Global warming represents a significant threat to Earth's marine ecosystems and human societies. This framework has led to an increase in the number of studies regarding past climate conditions, with the intent of understanding their potential impact on biological resources over time. One of the main tools employed is the use of marine carbonate fossils as proxies for environmental change. This study aimed to provide a multi-proxy approach by combining geochemical analyses of planktonic, benthic foraminifera, and deep-sea corals to help reconstruct past ocean settings. Elemental ratios were measured through ICP-MS/ICP-OES analyses to provide proxies of temperature (Mg/Ca and Li/Mg) and nutrient availability (Ba/Ca) in the Southern Portuguese Margin over the last millennium. Foraminifera and deep-sea coral records captured the variability from surface to bottom waters. Temperature data has shown predominantly higher values during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, lower values during the Little Ice Age, and a recent increase after 1900 CE. Nutrient reconstruction indicated enhanced variability throughout the last millennium amongst the different taxa, possibly related to changes in fluvial input and species’ ecology. These findings underscore the importance of ongoing reconstruction of past oceanographic variability, using marine carbonate archives to better estimate the impacts of future ocean changes.
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