Reference
Watanabe, T., Winter, A. and Oba, T. 2001. Seasonal changes in sea surface temperature and salinity during the Little Ice Age in the Caribbean Sea deduced from Mg/Ca and 18O/16O ratios in corals. Marine Geology 173: 21-35.
What was done
The authors analyzed delta 18O/16O and Mg/Ca ratios in cores obtained from a Montastrea faveolata coral in the Caribbean Sea in an effort designed to examine seasonal variability in sea surface temperature and salinity there during the Little Ice Age.
What was learned
Mean sea surface temperatures during the Little Ice Age were about 2°C colder than they are currently; while sea surface salinity exhibited greater variability than it does now, indicating that during the Little Ice Age "wet and dry seasons were more pronounced."
What it means
The results of this study confirm the results of another paper we have reviewed, demonstrating that the Little Ice Age was widespread and significant in this region of the world (see The Little Ice Age in the Caribbean). New information in this study also refutes the climate alarmist claim that warmer temperatures produce more extreme weather. Quite to the contrary, the results of this study demonstrate that precipitation was more variable during the cold period of the Little Ice Age than it was both before or afterwards.