A prominent feature in the Southeast Atlantic is the Angola-Benguela Front (ABF), the convergence between warm tropical and cold subtropical upwelled waters. At present, the sea-surface temperature (SST) gradient across the ABF and its position are influenced by the strength of southeasterly (SE) trade winds. Here, we present a record of changes in the ABF SST gradient over the last 25 kyr. Variations in this SST contrast indicate that periods of strengthened SE trade-wind intensity occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, the Younger Dryas, and the Mid to Late Holocene, while Heinrich Event 1, the early part of the Bølling-Allerød, and the Early Holocene were periods of weakened SE trade-winds.

Supplement to: Kim, Jung-Hyun; Schneider, Ralph R; Mulitza, Stefan; Müller, Peter J (2003): Reconstruction of SE trade wind intensity based on sea-surface temperature gradients in the SE Atlantic over the last 25 kyr. Geophysical Research Letters, 30(22), 2144