Bayesian hierarchical regression analysis of variations in sea surface temperature change over the past million years

Abstract

Statistical challenges often preclude comparisons among different sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions over the past million years. Inadequate consideration of uncertainty can result in misinterpretation, overconfidence, and biased conclusions. Here I apply Bayesian hierarchical regressions to analyze local SST responsiveness to climate changes for 54 SST reconstructions from across the globe over the past million years. I develop methods to account for multiple sources of uncertainty, including the quantification of uncertainty introduced from absolute dating into inter-record comparisons. The estimates of local SST responsiveness explain 64% (62% to 77%, 95% interval) of the total variation within each SST reconstruction with a single number. There is remarkable agreement between SST proxy methods, with the exception of Mg/Ca proxy methods estimating muted responses at high latitudes. The Indian Ocean exhibits a muted response in comparison to other oceans. I find a stable estimate of the proposed “universal curve" of change in local SST responsiveness to climate changes as a function of sin2(latitude) over the past 400,000 years: SST change at 45° N/S is larger than the average tropical response by a factor of 1.9 (1.5 to 2.6, 95% interval) and explains 50% (35% to 58%, 95% interval) of the total variation between each SST reconstruction. These uncertainty and statistical methods are well-suited for application across paleoclimate and environmental data series inter-comparisons.