ; Cornejo-D’Ottone, Marcela ; De Pol-Holz, Ricardo ; Fernandez, Camila ; Narváez, Diego ; Vargas, Cristian A. ; García-Araya, Francisco ; Hebbeln, Dierk
    In this study, we used stable isotopes of oxygen (δ18O), deuterium (δD), and dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) in combination with temperature, salinity, oxygen, and nutrient concentrations to characterize the coastal (71°–78°W) and an oceanic (82°–98°W) water masses (SAAW—Subantarctic Surface Water; STW—Subtropical Water; ESSW—Equatorial Subsurface water; AAIW—Antarctic Intermediate Water; PDW—Pacific Deep Water) of the Southeast Pacific (SEP). The results show that δ18O and δD can be used to differentiate between SAAW-STW, SAAW-ESSW, and ESSW-AAIW. δ13CDIC signatures can be used to differentiate between STW-ESSW (oceanic section), SAAW-ESSW, ESSW-AAIW, and AAIW-PDW. Compared with the oceanic section, our new coastal section highlights differences in both the chemistry and geometry of water masses above 1,000 m. Previous paleoceanographic studies using marine sediments from the SEP continental margin used the present-day hydrological oceanic transect to compare against, as the coastal section was not sufficiently characterized. We suggest that our new results of the coastal section should be used for past characterizations of the SEP water masses that are usually based on continental margin sediment samples.
  • Article
    Reconstructing the thermal structure of the upper ocean : insights from planktic foraminifera shell chemistry and alkenones in modern sediments of the tropical eastern Indian Ocean
    (American Geophysical Union, 2011-09-10) Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Oppo, Delia W. ; Luckge, Andreas ; De Pol-Holz, Ricardo ; Steinke, Stephan ; Groeneveld, Jeroen ; Hemme, Nils ; Hebbeln, Dierk
    Shell chemistry of planktic foraminifera and the alkenone unsaturation index in 69 surface sediment samples in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean off West and South Indonesia were studied. Results were compared to modern hydrographic data in order to assess how modern environmental conditions are preserved in sedimentary record, and to determine the best possible proxies to reconstruct seasonality, thermal gradient and upper water column characteristics in this part of the world ocean. Our results imply that alkenone-derived temperatures record annual mean temperatures in the study area. However, this finding might be an artifact due to the temperature limitation of this proxy above 28°C. Combined study of shell stable oxygen isotope and Mg/Ca ratio of planktic foraminifera suggests that Globigerinoides ruber sensu stricto (s.s.), G. ruber sensu lato (s.l.), and G. sacculifer calcify within the mixed-layer between 20 m and 50 m, whereas Globigerina bulloides records mixed-layer conditions at ∼50 m depth during boreal summer. Mean calcifications of Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, and Globorotalia tumida occur at the top of the thermocline during boreal summer, at ∼75 m, 75–100 m, and 100 m, respectively. Shell Mg/Ca ratios of all species show a significant correlation with temperature at their apparent calcification depths and validate the application of previously published temperature calibrations, except for G. tumida that requires a regional Mg/Ca-temperature calibration (Mg/Ca = 0.41 exp (0.068*T)). We show that the difference in Mg/Ca-temperatures of the mixed-layer species and the thermocline species, particularly between G. ruber s.s. (or s.l.) and P. obliquiloculata, can be applied to track changes in the upper water column stratification. Our results provide critical tools for reconstructing past changes in the hydrography of the study area and their relation to monsoon, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode.
  • Article
    Deglacial δ18O and hydrologic variability in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans
    (Elsevier, 2013-11) Gibbons, Fern T. ; Oppo, Delia W. ; Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Rosenthal, Yair ; Cheng, Jun ; Liu, Zhengyu ; Linsley, Braddock K.
    Evidence from geologic archives suggests that there were large changes in the tropical hydrologic cycle associated with the two prominent northern hemisphere deglacial cooling events, Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1; ∼19 to 15 kyr BP; kyr BP = 1000 yr before present) and the Younger Dryas (∼12.9 to 11.7 kyr BP). These hydrologic shifts have been alternatively attributed to high and low latitude origin. Here, we present a new record of hydrologic variability based on planktic foraminifera-derived δ18O of seawater (δ18Osw) estimates from a sediment core from the tropical Eastern Indian Ocean, and using 12 additional δ18Osw records, construct a single record of the dominant mode of tropical Eastern Equatorial Pacific and Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) hydrologic variability. We show that deglacial hydrologic shifts parallel variations in the reconstructed interhemispheric temperature gradient, suggesting a strong response to variations in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the attendant heat redistribution. A transient model simulation of the last deglaciation suggests that hydrologic changes, including a southward shift in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which likely occurred during these northern hemisphere cold events, coupled with oceanic advection and mixing, resulted in increased salinity in the Indonesian region of the IPWP and the eastern tropical Pacific, which is recorded by the δ18Osw proxy. Based on our observations and modeling results we suggest the interhemispheric temperature gradient directly controls the tropical hydrologic cycle on these time scales, which in turn mediates poleward atmospheric heat transport.
  • Article
    Stable oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca in planktic foraminifera from modern surface sediments of the Western Pacific Warm Pool : implications for thermocline reconstructions
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2017-11-09) Hollstein, Martina ; Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Rosenthal, Yair ; Sanchez, Paola Moffa ; Oppo, Delia W. ; Martínez Méndez, Gema ; Steinke, Stephan ; Hebbeln, Dierk
    Mg/Ca and stable oxygen isotope compositions (δ18O) of planktic foraminifera tests are commonly used as proxies to reconstruct past ocean conditions including variations in the vertical water column structure. Accurate proxy calibrations require thorough regional studies, since parameters such as calcification depth and temperature of planktic foraminifera depend on local environmental conditions. Here we present radiocarbon-dated, modern surface sediment samples and water column data (temperature, salinity, and seawater δ18O) from the Western Pacific Warm Pool. Seawater δ18O (δ18OSW) and salinity are used to calculate individual regressions for western Pacific surface and thermocline waters (δ18OSW = 0.37 × S-12.4 and δ18OSW = 0.33 × S-11.0). We combine shell δ18O and Mg/Ca with water column data to estimate calcification depths of several planktic foraminifera and establish regional Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations. Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerinoides elongatus, and Globigerinoides sacculifer reflect mixed layer conditions. Pulleniatina obliquiloculata and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Globorotalia tumida preserve upper and lower thermocline conditions, respectively. Our multispecies Mg/Ca-temperature calibration (Mg/Ca = 0.26exp0.097*T) matches published regressions. Assuming the same temperature sensitivity in all species, we propose species-specific calibrations that can be used to reconstruct upper water column temperatures. The Mg/Ca temperature dependencies of G. ruber, G. elongatus, and G. tumida are similar to published equations. However, our data imply that calcification temperatures of G. sacculifer, P. obliquiloculata, and N. dutertrei are exceptionally warm in the western tropical Pacific and thus underestimated by previously published calibrations. Regional Mg/Ca-temperature relations are best described by Mg/Ca = 0.24exp0.097*T for G. sacculifer and by Mg/Ca = 0.21exp0.097*T for P. obliquiloculata and N. dutertrei.
  • Preprint
    North Atlantic forcing of tropical Indian Ocean climate
    ( 2014-02) Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Prange, Matthias ; Oppo, Delia W. ; De Pol-Holz, Ricardo ; Merkel, Ute ; Zhang, Xiao ; Steinke, Stephan ; Luckge, Andreas
    The response of the tropical climate in the Indian Ocean realm to abrupt climate change events in the North Atlantic Ocean is contentious. Repositioning of the intertropical convergence zone is thought to have been responsible for changes in tropical hydroclimate during North Atlantic cold spells1–5, but the dearth of high-resolution records outside the monsoon realm in the Indian Ocean precludes a full understanding of this remote relationship and its underlying mechanisms. Here we show that slowdowns of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during Heinrich stadials and the Younger Dryas stadial affected the tropical Indian Ocean hydroclimate through changes to the Hadley circulation including a southward shift in the rising branch (the intertropical convergence zone) and an overall weakening over the southern Indian Ocean. Our results are based on new, high-resolution sea surface temperature and seawater oxygen isotope records of well dated sedimentary archives from the tropical eastern Indian Ocean for the past 45,000 years, combined with climate model simulations of Atlantic circulation slowdown under Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3 boundary conditions. Similar conditions in the east and west of the basin rule out a zonal dipole structure as the dominant forcing of the tropical Indian Ocean hydroclimate of millennial-scale events. Results from our simulations and proxy data suggest dry conditions in the northern Indian Ocean realm and wet and warm conditions in the southern realm during North Atlantic cold spells.
  • Article
    North Atlantic cooling triggered a zonal mode over the Indian Ocean during Heinrich Stadial 1
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023-01-04) Du, Xiaojing ; Russell, James M. ; Liu, Zhengyu ; Otto-Bliesner, Bette L. ; Oppo, Delia W. ; Mohtadi, Mahyar ; Zhu, Chenyu ; Galy, Valier V. ; Schefuß, Enno ; Yan, Yan ; Rosenthal, Yair ; Dubois, Nathalie ; Arbuszewski, Jennifer ; Gao, Yu
    Abrupt changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are thought to affect tropical hydroclimate through adjustment of the latitudinal position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) involves the largest AMOC reduction in recent geological time; however, over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), proxy records suggest zonal anomalies featuring intense, widespread drought in tropical East Africa versus generally wet but heterogeneous conditions in the Maritime Continent. Here, we synthesize proxy data and an isotope-enabled transient deglacial simulation and show that the southward ITCZ shift over the eastern IO during HS1 strengthens IO Walker circulation, triggering an east-west precipitation dipole across the basin. This dipole reverses the zonal precipitation anomalies caused by the exposed Sunda and Sahul shelves due to glacial lower sea level. Our study illustrates how zonal modes of atmosphere-ocean circulation can amplify or reverse global climate anomalies, highlighting their importance for future climate change.