MILLENNIAL PULSING OF ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FROM THE PAST 24 KY - A RECORD OF INDO-PACIFIC ENSO EVENTS

Century-long variations in coastal California vegetation inferred from polliniferous sediments deposited in the Santa Barbara basin record a succession of brief (<200 yr duration) climatic events that recurred at similar to 1000 yr intervals (8.8, 10.4, 11.2, 12.1, 12.7, 13.4, 13 .9, 14.6, 15.4, 16.1, and 17.1 x 1000 C-14 yr B.P. [ka]). These millen nial-scale pulses, many of which correspond with western Great Basin h ydrological fluctuations, are also linked to events of southwest monso on intensification in southern Asia, We suggest that these correlative high-frequency variations in the Asian summer and northeast Pacific w inter climates may reflect submillennial-scale El Nino/Southern Oscill ation (ENSO)-type forcing involving water vapor transport over the Ind ian and Pacific Oceans.