PRISM3 Pliocene Global Sea Surface Temperature Reconstruction
type: Dataset
description: PRISM3D uses multiple proxies to develop February and August synoptic reconstructions of the surface ocean. Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages were translated to February and August surface temperatures via factor analytic transfer function and the modern analog technique. Mg/Ca and alkenone paleothermometry were incorporated as supplementary data for the first time in a PRISM reconstruction. Individual time series were calibrated to age using a combination of magnetobioisostratigraphy, and warm peaks within the PRISM interval were averaged.These warm peak averages for February and August form the basic data used to produce contour maps of mid-Pliocene SST. Wherever other proxy data were available, they were plotted and interpreted within the context of the faunal February and August estimates (which were assumed to represent seasonal extremes). In almost all cases, alkenone, Mg/Ca and faunal estimates showed realistic results given the fact that each proxy represents a different aspect of the paleoenvironment. PRISM3D monthly SST fields are presented on a 2 x 2 latitude x longitude grid. SSTs for the remaining 10 months of the year were derived by fitting a sine curve to the February and August SST estimates.
issued: 2025-11-20T20:25:27.520024
modified: 20220207
spatial: Location
contact point: Organization
  fn: Harry J Dowsett
keyword: amerigeo
keyword: amerigeoss
keyword: arctic-ocean
keyword: atlantic-ocean
keyword: bathysphere
keyword: ckan
keyword: geo
keyword: geoss
keyword: indian-ocean
keyword: national
keyword: north-america
keyword: pacific-ocean
keyword: paleoclimate
keyword: piacenzian
keyword: pliocene-epoch
keyword: sea-surface
keyword: sea-surface-temperature
keyword: southern-ocean
keyword: united-states
keyword: usgs-61f6a386d34e622189bf77dd
theme: {geospatial}

Original Metadata
type: Distribution
description: The metadata original format
format: XML
issued: 2022-07-28T19:43:39.083395
modified: 2025-11-20T20:25:27.508815
access URL: https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/metadata/USGS.61f6a386d34e622189bf77dd.xml
media type: text/xml

Digital Data
type: Distribution
description: Landing page for access to the data
format: XML
issued: 2022-07-28T19:43:39.083402
modified: 2025-11-20T20:25:27.509249
access URL: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9NTXDHW
media type: application/http

US Migrating
type: Agent