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The trade winds cause strong upwelling in the eastern equatorial Pacific, and create the eastern Pacific Cold Tongue (EPCT) that has far‐reaching impacts on global climate. However, large discrepancies persist in quantifying 20th‐century EPCT sea surface temperature (SST) changes across different instrumental data sets. Here we synthesize four coral Sr/Ca‐SST records from the tropical central‐eastern Pacific to develop a Cold Tongue Index (CTI) reconstruction for 1887–1997. The coral CTI record shows a rapid 20th century warming of the EPCT, suggesting an underestimation of warming trends in instrumental CTI records. The decadal to multidecadal changes in reconstructed EPCT SST show an association with the Walker Circulation. Our reconstruction indicates that recent EPCT cooling during the global warming hiatus is not unusual in the context of the 20th century. Our results provide new evidence for 20th century EPCT SST changes and an observational constraint for predicting future tropical climate changes. Plain Language Summary: The tropical Pacific exhibits an asymmetric pattern of sea surface temperatures (SST) along the equator, with a warm pool in the west and a cold tongue in the east. The Eastern Pacific Cold Tongue (EPCT) plays a crucial role in influencing global climate. To date, however, considerable disagreement persists about changes and causes of the EPCT SST over the 20th century due to the sparse instrumental observations before ∼1960. Here we synthesize published coral Sr/Ca‐SST records from the tropical central‐eastern Pacific to develop a coral Cold Tongue Index (CTIcoral) for the period 1887–1997. The CTIcoral record correlates significantly with instrumental data since 1960, and thus allows reliable assessment of 20th century EPCT SST changes. Our record exhibits a rapid 20th century warming trend of the EPCT, indicating an underestimation of warming trends in instrumental CTI records. The decadal to multidecadal changes in CTIcoral also show an association with the Walker Circulation. Comparing the magnitude of the 1992–2011 trend in instrumental CTI with our reconstruction reveals that recent EPCT cooling during the global warming hiatus is not anomalous in the context of 20th century. Our findings have implications for predicting future EPCT SST changes by offering a constraint for model simulations. Key Points: Synthesizing coral Sr/Ca‐SST records yields robust estimates of 20th century warming trend in the eastern Pacific Cold Tongue (EPCT)A coral‐based reconstruction indicates an underestimation of 20th century EPCT warming trends in instrumental SST recordsRecent EPCT cooling during the global warming hiatus is not anomalous in the context of the 20th century [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coral skeleton δ13C is a routinely measured indicator in modern insolation change research, but the knowledge of environmental and climatic signals recorded in its seasonality during geological time is sparse. In this study, we present eight Porites coral δ13C records from the mid‐late Holocene to the present from the northern South China Sea (NSCS). Compared with the main control factors for modern δ13C changes, coral δ13C seasonality in the NSCS since the mid‐Holocene shows a long‐term decreasing trend, which is consistent with the change trend as orbital‐induced (precession) insolation seasonal amplitude. By excluding other influencing factors, we speculate that the stronger coral δ13C seasonality (18.8%) over the mid‐Holocene than modern period is attributable to the metabolic effect, which predicts the stronger coral δ13C seasonality under stronger insolation seasonality. Our study has implications for coral δ13C seasonality as a potential indicator to record past insolation information under different climatic backgrounds. Plain Language Summary: Numerous studies have documented the seasonal features of fast‐growing modern coral skeleton δ13C in response to insolation variation. The environmental and climatic signals recorded by coral δ13C seasonality in the geological period remain unclear owing to the relatively short length of observation records. Here we present monthly resolved δ13C records in seven fossil Porites corals (5.6–3.6 ka BP, before 1950 CE) and one modern Porites coral (1987–2001 CE) from the northern South China Sea (NSCS). Compared with the widely accepted prevailing control factors for modern coral δ13C, our results indicated that the stronger coral δ13C seasonality (18.8%) over the mid‐Holocene compared to the modern period is consistent with the orbital‐induced (precession) insolation changes, which indicate a declining seasonality from the mid‐Holocene to present. By excluding other influencing factors, we infer that a tendency toward higher δ13C seasonality during the mid‐Holocene was primarily driven by the metabolic fractionation caused by the enhanced insolation seasonality. This study highlighted coral δ13C seasonality as a potential indicator for recording past insolation information. Key Points: The seasonal variation of modern coral skeleton δ13C in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) is primarily controlled by solar insolationCoral δ13C seasonality in the NSCS since the mid‐Holocene shows a long‐term decreasing trendThe decrease of orbital‐induced (precession) insolation seasonal amplitude led to the declining trend of δ13C seasonality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great efforts have been made to understand the impacts of the 1997 Indonesian wildfires on land ecology and human health, yet its influences on marine environments are poorly understood owing to sparse observations. Here we present weekly to monthly resolution coral δ13C records across the South China Sea in conjunction with a regional ocean general circulation model to study the effects of these cataclysmic wildfires on nearby oceans. Large and persistent negative δ13C excursions were found in corals from the interior South China Sea several months after the wildfires. This delay indicates that the 13C‐depleted ash fallout was distributed by ocean currents rather than direct atmospheric transport, which is supported by the results of our numerical model. Thus, the impacts of tropical wildfires on marine ecology may last for 1 year and extend thousands of kilometers from the burning center. Plain Language Summary: Tropical wildfires, intensified by extreme weather events and land use change, have continued to increase during this century, causing serious damage to the rainforests and local economies as well as human suffering and death. The threats of tropical wildfires to nearby oceans have been given little attention and are largely unknown because of limited observations. Here we use multiple coral records with weekly to monthly resolution from five sites near and around the South China Sea and a computer model to study the influences of the 1997 Indonesian wildfires on the ocean. We find a previously unrecognized ash fallout signal recorded in the corals in the interior of the South China Sea. Our model results indicate that the penetration of ash fallout into the South China Sea occurred through ocean currents rather than direct atmospheric transport. This study shows that the impacts of tropical wildfires on oceans may last for 1 year and can extend for thousands of kilometers from the source. We also show the potential for using coral records with computer modeling to identify and study the frequency and extent of past megafires. Key Points: A large negative excursion in δ13C values during summer–winter 1998 was detected in corals from the interior of the South China SeaModel shows that ash fallout from the 1997 Indonesian wildfires distributed by currents was responsible for the negative δ13C excursionNetworks of coral δ13C have great potential to record past pantropical wildfires [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decadal variability of ocean primary productivity (PP) has mainly been studied using relatively short term satellite data, limiting its in‐depth analysis. Here, by removing the influence of the 13C Suess effect, we extract the PP signal on decadal timescales using a record of coral δ13C values from the northern South China Sea (NSCS), where the physical‐biogeochemical conditions are influenced largely by the winter monsoon. Our results show that the PP in the NSCS increased from 1851 to the 1920s and decreased from the 1920s to 2007, and large superimposed decadal‐scale changes were observed. The in‐phase relationship observed between the PP reconstruction and winter monsoon records suggests that the changes in the PP in the NSCS are linked to decadal‐scale changes in the winter monsoon. Considering that the winter monsoon intensity may weaken in the future under global warming, the PP in the NSCS might decrease in the coming decades. Plain Language Summary: Marine phytoplankton contributes roughly half of the global primary production and thus constitutes a vital component of the marine ecosystem that serves as the foundation of the marine food web. Due to the relatively short length of observation records, evaluations of the long‐term changes in ocean primary productivity (PP) have suffered from large uncertainties, which have hampered further discussion of the decadal variability of PP in a long‐term context. To discuss the decadal variability of the PP beyond the range of satellite observations, we present a coral‐based PP reconstruction since 1851 CE from the northern South China Sea (NSCS), where the physical‐biogeochemical conditions are influenced largely by the winter monsoon. Our results show considerable decadal variability of the PP in the NSCS superimposed on a pre‐1920s increase and a post‐1920s decrease. We also found an in‐phase relationship between the decadal variability of the reconstructed PP and the winter monsoon records over the past 150 years, indicating that the PP in the NSCS is linked to changes in the winter monsoon forcing on decadal timescales. Considering that the winter monsoon intensity may weaken in the future under global warming scenarios, the PP in the NSCS might decrease in the coming decades. Key Points: The decadal variability of primary productivity was extracted from a coral δ13C record by removing the influence of the 13C Suess effectThe coral‐based primary productivity reconstruction for the past 150 years showed a pre‐1920s increase and a post‐1920s decreaseThe primary productivity of the northern South China Sea varied in phase with the intensity of the winter monsoon on decadal timescales [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]