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ABSTRACT The ocean occupies 95% of the Caribbean's area and plays a leading role in the region's climate, thus making the sea surface temperature ( SST) a very important regional climate index. This, in conjunction with the lack of a regionally consistent, quality-controlled surface temperature dataset increases the scientific value of using SST to characterize the regional climate and its trends. This study determines the magnitudes of the long-term SST trends in the Wider Caribbean ( WC) and the Antilles. We overcome the presence of discontinuity points in the SST time series using the change point statistical technique. Annual mean SST trends combining the subperiods 1906-1969 and 1972-2005 are 1.32 ± 0.41 °C per century for the Antilles and 1.08 ± 0.32 °C per century for the WC. For the same regions during the subperiod 1972-2005, the corresponding trends are 1.41 ± 0.68 °C per century and 1.18 ± 0.49 °C per century, illustrating the warming intensification during the last four decades. A significant correlation is found between the SSTs in the Caribbean and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ( AMO) index, suggesting a potential link between Caribbean SSTs and the mechanisms governing the Atlantic basin-wide SSTs. Finally, the capabilities of two state-of-the-art coupled climate models, the Norwegian Earth System Model ( NorESM1-M) and the Bergen Climate Model ( BCM), to simulate SST in the Caribbean were tested. Both models produce an adequate simulation of the annual mean SST anomalies and SST seasonal cycle for the WC and the Antilles. The simulated annual and monthly mean SSTs are colder in the two models compared to the observations, a common feature among the majority of general circulation models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. However, despite these minor deficiencies both BCM and NorESM1-M are considered adequate for conducting SST simulations relevant for future climate change research in the Caribbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to renewable energies is an unavoidable step to guarantee a peaceful and sustainable future for humankind. Although solar radiation is one of the main sources of renewable energy, there are broad regions of the planet where it has not been characterized appropriately to provide the necessary information for regional and local planning and design of the different solar powered systems. The Caribbean, and Cuba in particular, lacked until very recently at least one long-term series of surface solar radiation measurements. Here we present the first long-term records of solar radiation for this region. Solar radiation measurements manually conducted and recorded on paper were rescued, reprocessed and quality controlled to develop the solar radiation climatology at the Actinometrical Station of Camagüey, in Cuba (21.422 ° N; 77.850 ° W; 122 m a.s.l.) for the period 1981–2016. The diurnal cycle based on the average hourly values of the global, direct and diffuse horizontal variables for the entire period have been determined and analyzed showing the dependence on solar zenith angle (SZA) and clouds. The annual cycle of global solar component given by the mean monthly daily values presents two maxima, one in April and another one in July with values of 5.06 and 4.91 kWh m − 2 , respectively (18.23 and 17.67 MJ m − 2 per day for insolation), and the minimum in December (3.15 kWh m − 2 or 11.33 MJ m − 2 ). The maxima are governed by the direct solar components and are modulated by cloudiness. Both, diurnal and annual cycles of the diffuse solar component show a smoothed bell shaped behavior. In general solar radiation at this station presents a strong influence of clouds, with little seasonal variation but with higher values during the rainy season. Daily global radiation annual averages showed its maximum value in the year 1983, with 17.45 MJ m − 2 explained by very low cloudiness this year, and the minimum value was reported in 2009 with a value of 12.43 MJ m − 2 that could not explained by the cloud coverage or the aerosols optical depths registered that year. The effects of the 1982 El Chichón and 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruptions on the solar radiation variables at Camagüey are also shown and discussed. The results achieved in this study shown the characteristics of solar radiation in this area and their potential for solar power applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]