Showing papers in "Paleoceanography in 2004"

230Th-normalization: an essential tool for interpreting sedimentary fluxes during the late Quaternary

Abstract: There is increasing evidence indicating that syndepositional redistribution of sediment on the seafloor by bottom currents is common and can significantly affect sediment mass accumulation rates. Notwithstanding its common incidence, this process (generally referred to as sediment focusing) is often difficult to recognize. If redistribution is near synchronous to deposition, the stratigraphy of the sediment is not disturbed and sediment focusing can easily be overlooked. Ignoring it, however, can lead to serious misinterpretations of sedimentary fluxes, particularly when past changes in export flux from the overlying water are inferred. In many instances, this problem can be resolved, at least for sediments deposited during the late Quaternary, by normalizing to the flux of 230Th scavenged from seawater, which is nearly constant and equivalent to the known rate of production of 230Th from the decay of dissolved 234U. We review the principle, advantages and limitations of this method. Notwithstanding its limitations, it is clear that 230Th normalization does provide a means of achieving more accurate interpretations of sedimentary fluxes and eliminates the risk of serious misinterpretations of sediment mass accumulation rates.

Nonuniform response of the major surface currents in the Nordic Seas to insolation forcing: Implications for the Holocene climate variability

Abstract: [1] High-resolution sediment cores from the Voring Plateau, the North Iceland shelf, and the East Greenland shelf have been studied to investigate the stability of major surface currents in the Nordic Seas during the Holocene. Results from diatom assemblages and reconstructed sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) indicate a division of the Holocene into three periods: the Holocene Climate Optimum (9500–6500 calendar (cal) years BP), the Holocene Transition Period (6500–3000 cal years BP) and the Cool Late Holocene Period (3000–0 cal years BP). The overall climate development is in step with the decreasing insolation on the Northern Hemisphere, but regional differences occur regarding both timing and magnitude of SST changes. Sites under the direct influence of the Norwegian Atlantic Current and the Irminger Current indicate SST cooling of 4–5°C from early Holocene to present, compared to 2°C recorded under the East Greenland Current. Superimposed on the general Holocene cooling trend, there is a high-frequency SST variability, which is in the order of 1–1.5°C for the Voring Plateau and the East Greenland shelf and 2.5–3°C on the North Iceland shelf.

Timing and nature of the deepening of the Tasmanian Gateway

Abstract: [1] Tectonic changes that produced a deep Tasmanian Gateway between Australia and Antarctica are widely invoked as the major mechanism for Antarctic cryosphere growth and Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) development during the Eocene/Oligocene (E/O) transition (∼34–33 Ma). Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 189 recovered near-continuous marine sedimentary records across the E/O transition interval at four sites around Tasmania. These records are largely barren of calcareous microfossils but contain a rich record of siliceous- and organic-walled marine microfossils. In this study we integrate micropaleontological, sedimentological, geochemical, and paleomagnetic data from Site 1172 (East Tasman Plateau) to identify four distinct phases (A–D) in the E/O Tasmanian Gateway deepening that are correlative among ODP Leg 189 sites. Phase A, prior to ∼35.5 Ma: minor initial deepening characterized by a shallow marine prodeltaic setting with initial condensation episodes. Phase B, ∼35.5–33.5 Ma: increased deepening marked by the onset of major glauconitic deposition and inception of energetic bottom-water currents. Phase C, ∼33.5–30.2 Ma: further deepening to bathyal depths, with episodic erosion by increasingly energetic bottom-water currents. Phase D, <30.2 Ma: establishment of stable, open-ocean, warm-temperate, oligotrophic settings characterized by siliceous-carbonate ooze deposition. Our combined evidence indicates that this early Oligocene Tasmanian Gateway deepening initially produced an eastward flow of relatively warm surface waters from the Australo-Antarctic Gulf into the southwestern Pacific Ocean. This “proto-Leeuwin” current fundamentally differs from previous regional reconstructions of eastward flowing cool water (e.g., a “proto-ACC”) during the early Oligocene and thereby represents an important new constraint for reconstructing regional- to global-scale dynamics for this major global change event.

Late Eocene to early Miocene ice sheet dynamics and the global carbon cycle

Abstract: Paired benthic foraminiferal trace metal and stable isotope records have been constructed from equatorial Pacific Ocean Drilling Program Site 1218. The records include the two largest abrupt (<1 Myr) increases in the Cenozoic benthic oxygen isotope record: Oi-1 in the earliest Oligocene (?34 Ma) and Mi-1 in the earliest Miocene (?23 Ma). The paired Mg/Ca and oxygen isotope records are used to calculate seawater ?18O (?w). Calculated ?w suggests that a large Antarctic ice sheet formed during Oi-1 and subsequently fluctuated throughout the Oligocene on both short (<0.5 Myr) and long (2–3 Myr) timescales, between about 50 and 100% of its maximum earliest Oligocene size. The magnitudes of these fluctuations are consistent with estimates of sea level derived from sequence stratigraphy. The transient expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet at Mi-1 is marked in the benthic ?18O record by two positive excursions between 23.7 and 22.9 Ma, each with a duration of 200–300 kyr. Bottom water temperatures decreased by ?2°C over the 150 kyr immediately prior to both rapid ?18O excursions. However, the onset of each of these phases of ice growth is synchronous, within the resolution of the records, with the onset of a 2°C warming over ?150 kyr. We suggest that the warming during these glacial expansions reflect increased greenhouse forcing prompted by a sudden decrease in global chemical weathering rates as Antarctic basement silicate rocks became blanketed by an ice sheet. This represents a negative feedback process that might have operated during major abrupt growth phases of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Temperature-dependent variation in the distribution of tetraether membrane lipids of marine Crenarchaeota: Implications for TEX86 paleothermometry

Abstract: [1] Recently, a new geochemical temperature proxy, the TEX86, was introduced. This proxy is based on the number of cyclopentane moieties in the glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) of the membrane lipids of marine Crenarchaeota, which changes as a response to temperature. However, until now, only sediment data have been used to establish this proxy, and experimental work is missing. We performed mesocosm studies with marine Crenarchaeota incubated at temperatures ranging from 5 to 35°C and salinities of 27 and 35‰ to test the validity of the TEX86 proxy. Growth of marine Crenarchaeota in these mesocosms was evident from the substantial increase in the concentration of marine Crenarchaeotal membrane lipids with amounts up to 3400 ng/L. With increasing temperature, an increase in the number of cyclopentane moieties in the crenarchaeotal membrane lipids was observed. Different salinities did not show any effect on the GDGT distribution. The TEX86 showed a significant linear correlation to incubation temperature: TEX86 = 0.015 × T + 0.10 (r2 = 0.79). This equation has a similar slope to the correlation obtained from core tops but differs in the intersection (TEX86 = 0.015 × T + 0.28, r2 = 0.92). This difference is mainly determined by the smaller amount of the regioisomer of crenarchaeol in the incubation series compared to core top samples. These incubation experiments indicates that water temperature is indeed the major controlling factor for the membrane distribution of marine Crenarchaeota and confirms that the TEX86 proxy depends on a physiological response to regulate membrane fluidity.

Eocene circulation of the Southern Ocean: Was Antarctica kept warm by subtropical waters?

Abstract: [1] Near the Eocene's close (∼34 million years ago), the climate system underwent one of the largest shifts in Earth's history: Antarctic terrestrial ice sheets suddenly grew and ocean productivity patterns changed. Previous studies conjectured that poleward penetration of warm, subtropical currents, the East Australian Current (EAC) in particular, caused Eocene Antarctic warmth. Late Eocene opening of an ocean gateway between Australia and Antarctica was conjectured to have disrupted the EAC, cooled Antarctica, and allowed ice sheets to develop. Here we reconstruct Eocene paleoceanographic circulation in the Tasmanian region, using (1) biogeographical distributions of phytoplankton, including data from recently drilled Ocean Drilling Program Leg 189 sites and (2) fully coupled climate model simulations. We find that the EAC did not penetrate to high latitudes and ocean heat transport in the region was not greater than modern. Our results do not support changes in “thermal isolation” as the primary driver of the Eocene-Oligocene climatic transition.

Stability of North Atlantic water masses in face of pronounced climate variability during the Pleistocene

Abstract: [1] Geochemical profiles from the North Atlantic Ocean suggest that the vertical δ13C structure of the water column at intermediate depths did not change significantly between glacial and interglacial time over much of the Pleistocene, despite large changes in ice volume and iceberg delivery from nearby landmasses. The most anomalous δ13C profiles are from the extreme interglaciations of the late Pleistocene. This compilation of data suggests that, unlike today (an extreme interglaciation), the two primary sources of northern deep water, Norwegian-Greenland Sea and Labrador Sea/subpolar North Atlantic, had different characteristic δ13C values over most of the Pleistocene. We speculate that the current open sea ice conditions in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea are a relatively rare occurrence and that the high-δ13C deep water that forms in this region today is geologically unusual. If northern source deep waters can have highly variable δ13C, then this likelihood must be considered when inferring past circulation changes from benthic δ13C records.

Nannofossil carbonate fluxes during the Early Cretaceous: Phytoplankton response to nutrification episodes, atmospheric CO2, and anoxia

Abstract: [1] Greenhouse episodes during the Valanginian and Aptian correlate with major perturbations in the C cycle and in marine ecosystems, carbonate crises, and widespread deposition of Corg-rich black shales. Quantitative analyses of nannofossil micrite were conducted on continuous pelagic sections from the Southern Alps (northern Italy), where high-resolution integrated stratigraphy allows precise dating of Early Cretaceous geological events. Rock-forming calcareous nannofloras were quantified in smear slides and thin sections to obtain relative and absolute abundances and paleofluxes that are interpreted as the response of calcareous phytoplankton to global changes in the ocean-atmosphere system. Increased rates of volcanism during the formation of Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus and the Parana-Etendeka large igneous province (LIP) are proposed to have caused the geological responses associated with early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE) 1a and the Valanginian event, respectively. Calcareous nannofloras reacted to the new conditions of higher pCO2 and fertility by drastically reducing calcification. The Valanginian event is marked by a 65% reduction in nannofossil paleofluxes that would correspond to a 2–3 times increase in pCO2 during formation of the Parana-Endenteka LIP. A 90% reduction in nannofossil paleofluxes, which occurred in a 1.5 myr-long interval leading into OAE1a, is interpreted as the result of a 3–6 times increase in pCO2 produced by emplacement of the giant Ontong Java and Manihiki Plateaus. High pCO2 was balanced back by an accelerated biological pump during the Valanginian episode, but not during OAE1a, suggesting persisting high levels of pCO2 in the late Aptian and/or the inability of calcareous phytoplankton to absorb excess pCO2 above threshold values.

Oligocene climate dynamics

Abstract: A planktonic and benthic foraminiferal stable isotope stratigraphy of the Oligocene equatorial Pacific (Ocean Drilling Program, Site 1218) was generated at 6 kyr resolution between magnetochrons C9n and C11n.2n (~26.4–30 Ma on a newly developed astronomically calibrated timescale). Our data allow a detailed examination of Oligocene paleoceanography, the evolution of the early cryosphere, and the influence of orbital forcing on glacioeustatic sea level variations. Spectral analysis reveals power and coherency for obliquity (40 kyr period) and eccentricity (~110, 405 kyr) orbital bands, with an additional strong imprint of the eccentricity and 1.2 Myr obliquity amplitude cycle, driving ice sheet oscillations in the Southern Hemisphere. Planktonic and benthic foraminifera ?18O are used to constrain the magnitude and timing of major fluctuations in ice volume and global sea level change. Glacial episodes, related to obliquity and eccentricity variations, occurred at 29.16, 27.91, and 26.76 Ma, corresponding to glacioeustatic sea level fluctuations of 50–65 m. Alteration of high-latitude temperatures and Antarctic ice volume had a significant impact on the global carbon burial and equatorial productivity, as cyclic variations are also recorded in the carbon isotope signal of planktonic and benthic foraminifera, the water column carbon isotope gradient, and estimated percent carbonate of bulk sediment. We also investigate the implications of a close correspondence between oxygen and carbon isotope events and long-term amplitude envelope extrema in astronomical calculations during the Oligocene, and develop a new naming scheme for stable isotope events, on the basis of the 405 kyr eccentricity cycle count.

A Depth-Derived Pleistocene Age-Model: Uncertainty Estimates, Sedimentation Variability, and Nonlinear Climate Change

Abstract: [1] A new chronology of glaciation, spanning the last 780,000 years, is estimated from 21 marine sediment cores using depth as a proxy for time. To avoid biasing this “depth-derived” age estimate, the depth scale is first corrected for the effects of sediment compaction. To provide age uncertainty estimates, the spatial and temporal variability of marine sediment accumulation rates are estimated and modeled as an autocorrelated stochastic process. Depth-derived ages are estimated to be accurate to within ±9000 years, and within this uncertainty are consistent with the orbitally tuned age estimates. Nonetheless, the remaining differences between the depth and orbitally tuned chronologies produce important differences in the spectral domain. From the δ18O record, using the depth-derived ages, we infer that there are weak nonlinearities involving the 100 kyr and obliquity frequency bands which generate interaction bands at sum and difference frequencies. If an orbitally tuned age model is instead applied, these interactions are suppressed, with the system appearing more nearly linear.

The use of foraminifera as a record of the past neodymium isotope composition of seawater

Abstract: [1] We present new isotopic data for sedimentary planktonic foraminifera, as well as for potential water column and sedimentary sources of neodymium (Nd), which confirm that the isotopic composition of the foraminifera is the same as surface seawater and very different from deep water and sedimentary Nd. The faithfulness with which sedimentary foraminifera record the isotopic signature of surface seawater Nd is difficult to explain given their variable and high Nd/Ca ratios, ratios that are often sedimentary foraminifera, ratios that are often much higher than is plausible for direct incorporation within the calcite structure. We present further data that demonstrate a similarly large range in Nd/Ca ratios in plankton tow foraminifera, a range that may be controlled by redox conditions in the water column. Cleaning experiments reveal, in common with earlier work, that large amounts of Nd are released by cleaning with both hydrazine and diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid, but that the Nd released at each step is of surface origin. While further detailed studies are required to verify the exact location of the surface isotopic signature and the key controls on foraminiferal Nd isotope systematics, these new data place the use of planktonic foraminifera as recorders of surface water Nd isotope ratios, and thus of variations in the past supply of Nd to the oceans from the continents via weathering and erosion, on a reasonably sure footing.

Midlatitude shelf seas in the Cenomanian‐Turonian greenhouse world: Temperature evolution and North Atlantic circulation

Abstract: [1] An 8 million year record of subtropical and midlatitude shelf-sea temperatures, derived from oxygen isotopes of well-preserved brachiopods from a variety of European sections, demonstrates a long-term Cenomanian temperature rise (16–20°C, midlatitudes) that reached its maximum early in the late Turonian (23°C, midlatitudes). Superimposed on the long-term trend, shelf-sea temperatures vary at shorter timescales in relation to global carbon cycle perturbations. In the mid-Cenomanian and the late Turonian, two minor shelf-sea cooling events (2–3°C) coincide with carbon cycle perturbations and times of high-amplitude sea level falls. Although this evidence supports the hypothesis of potential glacioeustatic effects on Cretaceous sea level, the occurrence of minimum shelf-sea temperatures within transgressive beds argues for regional changes in shelf-sea circulation as the most plausible mechanism. The major carbon cycle event in the latest Cenomanian (oceanic anoxic event 2) is accompanied by a substantial increase in shelf-sea temperatures (4–5°C) that occurred ∼150 kyr after the commencement of the δ13C excursion and is related to the spread of oceanic conditions in western European shelf-sea basins. Our oxygen isotope record and published δ18O data of pristinely preserved foraminifera allow the consideration of North Atlantic surface water properties in the Cenomanian along a transect from the tropics to the midlatitudes. On the basis of fossil-derived δ18O, estimated δw ranges, and modeled salinities, temperature-salinity-density ranges were estimated for tropical, subtropical, and midlatitude surface waters. Accordingly, the Cenomanian temperate shelf-seas waters have potentially the highest surface water density and could have contributed to North Atlantic intermediate to deep waters in the preopening stage of the equatorial Atlantic gateway.

Catastrophic Ice Shelf Breakup as the Source of Heinrich Event Icebergs

Abstract: [1] Heinrich layers of the glacial North Atlantic record abrupt widespread iceberg rafting of detrital carbonate and other lithic material at the extreme-cold culminations of Bond climate cycles. Both internal (glaciologic) and external (climate) forcings have been proposed. Here we suggest an explanation for the iceberg release that encompasses external climate forcing on the basis of a new glaciological process recently witnessed along the Antarctic Peninsula: rapid disintegrations of fringing ice shelves induced by climate-controlled meltwater infilling of surface crevasses. We postulate that peripheral ice shelves, formed along the eastern Canadian seaboard during extreme cold conditions, would be vulnerable to sudden climate-driven disintegration during any climate amelioration. Ice shelf disintegration then would be the source of Heinrich event icebergs.

Revised tuning of Ocean Drilling Program Site 964 and KC01B (Mediterranean) and implications for the δ18O, tephra, calcareous nannofossil, and geomagnetic reversal chronologies of the past 1.1 Myr

Abstract: [1] High-resolution color reflectance records of KC01 and KC01B (Calabrian Ridge, Ionian Sea) are presented and compared with a modified spliced high-resolution color reflectance record of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 964. This comparison revealed that KC01B is characterized by intensive deformation between ∼27 and 28.5 m piston depth and that some sapropels are tectonically reduced in thickness. Moreover, the piston coring has caused considerable stretching in the top of KC01 and KC01B. Using a new splice of ODP Site 964 as guide, previous astronomical tuned timescales of KC01B and ODP Site 964 were evaluated. This evaluation resulted in a new sapropel-based astronomical timescale for the last 1.1 Myr. The new timescale implies a much more uniform change in sedimentation rate for the Ionian Sea cores. Two prominent excursions to lighter values in the δ18O record of the planktonic foraminiferal species Globigerinoides ruber occur during marine isotopic stages 12 and 16 applying the new timescale. These shifts correspond with maxima in obliquity and are punctuated by minima in the precession cycle. They are absent in global ice volume records and are interpreted as reflecting a (summer) low-salinity surface water lens that floats on top of extremely saline intermediate and deep waters at times of the very low sea levels during these glacial periods. All biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic events found in KC01B and ODP Site 964 were re-dated according to the new timescale, and the ages of 33 tephra layers were reviewed. The new ages for the Calabrian Ridge 2 and 3 magnetic events in the Brunhes are concordant with minima in the global Sint800 composite record, derived from worldwide deep-sea records of relative paleointensity and have been attributed to the Big Lost and La Palma excursions, respectively.

Radiocarbon and stable isotope constraints on Last Glacial Maximum and Younger Dryas ventilation in the western North Atlantic

Abstract: [1] Foraminiferal abundance, 14C ventilation ages, and stable isotope ratios in cores from high deposition rate locations in the western subtropical North Atlantic are used to infer changes in ocean and climate during the Younger Dryas (YD) and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The δ18O of the surface dwelling planktonic foram Globigerinoides ruber records the present-day decrease in surface temperature (SST) of ∼4°C from Gulf Stream waters to the northeastern Bermuda Rise. If during the LGM the modern δ18O/salinity relationship was maintained, this SST contrast was reduced to 2°C. With LGM to interglacial δ18O changes of at least 2.2‰, SSTs in the western subtropical gyre may have been as much as 5°C colder. Above ∼2.3 km, glacial δ13C was higher than today, consistent with nutrient-depleted (younger) bottom waters, as identified previously. Below that, δ13C decreased continually to −0.5‰, about equal to the lowest LGM δ13C in the North Pacific Ocean. Seven pairs of benthic and planktonic foraminiferal 14C dates from cores >2.5 km deep differ by 1100 ± 340 years, with a maximum apparent ventilation age of ∼1500 years at 4250 m and at ∼4700 m. Apparent ventilation ages are presently unavailable for the LGM < 2.5 km because of problems with reworking on the continental slope when sea level was low. Because LGM δ13C is about the same in the deep North Atlantic and the deep North Pacific, and because the oldest apparent ventilation ages in the LGM North Atlantic are the same as the North Pacific today, it is possible that the same water mass, probably of southern origin, flowed deep within each basin during the LGM. Very early in the YD, dated here at 11.25 ± 0.25 (n = 10) conventional 14C kyr BP (equal to 12.9 calendar kyr BP), apparent ventilation ages <2.3 km water depth were about the same as North Atlantic Deep Water today. Below ∼2.3 km, four YD pairs average 1030 ± 400 years. The oldest apparent ventilation age for the YD is 1600 years at 4250 m. This strong contrast in ventilation, which indicates a front between water masses of very different origin, is similar to glacial profiles of nutrient-like proxies. This suggests that the LGM and YD modes of ocean circulation were the same.

Glacial‐interglacial variability in the eastern tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone recorded by redox‐sensitive trace metals

Abstract: [1] Changes in the intensity of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the eastern tropical North Pacific over the past 140 kyr are recorded as enrichments and depletions of redox-sensitive metals in sediments of two piston cores, one within and one below the modern OMZ, from the continental margin off Mazatlan, Mexico (22°41′N, 106°28′W). Concentrations of Al (7.7 ± 0.6%), Ti (0.37 ± 0.03%), Fe (3.1 ± 0.25%), Mn (320 ± 31 ppm), and Ba (560 ± 82 ppm) in core NH15P (within the OMZ at 420 m water depth) were relatively constant over the last 110 kyr. In contrast, concentrations of Cd (4.8 ± 2 ppm), Cu (29.8 ± 9.1 ppm), U (9.1 ± 3.7 ppm), Mo (12.1 ± 5.0 ppm), V (138.2 ± 51.9 ppm), and Re (45.8 ± 25.5 ppb) were all at least 30% higher in interglacial stages compared to glacial stages. Concentrations of Al (7.4 ± 0.3%), Ti (0.35 ± 0.03%), Fe (3.5 ± 0.4%), and Mn (385 ± 77 ppm) in core NH22P (below the OMZ at 2025 m water depth) were comparable to those in core NH15P, while concentrations of Ba (1662 ± 292 ppm) were about a factor of three higher. In contrast, concentrations of Cd (0.9 ± 0.3 ppm), U (6.6 ± 0.9 ppm), Mo (3.2 ± 1.2 ppm), V (81.8 ± 10.1 ppm), and Re (25.4 ± 12 ppb) were lower in sediments of comparable age than the concentrations of these same metals in the OMZ core, and the differences in their concentrations over glacial-interglacial cycles were less pronounced than those in shallower core. Comparison of the nonlithogenic fraction of metals in the sediments with their estimated contribution from plankton suggests that organic matter is probably the major source of Cu, Ba, and perhaps Cd to the sediment, whereas the indirect effects of organic carbon and low bottom water oxygen concentrations on sediment redox state appear to be more important controls on the distributions U, Re, Mo, and V. Changes in the depth at which Re and Mo precipitated in the sediments and in the Re/Mo ratio suggest that the redox state of the surface sediment and overlying water at both core depths varied over time. Re and Mo removal depths were shallower and Re/Mo ratios were lower at the OMZ site than in deeper water, suggesting that a more reducing environment prevailed over time at the shallower site. Although the redox state of the waters and sediment at both sites varied over glacial-interglacial cycles, the OMZ likely was never anoxic in the last 140 kyr. This variability in redox state could be attributed to changes in regional export productivity, changes in ocean circulation, or a combination of both processes. A paleoproductivity reconstruction from biogenic Ba data suggests that glacial productivity was considerable lower than it was during interglacial stages. Model results suggest that the oxygen penetration depth, an indicator of sediment redox state, changed less than 1 cm as a result of the change in productivity. Changes in oxygen penetration depth estimated from Re and U removal depths are significantly larger, suggesting that changes in ventilation are a more important control on sediment redox state. Overall, trace metal results confirm the tight coupling between ocean circulation, marine productivity, and global change.

Euxinia and primary production in Late Cretaceous eastern equatorial Atlantic surface waters fostered orbitally driven formation of marine black shales

Abstract: [1] Oceanic anoxic events (OAE) in the Cretaceous represent major perturbations in the global climate and ocean system characterized by widespread deposition of organic carbon in the ocean. The causes and effects of these events are poorly constrained, mainly because of the lack of high-resolution marine records. Here we report the distribution of molecular markers from a millennial-scale record of Coniacian-Santonian black shale (OAE-3) from Ocean Drilling Program Site 959 in the Deep Ivorian Basin in the eastern equatorial Atlantic. Highly branched isoprenoids and alkenone-derived organic compounds indicate that diatoms and calcareous nanoplankton were important primary producers. Changes in redox sensitive trace metal accumulation and biomarkers of green sulfur bacteria provide evidence for extreme variations in redox conditions, with intervals of lower photic zone euxinia (PZE). Accordingly, oxygen in the Coniacian-Santonian tropical Atlantic was absent as during the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary OAE-2 but over more restricted geographic area and more limited time intervals. We hypothesize that PZE was a common phenomenon typical in large areas of tropical continental margins. These conditions fostered sequestration of atmospheric CO2 and thus helped cause the positive excursion in δ13C of carbonate documented in higher latitude marine records.

Revisiting nutrient utilization in the glacial Antarctic: Evidence from a new method for diatom-bound N isotopic analysis

Abstract: Holocene in the Indian sector is smaller than in previous measurements These data suggest no change in the degree of nitrate utilization in the Atlantic sector and at most a 20% increase (from 25 to 45%) in the Indian sector The new measurements suggest that, during the last ice age in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctic, the atmospheric source of biologically available iron was not so great as to become significant relative to the iron supply from below Given the apparent spatial variability in the degree of nitrate drawdown, more work is required to develop an adequate picture of the glacial Antarctic nutrient field INDEX TERMS: 4806 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Carbon cycling; 4845 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Nutrients and nutrient cycling; 4894 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Instruments and techniques; 9310 Information Related to Geographic Region: Antarctica;

Amino acid geochronology of individual foraminifer (Pulleniatina obliquiloculata) tests, north Queensland margin, Australia: A new approach to correlating and dating Quaternary tropical marine sediment cores

Abstract: [1] In this study, we demonstrate the utility of amino acid geochronology based on single-foraminiferal tests in Quaternary sediment cores from the Queensland margin, Australia. The large planktonic foraminifer Pulleniatina obliquiloculata is ubiquitous in shelf, slope, and basin sediments of north Queensland as well as pantropical oceans. Fossil tests are resistant to dissolution, and retain substantial concentrations of amino acids (2–4 nmol mg � 1 of shell) over hundreds of thousands of years. Amino acid D and L isomers of aspartic acid (Asp) and glutamic acid (Glu) were separated using reverse phase chromatography, which is sensitive enough to analyze individual foraminifera tests. In all, 462 Pulleniatina tests from 80 horizons in 11 cores exhibit a systematic increase in D/L ratios down core. D/L ratios were determined in 32 samples whose ages are known from AMS 14 C analyses. In all cases, the Asp and Glu D/L ratios are concordant with 14 C age. D/L ratios of equal-age samples are slightly lower for cores taken from deeper water sites, reflecting the sensitivity of the rate of racemization to bottom water temperature. Beyond the range of 14 C dating, previously identified marine oxygen-isotope stage boundaries provide approximate ages of the sediments up to about 500,000 years. For this longer time frame, D/L ratios also vary systematically with isotope-correlated ages. The rate of racemization for Glu and Asp was modeled using power functions. These equations can be used to estimate ages of samples from the Queensland margin extending back at least 500,000 years. This analytical approach provides new opportunities for geochronological control necessary to understand fundamental sedimentary processes affecting a wide range of marine environments. INDEX TERMS: 4267 Oceanography: General: Paleoceanography; 4850 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Organic marine chemistry; 3022 Marine Geology and Geophysics: Marine sediments— processes and transport; KEYWORDS: Queensland margin, marine sediment, amino acid racemization, geochronology, foraminifera, Quaternary stratigraphy Citation: Hearty, P. J., M. J. O’Leary, D. S. Kaufman, M. C. Page, and J. Bright (2004), Amino acid geochronology of individual foraminifer (Pulleniatina obliquiloculata) tests, north Queensland margin, Australia: A new approach to correlating and dating Quaternary tropical marine sediment cores, Paleoceanography, 19, PA4022, doi:10.1029/2004PA001059.

Rapid transient changes in northeast Atlantic deep water ventilation age across Termination I

Abstract: [1] A sequence of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates performed on benthic and planktonic foraminifera from a northeast Atlantic deep-sea core (MD99-2334K; 37°48′N, 10°10′W; 3146 m) permit the reconstruction of deep water “14C ventilation ages” across the last deglaciation. The records from MD99-2334K have been placed on the GISP2 timescale via the synchrony of temperature changes recorded in the Greenland ice cores and in North Atlantic planktonic δ18Occ (calcite δ18O). On the basis of a range of estimates for past source water Δ14C, this permits the estimation of 14C projection ventilation ages for comparison with benthic-planktonic 14C age differences. Although the accurate estimation of past ventilation ages is precluded by unknown deep water Δ14C source signatures, and by uncertainty regarding the extent of deep water mixing, it is clear that deep water ventilation in the northeast Atlantic was significantly reduced during the last glaciation, increased abruptly coincident with the Bolling-Allerod warming, and rapidly became reduced again during the Younger Dryas cold reversal. The character of these changes is consistent with a varying dominance of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) versus Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Parallel benthic δ13C, deep water temperature (Tdw), and deep water δ18O (δ18Odw) estimates support this inference. The fact that deglacial changes in the deep water radiocarbon content of the northeast Atlantic run parallel to opposite changes in atmospheric radiocarbon content, and in parallel with Greenland temperature fluctuations, unequivocally implicates changes in ocean circulation in deglacial climate evolution and illustrates the capacity for the deep ocean to respond and contribute to abrupt climate change.

Environmental change in the Sea of Okhotsk during the last 1.1 million years

Abstract: On the basis of two sedimentary records from the central Sea of Okhotsk, we reconstruct the closely coupled glacial/interglacial changes in terrigenous flux, marine productivity, and sea ice coverage over the past 11 Myr The correspondance of our sedimentary records to the China loess grain size record (China loess particle timescale, CHILOPARTS) suggests that environmental changes in both the Sea of Okhotsk area and in SE Asia were closely related via the Siberian atmospheric high-pressure cell During full glacial times our records point to a strong Siberian High causing northerly wind directions, the extension of the sea ice cover, and a reduced Amur River discharge Deglacial maxima of terrigenous flux were succeeded by or synchronous to high-productivity events Marine productivity was strengthened during glacial terminations because of an effective nutrient utilization at times of enhanced water column stratification and high nutrient supply from fluvial runoff and sea ice thawing During interglacials, SE monsoonal winds prevailed, analogous to today's summer situation of a pronounced Mongolian Heat Low and a strong Hawaiian High Strong freshwater discharge induced by high precipitation rates in the Amur drainage area and a seasonally reduced and mobile sea ice cover favored marine productivity (although being considerably lower than during the terminations) and a lowered flux of ice-rafted detritus

Intermediate depth warming in the tropical Atlantic related to weakened thermohaline circulation: Combining paleoclimate data and modeling results for the last deglaciation

Abstract: [1] Benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope ratios from two sediment cores recovered at 426 and 1299 m water depth in the eastern and western tropical Atlantic show that a slowdown of the thermohaline circulation (THC) during Heinrich event H1 and the Younger Dryas was accompanied by rapid and intense warming of intermediate depth waters. Millennial-scale covariations of low paleosalinities in the subpolar North Atlantic with decreased benthic oxygen isotope ratios in the eastern tropical Atlantic throughout the past 10,000 years suggest that THC weakening might be related to middepth warming during the Holocene period as well. Climate model experiments simulating a strong reduction of the THC in the Atlantic Ocean under present-day and glacial conditions reveal that the increase of temperature in the middepth tropical and South Atlantic is a common feature for both climatic states, caused by a reduced ventilation of cold intermediate and deep waters in conjunction with downward mixing of heat from the thermocline. From the similarity of the paleoclimatic records with the model simulations, we infer that the characteristic pattern of temperature change in the Atlantic Ocean related to weakened thermohaline circulation can serve as an indicator of present-day and future THC slowdown.

Reconstruction of paleoproductivity in the Sea of Okhotsk over the last 30 kyr

Abstract: [1] Marine- and terrestrial-derived biomarkers (alkenones, brassicasterol, dinosterol, and long-chain n-alkanes), as well as carbonate, biogenic opal, and ice-rafted debris (IRD), were measured in two sediment cores in the Sea of Okhotsk, which is located in the northwestern Pacific rim and characterized by high primary productivity. Down-core profiles of phytoplankton markers suggest that primary productivity abruptly increased during the global Meltwater Pulse events 1A (about 14 ka) and 1B (about 11 ka) and stayed high in the Holocene. Spatial and temporal distributions of the phytoplankton productivity were found to be consistent with changes in the reconstructed sea ice distribution on the basis of the IRD. This demonstrates that the progress and retreat of sea ice regulated primary productivity in the Sea of Okhotsk with minimum productivity during the glacial period. The mass accumulation rates of alkenones, CaCO3, and biogenic opal indicate that the dominant phytoplankton species during deglaciation was the coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi, which was replaced by diatoms in the late Holocene. Such a phytoplankton succession was probably caused by an increase in silicate supply to the euphotic layer, possibly associated with a change in surface hydrography and/or linked to enhanced upwelling of North Pacific Deep Water. INDEX TERMS: 1050 Geochemistry: Marine geochemistry (4835, 4850); 1055 Geochemistry: Organic geochemistry; 4267 Oceanography: General: Paleoceanography; KEYWORDS: Okhotsk Sea, paleoproductivity, sediment Citation: Seki, O., M. Ikehara, K. Kawamura, T. Nakatsuka, K. Ohnishi, M. Wakatsuchi, H. Narita, and T. Sakamoto (2004), Reconstruction of paleoproductivity in the Sea of Okhotsk over the last 30 kyr, Paleoceanography, 19, PA1016,

Carbon isotope evidence for changes in Antarctic Intermediate Water circulation and ocean ventilation in the southwest Pacific during the last deglaciation

Abstract: [1] Deep-sea sediment core FR1/97 GC-12 is located 990 mbsl in the northern Tasman Sea, southwest Pacific, where Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) presently impinges the continental slope of the southern Great Barrier Reef. Analysis of carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope ratios on a suite of planktonic and benthic foraminifera reveals rapid changes in surface and intermediate water circulation over the last 30 kyr. During the Last Glacial Maximum, there was a large δ13C offset (1.1‰) between the surface-dwelling planktonic foraminifera and benthic species living within the AAIW. In contrast, during the last deglaciation (Termination 1), the δ13Cplanktonic-benthic offset reduced to 0.4‰ prior to an intermediate offset (0.7‰) during the Holocene. We suggest that variations in the dominance and direction of AAIW circulation in the Tasman Sea, and increased oceanic ventilation, can account for the rapid change in the water column δ13Cplanktonic-benthic offset during the glacial-interglacial transition. Our results support the hypothesis that intermediate water plays an important role in propagating climatic changes from the polar regions to the tropics. In this case, climatic variations in the Southern Hemisphere may have led to the rapid ventilation of deep water and AAIW during Termination 1, which contributed to the postglacial rise in atmospheric CO2.

Dust-induced changes in phytoplankton composition in the Tasman Sea during the last four glacial cycles

Abstract: [1] An increase in iron supply associated with enhanced dust inputs could be responsible for higher marine phytoplankton production leading to the typically lower glacial atmospheric CO2 concentrations, as suggested by the “iron hypothesis.” The enhanced dust supply may also have provided the oceans with significant amounts of silica, which would have favored the growth of diatoms over coccolithophores, as suggested by the “silica hypothesis.” Here we present new data on molecular biomarkers in a sediment core from the midlatitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, which reveal dust-induced changes in the relative contribution of the phytoplankton to total productivity. Our results illustrate a shift in the relative abundance of siliceous over calcareous organisms during glacial times, when terrestrial aeolian input was enhanced. Although we did not detect a significant glacial decrease in coccolithophorid productivity, the decrease in the CaCO3/Corg rain ratio could have still contributed to some extent in lowering atmospheric CO2 levels.

Variability in vertical distributions of planktonic foraminifera in the California Current: Relationships to vertical ocean structure

Abstract: [1] Geochemical records from planktonic foraminifera are among the few means available to infer past changes in the upper ocean, although interpretations can be confounded by variability in foraminifera habitat depths. The principal environmental factors affecting foraminiferal vertical distributions were examined through 28 vertically stratified plankton tows taken off southern California in winter, spring, and summer. Each species has a dynamic range of preferred habitat depth, from the mixed layer to the thermocline, characterized by a unique relationship with environmental properties. Globigerina bulloides, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (dextral), and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei can live near the surface but frequently live deeper as stratification increases and a particular isotherm deepens. Globigerinoides ruber and Orbulina universa vary more closely with the depth of the thermocline than the depth of a given isotherm. The shifts in habitat depth are of sufficient magnitude to affect δ18O records. The effects of such shifts are observed for G. bulloides and N. pachyderma in Santa Barbara Basin sediments. Geochemical signatures from multiple species of foraminifera, each with a different predicted response to environmental change, can permit the detection of changes in habitat depth of a given species and thus more accurately indicate past changes in hydrographic structure.

Glacial-interglacial modulation of the marine nitrogen cycle by high-latitude O2 supply to the global thermocline

Abstract: [1] An analysis of sedimentary nitrogen isotope records compiled from widely distributed marine environments emphasizes the global synchrony of denitrification changes and provides evidence for a strong temporal coupling of these variations to changes in nitrogen fixation as previously inferred. We explain the global coherence of these records by a simple physical control on the flux of dissolved oxygen to suboxic zones and the coupling to fixation via the supply of phosphorus to diazotrophs in suitable environments. According to our hypothesis, lower glacial-stage sea surface temperature increased oxygen solubility, while stronger winds in high-latitude regions enhanced the rate of thermocline ventilation. The resultant colder, rapidly flushed thermocline lessened the spatial extent of denitrification and, consequently, N fixation. During warm periods, sluggish circulation of warmer, less oxygen rich thermocline waters caused expansion of denitrification zones and a concomitant increase in N fixation. Local fluctuations in export productivity would have modulated this global signal.

Ground-truthing the boron isotope-paleo-pH proxy in planktonic foraminifera shells: Partial dissolution and shell size effects

Abstract: [1] Sediment samples from the Ontong-Java Plateau in the Pacific and the 90° east ridge in the Indian Ocean were used to investigate whether shell size and early diagenesis affect δ11B of the symbiont-bearing planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer. In pristine shells from both study locations we found a systematic increase of δ11B and Mg/Ca with shell size. Shells in the sieve size class 515–865 μm revealed δ11B values +2.1 to +2.3‰ higher than shells in the 250–380 μm class. This pattern is most likely due to differences in symbiont photosynthetic activity and its integrated effect on the pH of the foraminiferal microenvironment. We therefore suggest smaller individuals must live at approximately 50–100 m water depth where ambient light levels are lower. Using the empirical calibration curve for δ11B in G. sacculifer, only shells larger than 425 μm reflect surface seawater pH. Partial dissolution of shells derived from deeper sediment cores was determined by shell weight analyses and investigation of the shell surface microstructure by scanning electron microscopy. The δ11B in partially dissolved shells is up to 2‰ lower relative to pristine shells of the same size class. In agreement with a relatively higher weight loss in smaller shells, samples from the Ontong-Java Plateau show a more pronounced dissolution effect than larger shells. On the basis of the primary size effect and potential postdepositional dissolution effects, we recommend the use of shells that are visually pristine and, in the case of G. sacculifer, larger than 500 μm for paleoreconstructions.

Simulation of the cold climate event 8200 years ago by meltwater outburst from Lake Agassiz

Abstract: meltwater pulse is assumed to have a volume of 1.6 10 14 m 3 and a period of discharge of 2 years on the basis of glaciological modeling of the decay of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). We present a possible mechanism which can explain the centennial duration of the 8.2 ka cold event. The mechanism is related to the existence of an additional equilibrium climate state with reduced North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation and a southward shift of the NADW formation area. Hints at the additional climate state were obtained from the largely varying duration of the pulse-induced cold episode in response to overlaid random freshwater fluctuations in Monte Carlo simulations. The model equilibrium state was attained by releasing a weak multicentury freshwater flux through the St. Lawrence pathway completed by the meltwater pulse. The existence of such a climate mode appears essential for reproducing climate anomalies in close agreement with paleoclimatic reconstructions of the 8.2 ka event. The results furthermore suggest that the temporal evolution of the cold event was partly a matter of chance. INDEX TERMS: 3344 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Paleoclimatology; 4255 Oceanography: General: Numerical modeling; 4532 Oceanography: Physical: General circulation; 4215 Oceanography: General: Climate and interannual variability (3309); 9325 Information Related to Geographic Region: Atlantic Ocean;

Intermittent existence of a southern Californian upwelling cell during submillennial climate change of the last 60 kyr

Abstract: [1] Application of a high-resolution multiproxy approach to a sedimentary section drilled at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1017, located under a highly active upwelling cell off Point Conception, California, provides clear evidence for surface ocean productivity shifts on submillennial timescales during the last 60 kyr. The proxies include bulk-sediment major and minor elements, organic carbon and carbonate concentrations, δ15N, and planktonic foraminiferal species assemblage and carbon isotope determinations. The collective results demonstrate that marine productivity in this area was not simply linearly related to cold and warm cycles except during the millennial-scale climate oscillations of marine isotope stage (MIS) 3. During that interval, the upwelling cell and resulting high productivity were active during warm interstadial events and were largely inactive during cool stadial events. However, the Last Glacial Maximum was also relatively productive. Productivity increased dramatically during the Bolling warm interval, while the Allerod and Younger Dryas were much less productive. High coccolithophorid abundance commenced during the earliest Holocene after 10 ka. The complexity of the productivity response was probably related to interplay between local winds, as well as California Undercurrent strength.