@article {2558, title = {Holocene variability in the intensity of wind-gap upwelling in the tropical eastern Pacific}, journal = {Paleoceanography}, volume = {30}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-08-2015}, pages = {1113 - 1131}, abstract = {Wind-driven upwelling in Pacific Panam{\'a} is a significant source of oceanographic variability in the tropical eastern Pacific. This upwelling system provides a critical teleconnection between the Atlantic and tropical Pacific that may impact climate variability on a global scale. Despite its importance to oceanographic circulation, ecology, and climate, little is known about the long-term stability of the Panamanian upwelling system or its interaction with climatic forcing on millennial time scales. Using a combination of radiocarbon and U-series dating of fossil corals collected in cores from five sites across Pacific Panam{\'a}, we reconstructed the local radiocarbon reservoir correction, ΔR, from ~6750 cal B.P. to present. Because the ΔR of shallow-water environments is elevated by upwelling, our data set represents a millennial-scale record of spatial and temporal variability of the Panamanian upwelling system. The general oceanographic gradient from relatively strong upwelling in the Gulf of Panam{\'a} to weak-to-absent upwelling in the Gulf of Chiriqu{\'\i} was present throughout our record; however, the intensity of upwelling in the Gulf of Panam{\'a} varied significantly through time. Our reconstructions suggest that upwelling in the Gulf of Panam{\'a} is weak at present; however, the middle Holocene was characterized by periods of enhanced upwelling, with the most intense upwelling occurring just after of a regional shutdown in the development of reefs at ~4100 cal B.P. Comparisons with regional climate proxies suggest that, whereas the Intertropical Convergence Zone is the primary control on modern upwelling in Pacific Panam{\'a}, the El Ni{\~n}o{\textendash}Southern Oscillation drove the millennial-scale variability of upwelling during the Holocene.}, doi = {10.1002/2015PA002794}, url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/2015PA002794}, author = {Toth, Lauren T. and Aronson, Richard B. and Cheng, Hai and Edwards, R. Lawrence} }