Articles | Volume 16, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 Aug 2019
Research article |
| 30 Aug 2019
| 30 Aug 2019
Temporal variability in foraminiferal morphology and geochemistry at the West Antarctic Peninsula: a sediment trap study
Anna Mikis
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Katharine R. Hendry
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
Jennifer Pike
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Main Building, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, UK
Daniela N. Schmidt
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
Kirsty M. Edgar
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
Victoria Peck
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
Frank J. C. Peeters
Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Melanie J. Leng
NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilities, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK
Michael P. Meredith
British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
Chloe L. C. Jones
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK
previously published under the name Chloe L. Todd
Sharon Stammerjohn
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80303, USA
Hugh Ducklow
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964-1000, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Ben J. Fisher, Alex J. Poulton, Michael P. Meredith, Kimberlee Baldry, Oscar Schofield, and Sian F. Henley
Biogeosciences, 22, 975–994, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-975-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-975-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Southern Ocean is a rapidly warming environment, with subsequent impacts on ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. This study examines changes in phytoplankton and biogeochemistry using a range of climate models. Under climate change, the Southern Ocean will be warmer, more acidic and more productive and will have reduced nutrient availability by 2100. However, there is substantial variability between models across key productivity parameters. We propose ways of reducing this uncertainty.
Shenjie Zhou, Pierre Dutrieux, Claudia F. Giulivi, Adrian Jenkins, Alessandro Silvano, Christopher Auckland, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Michael P. Meredith, Irena Vaňková, Keith W. Nicholls, Peter E. D. Davis, Svein Østerhus, Arnold L. Gordon, Christopher J. Zappa, Tiago S. Dotto, Theodore A. Scambos, Kathyrn L. Gunn, Stephen R. Rintoul, Shigeru Aoki, Craig Stevens, Chengyan Liu, Sukyoung Yun, Tae-Wan Kim, Won Sang Lee, Markus Janout, Tore Hattermann, Julius Lauber, Elin Darelius, Anna Wåhlin, Leo Middleton, Pasquale Castagno, Giorgio Budillon, Karen J. Heywood, Jennifer Graham, Stephen Dye, Daisuke Hirano, and Una Kim Miller
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-54, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
We created the first standardised dataset of in-situ ocean measurements time series from around Antarctica collected since 1970s. This includes temperature, salinity, pressure, and currents recorded by instruments deployed in icy, challenging conditions. Our analysis highlights the dominance of tidal currents and separates these from other patterns to study regional energy distribution. This unique dataset offers a foundation for future research on Antarctic ocean dynamics and ice interactions.
Ruby Barrett, Joost de Vries, and Daniela N. Schmidt
Biogeosciences, 22, 791–807, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-791-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-791-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Planktic foraminifers are a plankton whose fossilised shell weight is used to reconstruct past environmental conditions such as seawater CO2. However, there is debate about whether other environmental drivers impact shell weight. Here we use a global data compilation and statistics to analyse what controls their weight. We find that the response varies between species and ocean basin, making it important to use regional calibrations and consider which species should be used to reconstruct CO2.
Kirsty Marie Edgar, Maria Grigoratou, Fanny Monteiro, Ruby Barrett, Rui Ying, and Daniela Schmidt
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3295, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3295, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Planktic foraminifera are microscopic marine organisms whose calcium carbonate shells provide valuable insights into past ocean conditions. A promising means of understanding foraminiferal ecology and their environmental interactions is to constrain their key functional traits relating to feeding, symbioses, motility, calcification and reproduction. Here we review what we know of their functional traits, key gaps in our understanding and suggestions on how to fill them.
Benjamin J. Davison, Anna E. Hogg, Carlos Moffat, Michael P. Meredith, and Benjamin J. Wallis
The Cryosphere, 18, 3237–3251, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3237-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3237-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using a new dataset of ice motion, we observed glacier acceleration on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The speed-up began around January 2021, but some glaciers sped up earlier or later. Using a combination of ship-based ocean temperature observations and climate models, we show that the speed-up coincided with a period of unusually warm air and ocean temperatures in the region.
Jack T. R. Wilkin, Sev Kender, Rowan Dejardin, Claire S. Allen, Victoria L. Peck, George E. A. Swann, Erin L. McClymont, James D. Scourse, Kate Littler, and Melanie J. Leng
J. Micropalaeontol., 43, 165–186, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-165-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-43-165-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia has a dynamic glacial history and is sensitive to climate change. Using benthic foraminifera and various geochemical proxies, we reconstruct inner–middle shelf productivity and infer glacial evolution since the late deglacial, identifying new mid–late-Holocene glacial readvances. Fursenkoina fusiformis acts as a good proxy for productivity.
Philip Meister, Anne Alexandre, Hannah Bailey, Philip Barker, Boris K. Biskaborn, Ellie Broadman, Rosine Cartier, Bernhard Chapligin, Martine Couapel, Jonathan R. Dean, Bernhard Diekmann, Poppy Harding, Andrew C. G. Henderson, Armand Hernandez, Ulrike Herzschuh, Svetlana S. Kostrova, Jack Lacey, Melanie J. Leng, Andreas Lücke, Anson W. Mackay, Eniko Katalin Magyari, Biljana Narancic, Cécile Porchier, Gunhild Rosqvist, Aldo Shemesh, Corinne Sonzogni, George E. A. Swann, Florence Sylvestre, and Hanno Meyer
Clim. Past, 20, 363–392, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-363-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the first comprehensive compilation of diatom oxygen isotope records in lake sediments (δ18OBSi), supported by lake basin parameters. We infer the spatial and temporal coverage of δ18OBSi records and discuss common hemispheric trends on centennial and millennial timescales. Key results are common patterns for hydrologically open lakes in Northern Hemisphere extratropical regions during the Holocene corresponding to known climatic epochs, i.e. the Holocene Thermal Maximum.
Rachel A. Kruft Welton, George Hoppit, Daniela N. Schmidt, James D. Witts, and Benjamin C. Moon
Biogeosciences, 21, 223–239, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-223-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-223-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We conducted a meta-analysis of known experimental literature examining how marine bivalve growth rates respond to climate change. Growth is usually negatively impacted by climate change. Bivalve eggs/larva are generally more vulnerable than either juveniles or adults. Available data on the bivalve response to climate stressors are biased towards early growth stages (commercially important in the Global North), and many families have only single experiments examining climate change impacts.
Stephen P. Hesselbo, Aisha Al-Suwaidi, Sarah J. Baker, Giorgia Ballabio, Claire M. Belcher, Andrew Bond, Ian Boomer, Remco Bos, Christian J. Bjerrum, Kara Bogus, Richard Boyle, James V. Browning, Alan R. Butcher, Daniel J. Condon, Philip Copestake, Stuart Daines, Christopher Dalby, Magret Damaschke, Susana E. Damborenea, Jean-Francois Deconinck, Alexander J. Dickson, Isabel M. Fendley, Calum P. Fox, Angela Fraguas, Joost Frieling, Thomas A. Gibson, Tianchen He, Kat Hickey, Linda A. Hinnov, Teuntje P. Hollaar, Chunju Huang, Alexander J. L. Hudson, Hugh C. Jenkyns, Erdem Idiz, Mengjie Jiang, Wout Krijgsman, Christoph Korte, Melanie J. Leng, Timothy M. Lenton, Katharina Leu, Crispin T. S. Little, Conall MacNiocaill, Miguel O. Manceñido, Tamsin A. Mather, Emanuela Mattioli, Kenneth G. Miller, Robert J. Newton, Kevin N. Page, József Pálfy, Gregory Pieńkowski, Richard J. Porter, Simon W. Poulton, Alberto C. Riccardi, James B. Riding, Ailsa Roper, Micha Ruhl, Ricardo L. Silva, Marisa S. Storm, Guillaume Suan, Dominika Szűcs, Nicolas Thibault, Alfred Uchman, James N. Stanley, Clemens V. Ullmann, Bas van de Schootbrugge, Madeleine L. Vickers, Sonja Wadas, Jessica H. Whiteside, Paul B. Wignall, Thomas Wonik, Weimu Xu, Christian Zeeden, and Ke Zhao
Sci. Dril., 32, 1–25, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-32-1-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-32-1-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present initial results from a 650 m long core of Late Triasssic to Early Jurassic (190–202 Myr) sedimentary strata from the Cheshire Basin, UK, which is shown to be an exceptional record of Earth evolution for the time of break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea. Further work will determine periodic changes in depositional environments caused by solar system dynamics and used to reconstruct orbital history.
Dani C. Jones, Maike Sonnewald, Shenjie Zhou, Ute Hausmann, Andrew J. S. Meijers, Isabella Rosso, Lars Boehme, Michael P. Meredith, and Alberto C. Naveira Garabato
Ocean Sci., 19, 857–885, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-857-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-857-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Machine learning is transforming oceanography. For example, unsupervised classification approaches help researchers identify underappreciated structures in ocean data, helping to generate new hypotheses. In this work, we use a type of unsupervised classification to identify structures in the temperature and salinity structure of the Weddell Gyre, which is an important region for global ocean circulation and for climate. We use our method to generate new ideas about mixing in the Weddell Gyre.
Rui Ying, Fanny M. Monteiro, Jamie D. Wilson, and Daniela N. Schmidt
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 813–832, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-813-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-813-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Planktic foraminifera are marine-calcifying zooplankton; their shells are widely used to measure past temperature and productivity. We developed ForamEcoGEnIE 2.0 to simulate the four subgroups of this organism. We found that the relative abundance distribution agrees with marine sediment core-top data and that carbon export and biomass are close to sediment trap and plankton net observations respectively. This model provides the opportunity to study foraminiferal ecology in any geological era.
Ben J. Fisher, Alex J. Poulton, Michael P. Meredith, Kimberlee Baldry, Oscar Schofield, and Sian F. Henley
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-10, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-10, 2023
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
The Southern Ocean is warming faster than the global average. As a globally important carbon sink and nutrient source, climate driven changes in ecosystems can be expected to cause widespread changes to biogeochemical cycles. We analysed earth system models and showed that productivity is expected to increase across the Southern Ocean, driven by different phytoplankton groups at different latitudes. These predictions carry large uncertainties, we propose targeted studies to reduce this error.
Xavier Crosta, Karen E. Kohfeld, Helen C. Bostock, Matthew Chadwick, Alice Du Vivier, Oliver Esper, Johan Etourneau, Jacob Jones, Amy Leventer, Juliane Müller, Rachael H. Rhodes, Claire S. Allen, Pooja Ghadi, Nele Lamping, Carina B. Lange, Kelly-Anne Lawler, David Lund, Alice Marzocchi, Katrin J. Meissner, Laurie Menviel, Abhilash Nair, Molly Patterson, Jennifer Pike, Joseph G. Prebble, Christina Riesselman, Henrik Sadatzki, Louise C. Sime, Sunil K. Shukla, Lena Thöle, Maria-Elena Vorrath, Wenshen Xiao, and Jiao Yang
Clim. Past, 18, 1729–1756, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1729-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1729-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Despite its importance in the global climate, our knowledge of Antarctic sea-ice changes throughout the last glacial–interglacial cycle is extremely limited. As part of the Cycles of Sea Ice Dynamics in the Earth system (C-SIDE) Working Group, we review marine- and ice-core-based sea-ice proxies to provide insights into their applicability and limitations. By compiling published records, we provide information on Antarctic sea-ice dynamics over the past 130 000 years.
Gilles Reverdin, Claire Waelbroeck, Catherine Pierre, Camille Akhoudas, Giovanni Aloisi, Marion Benetti, Bernard Bourlès, Magnus Danielsen, Jérôme Demange, Denis Diverrès, Jean-Claude Gascard, Marie-Noëlle Houssais, Hervé Le Goff, Pascale Lherminier, Claire Lo Monaco, Herlé Mercier, Nicolas Metzl, Simon Morisset, Aïcha Naamar, Thierry Reynaud, Jean-Baptiste Sallée, Virginie Thierry, Susan E. Hartman, Edward W. Mawji, Solveig Olafsdottir, Torsten Kanzow, Anton Velo, Antje Voelker, Igor Yashayaev, F. Alexander Haumann, Melanie J. Leng, Carol Arrowsmith, and Michael Meredith
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2721–2735, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2721-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2721-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The CISE-LOCEAN seawater stable isotope dataset has close to 8000 data entries. The δ18O and δD isotopic data measured at LOCEAN have uncertainties of at most 0.05 ‰ and 0.25 ‰, respectively. Some data were adjusted to correct for evaporation. The internal consistency indicates that the data can be used to investigate time and space variability to within 0.03 ‰ and 0.15 ‰ in δ18O–δD17; comparisons with data analyzed in other institutions suggest larger differences with other datasets.
Andrew L. A. Johnson, Annemarie M. Valentine, Bernd R. Schöne, Melanie J. Leng, and Stijn Goolaerts
Clim. Past, 18, 1203–1229, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1203-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-1203-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Determining seasonal temperatures demands proxies that record the highest and lowest temperatures over the annual cycle. Many record neither, but oxygen isotope profiles from shells in principle record both. Oxygen isotope data from late Pliocene bivalve molluscs of the southern North Sea basin show that the seasonal temperature range was at times much higher than previously estimated and higher than now. This suggests reduced oceanic heat supply, in contrast to some previous interpretations.
Hyewon Heather Kim, Jeff S. Bowman, Ya-Wei Luo, Hugh W. Ducklow, Oscar M. Schofield, Deborah K. Steinberg, and Scott C. Doney
Biogeosciences, 19, 117–136, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-117-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Heterotrophic marine bacteria are tiny organisms responsible for taking up organic matter in the ocean. Using a modeling approach, this study shows that characteristics (taxonomy and physiology) of bacteria are associated with a subset of ecological processes in the coastal West Antarctic Peninsula region, a system susceptible to global climate change. This study also suggests that bacteria will become more active, in particular large-sized cells, in response to changing climates in the region.
Hyewon Heather Kim, Ya-Wei Luo, Hugh W. Ducklow, Oscar M. Schofield, Deborah K. Steinberg, and Scott C. Doney
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 4939–4975, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4939-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4939-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a rapidly warming region, revealed by multi-decadal observations. Despite the region being data rich, there is a lack of focus on ecosystem model development. Here, we introduce a data assimilation ecosystem model for the WAP region. Experiments by assimilating data from an example growth season capture key WAP features. This study enables us to glue the snapshots from available data sets together to explain the observations in the WAP.
Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Erin L. McClymont, Nicole J. Bale, Ellen C. Hopmans, Stefan Schouten, Juliane Müller, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Claire Allen, Torsten Bickert, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Elaine Mawbey, Victoria Peck, Aleksandra Svalova, and James A. Smith
Biogeosciences, 18, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Long-term ocean temperature records are needed to fully understand the impact of West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse. Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are powerful tools for reconstructing ocean temperature but can be difficult to apply to the Southern Ocean. Our results show active GDGT synthesis in relatively warm depths of the ocean. This research improves the application of GDGT palaeoceanographic proxies in the Southern Ocean.
Mark A. Stevenson, Suzanne McGowan, Emma J. Pearson, George E. A. Swann, Melanie J. Leng, Vivienne J. Jones, Joseph J. Bailey, Xianyu Huang, and Erika Whiteford
Biogeosciences, 18, 2465–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2465-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2465-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We link detailed stable isotope and biomarker analyses from the catchments of three Arctic upland lakes on Disko Island (West Greenland) to a recent dated sediment core to understand how carbon cycling has changed over the past ~500 years. We find that the carbon deposited in sediments in these upland lakes is predominately sourced from in-lake production due to the catchment's limited terrestrial vegetation and elevation and that recent increases in algal production link with climate change.
Katharine Hendry, Oscar Romero, and Vanessa Pashley
Clim. Past, 17, 603–614, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-603-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-603-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Productive eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUs) are characterized by abundant siliceous algae and diatoms, and they play a key role in carbon fixation. Understanding past shifts in diatom production is critical for predicting the impact of future climate change. We combine existing sediment archives from the Benguela EBU with new diatom isotope analyses and modelling to reconstruct late Quaternary silica cycling, which we suggest depends on both upwelling intensity and surface utilization.
Tom Dunkley Jones, Yvette L. Eley, William Thomson, Sarah E. Greene, Ilya Mandel, Kirsty Edgar, and James A. Bendle
Clim. Past, 16, 2599–2617, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2599-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2599-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We explore the utiliity of the composition of fossil lipid biomarkers, which are commonly preserved in ancient marine sediments, in providing estimates of past ocean temperatures. The group of lipids concerned show compositional changes across the modern oceans that are correlated, to some extent, with local surface ocean temperatures. Here we present new machine learning approaches to improve our understanding of this temperature sensitivity and its application to reconstructing past climates.
Gordon N. Inglis, Fran Bragg, Natalie J. Burls, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, David Evans, Gavin L. Foster, Matthew Huber, Daniel J. Lunt, Nicholas Siler, Sebastian Steinig, Jessica E. Tierney, Richard Wilkinson, Eleni Anagnostou, Agatha M. de Boer, Tom Dunkley Jones, Kirsty M. Edgar, Christopher J. Hollis, David K. Hutchinson, and Richard D. Pancost
Clim. Past, 16, 1953–1968, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1953-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1953-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents estimates of global mean surface temperatures and climate sensitivity during the early Paleogene (∼57–48 Ma). We employ a multi-method experimental approach and show that i) global mean surface temperatures range between 27 and 32°C and that ii) estimates of
bulkequilibrium climate sensitivity (∼3 to 4.5°C) fall within the range predicted by the IPCC AR5 Report. This work improves our understanding of two key climate metrics during the early Paleogene.
Lisa Thompson, Madison Smith, Jim Thomson, Sharon Stammerjohn, Steve Ackley, and Brice Loose
The Cryosphere, 14, 3329–3347, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3329-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3329-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The offshore winds around Antarctica can reach hurricane strength and produce intense cooling, causing the surface ocean to form a slurry of seawater and ice crystals. For the first time, we observed a buildup of heat and salt in the surface ocean, caused by loose ice crystal formation. We conclude that up to 1 m of ice was formed per day by the intense cooling, suggesting that unconsolidated crystals may be an important part of the total freezing that happens around Antarctica.
Kirsty M. Edgar, Steven M. Bohaty, Helen K. Coxall, Paul R. Bown, Sietske J. Batenburg, Caroline H. Lear, and Paul N. Pearson
J. Micropalaeontol., 39, 117–138, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-117-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-117-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We identify the first continuous carbonate-bearing sediment record from the tropical ocean that spans the entirety of the global warming event, the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum, ca. 40 Ma. We determine significant mismatches between middle Eocene calcareous microfossil datums from the tropical Pacific Ocean and established low-latitude zonation schemes. We highlight the potential of ODP Site 865 for future investigations into environmental and biotic changes throughout the early Paleogene.
James M. Russell, Philip Barker, Andrew Cohen, Sarah Ivory, Ishmael Kimirei, Christine Lane, Melanie Leng, Neema Maganza, Michael McGlue, Emma Msaky, Anders Noren, Lisa Park Boush, Walter Salzburger, Christopher Scholz, Ralph Tiedemann, Shaidu Nuru, and the Lake Tanganyika Scientific Drilling Project (TSDP) Consortium
Sci. Dril., 27, 53–60, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-27-53-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-27-53-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Our planet experienced enormous environmental changes in the last 10 million years. Lake Tanganyika is the oldest lake in Africa and its sediments comprise the most continuous terrestrial environmental record for this time period in the tropics. This workshop report identifies key research objectives in rift processes, evolutionary biology, geomicrobiology, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, paleoanthropology, and geochronology that could be addressed by drilling this globally important site.
Sophie Kendall, Felix Gradstein, Christopher Jones, Oliver T. Lord, and Daniela N. Schmidt
J. Micropalaeontol., 39, 27–39, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-27-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-39-27-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Changes in morphology during development can have profound impacts on an organism but are hard to quantify as we lack preservation in the fossil record. As they grow by adding chambers, planktic foraminifera are an ideal group to study changes in growth in development. We analyse four different species of Jurassic foraminifers using a micro-CT scanner. The low morphological variability suggests that strong constraints, described in the modern ocean, were already acting on Jurassic specimens.
Alan Marron, Lucie Cassarino, Jade Hatton, Paul Curnow, and Katharine R. Hendry
Biogeosciences, 16, 4805–4813, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4805-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4805-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Isotopic signatures of silica fossils can be used as archives of past oceanic silicon cycling, which is linked to marine carbon uptake. However, the biochemistry that lies behind such chemical fingerprints remains poorly understood. We present the first measurements of silicon isotopes in a group of protists closely related to animals, choanoflagellates. Our results highlight a taxonomic basis to silica isotope signatures, possibly via a shared transport pathway in choanoflagellates and animals.
Dana Ridha, Ian Boomer, and Kirsty M. Edgar
J. Micropalaeontol., 38, 189–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-189-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-189-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper records the spatial and temporal distribution of deep-sea benthic microfossils (Foraminifera, single-celled organisms) from the latest Oligocene to earliest Pliocene (about 28 to 4 million years ago) from Ocean Drilling Program cores in the southern Indian Ocean. Key taxa are illustrated and their stratigraphic distribution is presented as they respond to a period of marked global climatic changes, with a pronounced warm period in the mid-Miocene followed by subsequent cooling.
Elizabeth Atar, Christian März, Andrew C. Aplin, Olaf Dellwig, Liam G. Herringshaw, Violaine Lamoureux-Var, Melanie J. Leng, Bernhard Schnetger, and Thomas Wagner
Clim. Past, 15, 1581–1601, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1581-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1581-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We present a geochemical and petrographic study of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation from the Cleveland Basin (Yorkshire, UK). Our results indicate that deposition during this interval was very dynamic and oscillated between three distinct modes of sedimentation. In line with recent modelling results, we propose that these highly dynamic conditions were driven by changes in climate, which affected continental weathering, enhanced primary productivity, and led to organic carbon enrichment.
Christopher J. Hollis, Tom Dunkley Jones, Eleni Anagnostou, Peter K. Bijl, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, Ying Cui, Gerald R. Dickens, Kirsty M. Edgar, Yvette Eley, David Evans, Gavin L. Foster, Joost Frieling, Gordon N. Inglis, Elizabeth M. Kennedy, Reinhard Kozdon, Vittoria Lauretano, Caroline H. Lear, Kate Littler, Lucas Lourens, A. Nele Meckler, B. David A. Naafs, Heiko Pälike, Richard D. Pancost, Paul N. Pearson, Ursula Röhl, Dana L. Royer, Ulrich Salzmann, Brian A. Schubert, Hannu Seebeck, Appy Sluijs, Robert P. Speijer, Peter Stassen, Jessica Tierney, Aradhna Tripati, Bridget Wade, Thomas Westerhold, Caitlyn Witkowski, James C. Zachos, Yi Ge Zhang, Matthew Huber, and Daniel J. Lunt
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 3149–3206, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3149-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-3149-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Deep-Time Model Intercomparison Project (DeepMIP) is a model–data intercomparison of the early Eocene (around 55 million years ago), the last time that Earth's atmospheric CO2 concentrations exceeded 1000 ppm. Previously, we outlined the experimental design for climate model simulations. Here, we outline the methods used for compilation and analysis of climate proxy data. The resulting climate
atlaswill provide insights into the mechanisms that control past warm climate states.
Maria Grigoratou, Fanny M. Monteiro, Daniela N. Schmidt, Jamie D. Wilson, Ben A. Ward, and Andy Ridgwell
Biogeosciences, 16, 1469–1492, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1469-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1469-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The paper presents a novel study based on the traits of shell size, calcification and feeding behaviour of two planktonic foraminifera life stages using modelling simulations. With the model, we tested the cost and benefit of calcification and explored how the interactions of planktonic foraminifera among other plankton groups influence their biomass under different environmental conditions. Our results provide new insights into environmental controls in planktonic foraminifera ecology.
Marcus P. S. Badger, Thomas B. Chalk, Gavin L. Foster, Paul R. Bown, Samantha J. Gibbs, Philip F. Sexton, Daniela N. Schmidt, Heiko Pälike, Andreas Mackensen, and Richard D. Pancost
Clim. Past, 15, 539–554, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-539-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-539-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how atmospheric CO2 has affected the climate of the past is an important way of furthering our understanding of how CO2 may affect our climate in the future. There are several ways of determining CO2 in the past; in this paper, we ground-truth one method (based on preserved organic matter from alga) against the record of CO2 preserved as bubbles in ice cores over a glacial–interglacial cycle. We find that there is a discrepancy between the two.
Hilde Pracht, Brett Metcalfe, and Frank J. C. Peeters
Biogeosciences, 16, 643–661, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-643-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-643-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In palaeoceanography the shells of single-celled foraminifera are routinely used as proxies to reconstruct the temperature, salinity and circulation of the ocean in the past. Traditionally a number of specimens were pooled for a single stable isotope measurement; however, technical advances now mean that a single shell or chamber of a shell can be measured individually. Three different hypotheses regarding foraminiferal biology and ecology were tested using this approach.
Lucie Cassarino, Christopher D. Coath, Joana R. Xavier, and Katharine R. Hendry
Biogeosciences, 15, 6959–6977, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6959-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6959-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Using a simple model, we show that the silicon isotopic composition of sponges can be used to estimate the silicic acid concentration of seawater, a key parameter linked to nutrient and carbon cycling. However, our data illustrate that skeletal type and growth rate also control silicon isotopic composition of sponges. Our study demonstrates the paleoceanographic utility of sponges as an archive for ocean silica content provided that suitable skeleton types are selected.
Dominic A. Hodgson, Kelly Hogan, James M. Smith, James A. Smith, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Alastair G. C. Graham, Peter Fretwell, Claire Allen, Vicky Peck, Jan-Erik Arndt, Boris Dorschel, Christian Hübscher, Andrew M. Smith, and Robert Larter
The Cryosphere, 12, 2383–2399, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2383-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2383-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We studied the Coats Land ice margin, Antarctica, providing a multi-disciplinary geophysical assessment of the ice sheet configuration through its last advance and retreat; a description of the physical constraints on the stability of the past and present ice and future margin based on its submarine geomorphology and ice-sheet geometry; and evidence that once detached from the bed, the ice shelves in this region were predisposed to rapid retreat back to coastal grounding lines.
Tom Dunkley Jones, Hayley R. Manners, Murray Hoggett, Sandra Kirtland Turner, Thomas Westerhold, Melanie J. Leng, Richard D. Pancost, Andy Ridgwell, Laia Alegret, Rob Duller, and Stephen T. Grimes
Clim. Past, 14, 1035–1049, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1035-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1035-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is a transient global warming event associated with a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Here we document a major increase in sediment accumulation rates on a subtropical continental margin during the PETM, likely due to marked changes in hydro-climates and sediment transport. These high sedimentation rates persist through the event and may play a key role in the removal of carbon from the atmosphere by the burial of organic carbon.
Rowan Dejardin, Sev Kender, Claire S. Allen, Melanie J. Leng, George E. A. Swann, and Victoria L. Peck
J. Micropalaeontol., 37, 25–71, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-25-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-37-25-2018, 2018
Bernd Wagner, Thomas Wilke, Alexander Francke, Christian Albrecht, Henrike Baumgarten, Adele Bertini, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Aleksandra Cvetkoska, Michele D'Addabbo, Timme H. Donders, Kirstin Föller, Biagio Giaccio, Andon Grazhdani, Torsten Hauffe, Jens Holtvoeth, Sebastien Joannin, Elena Jovanovska, Janna Just, Katerina Kouli, Andreas Koutsodendris, Sebastian Krastel, Jack H. Lacey, Niklas Leicher, Melanie J. Leng, Zlatko Levkov, Katja Lindhorst, Alessia Masi, Anna M. Mercuri, Sebastien Nomade, Norbert Nowaczyk, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Odile Peyron, Jane M. Reed, Eleonora Regattieri, Laura Sadori, Leonardo Sagnotti, Björn Stelbrink, Roberto Sulpizio, Slavica Tofilovska, Paola Torri, Hendrik Vogel, Thomas Wagner, Friederike Wagner-Cremer, George A. Wolff, Thomas Wonik, Giovanni Zanchetta, and Xiaosen S. Zhang
Biogeosciences, 14, 2033–2054, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2033-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2033-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Lake Ohrid is considered to be the oldest existing lake in Europe. Moreover, it has a very high degree of endemic biodiversity. During a drilling campaign at Lake Ohrid in 2013, a 569 m long sediment sequence was recovered from Lake Ohrid. The ongoing studies of this record provide first important information on the environmental and evolutionary history of the lake and the reasons for its high endimic biodiversity.
Jack H. Lacey, Melanie J. Leng, Alexander Francke, Hilary J. Sloane, Antoni Milodowski, Hendrik Vogel, Henrike Baumgarten, Giovanni Zanchetta, and Bernd Wagner
Biogeosciences, 13, 1801–1820, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1801-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1801-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We use stable isotope data from carbonates to provide a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction covering the last 637 kyr at Lake Ohrid (FYROM/Albania). Our results indicate a relatively stable climate until 450 ka, wetter climate conditions at 400–250 ka, and a transition to a drier climate after 250 ka. This work emphasises the importance of Lake Ohrid as a valuable archive of climate change in the northern Mediterranean region.
M. Wall, F. Ragazzola, L. C. Foster, A. Form, and D. N. Schmidt
Biogeosciences, 12, 6869–6880, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6869-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6869-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the ability of cold-water corals to deal with changes in ocean pH. We uniquely combined morphological assessment with boron isotope analysis to determine if changes in growth are related to changes in control of calcification pH. We found that the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa can maintain the skeletal morphology, growth patterns as well as internal calcification pH. This has important implications for their future occurrence and explains their cosmopolitan distribution.
C. Hauri, S. C. Doney, T. Takahashi, M. Erickson, G. Jiang, and H. W. Ducklow
Biogeosciences, 12, 6761–6779, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6761-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-6761-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Evaluation of a unique 20-year-long time series of inorganic carbon and nutrient observations from the West Antarctic Peninsula region shows that summertime biological productivity and meltwater input drive a large range of surface aragonite saturation states from values < 1 (undersaturated) up to 3.9. Even though we did not detect any statistically significant long-term trends, ongoing ocean acidification and freshwater input may soon induce more unfavorable conditions than seen today.
L. A. Melbourne, J. Griffin, D. N. Schmidt, and E. J. Rayfield
Biogeosciences, 12, 5871–5883, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5871-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-5871-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Using Finite element modelling (FEM) we show that a simplified geometric FE model can predict the structural strength of the coralline algal skeleton. We compared a series of 3D geometric FE-models with increasing complexity to a biologically accurate model derived from computed tomography (CT) scan data. Using geometric models provides the basis for a better understanding of the potential effect of climate change on the structural integrity of these organisms.
B. Metcalfe, W. Feldmeijer, M. de Vringer-Picon, G.-J. A. Brummer, F. J. C. Peeters, and G. M. Ganssen
Biogeosciences, 12, 4781–4807, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4781-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4781-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Iron biogeochemical budgets during the natural ocean fertilisation experiment KEOPS-2 showed that complex circulation and transport pathways were responsible for differences in the mode and strength of iron supply, with vertical supply dominant on the plateau and lateral supply dominant in the plume. The exchange of iron between dissolved, biogenic and lithogenic pools was highly dynamic, resulting in a decoupling of iron supply and carbon export and controlling the efficiency of fertilisation.
A. M. Snelling, G. E. A. Swann, J. Pike, and M. J. Leng
Clim. Past, 10, 1837–1842, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1837-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1837-2014, 2014
C. V. Davis, M. P. S. Badger, P. R. Bown, and D. N. Schmidt
Biogeosciences, 10, 6131–6139, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6131-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-6131-2013, 2013
A. G. M. Caromel, D. N. Schmidt, and J. C. Phillips
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-10-6763-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-10-6763-2013, 2013
Revised manuscript not accepted
Daniela N. Schmidt, Jeremy R. Young, Shirley Van Heck, and Jackie Lees
J. Micropalaeontol., 28, 91–93, https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.91, https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.28.1.91, 2009
Related subject area
Paleobiogeoscience: Proxy use, Development & Validation
Reviews and syntheses: Review of proxies for low-oxygen paleoceanographic reconstructions
A long-term drought reconstruction based on oxygen isotope tree ring data for central and eastern parts of Europe (Romania)
Deep-sea stylasterid δ18O and δ13C maps inform sampling scheme for paleotemperature reconstructions
Effects of photosymbiosis and related processes on planktic foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes in South Atlantic sediments
Mg/Ca and δ18O in multiple species of planktonic foraminifera from 15 Ma to Recent
Disentangling influences of climate variability and lake-system evolution on climate proxies derived from isoprenoid and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs): the 250 kyr Lake Chala record
Electron backscatter diffraction analysis unveils foraminiferal calcite microstructure and processes of diagenetic alteration
Quantifying the δ15N trophic offset in a cold-water scleractinian coral (CWC): implications for the CWC diet and coral δ15N as a marine N cycle proxy
Stable oxygen isotopes of crocodilian tooth enamel allow tracking Plio-Pleistocene evolution of freshwater environments and climate in the Shungura Formation (Turkana Depression, Ethiopia)
Charcoal morphologies and morphometrics of a Eurasian grass-dominated system for robust interpretation of past fuel and fire type
Single-species dinoflagellate cyst carbon isotope fractionation in core-top sediments: environmental controls, CO2 dependency and proxy potential
Past fire dynamics inferred from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monosaccharide anhydrides in a stalagmite from the archaeological site of Mayapan, Mexico
Examination of the parameters controlling the triple oxygen isotope composition of grass leaf water and phytoliths at a Mediterranean site: a model–data approach
Biomarker characterization of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay: implications for local sea ice and temperature proxies
Technical note: No impact of alkenone extraction on foraminiferal stable isotope, trace element and boron isotope geochemistry
Experimental burial diagenesis of aragonitic biocarbonates: from organic matter loss to abiogenic calcite formation
A modern snapshot of the isotopic composition of lacustrine biogenic carbonates – records of seasonal water temperature variability
Performance of temperature and productivity proxies based on long-chain alkane-1, mid-chain diols at test: a 5-year sediment trap record from the Mauritanian upwelling
Validation of a coupled δ2Hn-alkane–δ18Osugar paleohygrometer approach based on a climate chamber experiment
Experimental production of charcoal morphologies to discriminate fuel source and fire type: an example from Siberian taiga
Toward a global calibration for quantifying past oxygenation in oxygen minimum zones using benthic Foraminifera
Calibration of Mg ∕ Ca and Sr ∕ Ca in coastal marine ostracods as a proxy for temperature
Technical note: Accelerate coccolith size separation via repeated centrifugation
Mg∕Ca, Sr∕Ca and stable isotopes from the planktonic foraminifera T. sacculifer: testing a multi-proxy approach for inferring paleotemperature and paleosalinity
Chemical destaining and the delta correction for blue intensity measurements of stained lake subfossil trees
Modern calibration of Poa flabellata (tussac grass) as a new paleoclimate proxy in the South Atlantic
Seawater pH reconstruction using boron isotopes in multiple planktonic foraminifera species with different depth habitats and their potential to constrain pH and pCO2 gradients
Bottom-water deoxygenation at the Peruvian margin during the last deglaciation recorded by benthic foraminifera
The pH dependency of the boron isotopic composition of diatom opal (Thalassiosira weissflogii)
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in the Storfjorden “sea ice factory”
Evaluation of bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether and 2H–18O biomarker proxies along a central European topsoil transect
Leaf wax n-alkane patterns and compound-specific δ13C of plants and topsoils from semi-arid and arid Mongolia
Organic-carbon-rich sediments: benthic foraminifera as bio-indicators of depositional environments
Strong correspondence between nitrogen isotope composition of foliage and chlorin across a rainfall gradient: implications for paleo-reconstruction of the nitrogen cycle
Environmental and biological controls on Na∕Ca ratios in scleractinian cold-water corals
Depth habitat of the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma in the northern high latitudes explained by sea-ice and chlorophyll concentrations
Seasonality of archaeal lipid flux and GDGT-based thermometry in sinking particles of high-latitude oceans: Fram Strait (79° N) and Antarctic Polar Front (50° S)
Long-chain diols in settling particles in tropical oceans: insights into sources, seasonality and proxies
Multi-trace-element sea surface temperature coral reconstruction for the southern Mozambique Channel reveals teleconnections with the tropical Atlantic
Oxygen isotope composition of the final chamber of planktic foraminifera provides evidence of vertical migration and depth-integrated growth
Mg ∕ Ca and δ18O in living planktic foraminifers from the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits
Manganese incorporation in living (stained) benthic foraminiferal shells: a bathymetric and in-sediment study in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean)
Effects of light and temperature on Mg uptake, growth, and calcification in the proxy climate archive Clathromorphum compactum
A systematic look at chromium isotopes in modern shells – implications for paleo-environmental reconstructions
Reviews and syntheses: Revisiting the boron systematics of aragonite and their application to coral calcification
Physico-chemical and biological factors influencing dinoflagellate cyst production in the Cariaco Basin
Effects of alkalinity and salinity at low and high light intensity on hydrogen isotope fractionation of long-chain alkenones produced by Emiliania huxleyi
Interplay of community dynamics, temperature, and productivity on the hydrogen isotope signatures of lipid biomarkers
Benthic foraminiferal Mn / Ca ratios reflect microhabitat preferences
The effects of environment on Arctica islandica shell formation and architecture
Babette A.A. Hoogakker, Catherine Davis, Yi Wang, Stephanie Kusch, Katrina Nilsson-Kerr, Dalton S. Hardisty, Allison Jacobel, Dharma Reyes Macaya, Nicolaas Glock, Sha Ni, Julio Sepúlveda, Abby Ren, Alexandra Auderset, Anya V. Hess, Katrin J. Meissner, Jorge Cardich, Robert Anderson, Christine Barras, Chandranath Basak, Harold J. Bradbury, Inda Brinkmann, Alexis Castillo, Madelyn Cook, Kassandra Costa, Constance Choquel, Paula Diz, Jonas Donnenfield, Felix J. Elling, Zeynep Erdem, Helena L. Filipsson, Sebastián Garrido, Julia Gottschalk, Anjaly Govindankutty Menon, Jeroen Groeneveld, Christian Hallmann, Ingrid Hendy, Rick Hennekam, Wanyi Lu, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, Lélia Matos, Alfredo Martínez-García, Giulia Molina, Práxedes Muñoz, Simone Moretti, Jennifer Morford, Sophie Nuber, Svetlana Radionovskaya, Morgan Reed Raven, Christopher J. Somes, Anja S. Studer, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Raúl Tapia, Martin Tetard, Tyler Vollmer, Xingchen Wang, Shuzhuang Wu, Yan Zhang, Xin-Yuan Zheng, and Yuxin Zhou
Biogeosciences, 22, 863–957, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Paleo-oxygen proxies can extend current records, constrain pre-anthropogenic baselines, provide datasets necessary to test climate models under different boundary conditions, and ultimately understand how ocean oxygenation responds on longer timescales. Here we summarize current proxies used for the reconstruction of Cenozoic seawater oxygen levels. This includes an overview of the proxy's history, how it works, resources required, limitations, and future recommendations.
Viorica Nagavciuc, Gerhard Helle, Maria Rădoane, Cătălin-Constantin Roibu, Mihai-Gabriel Cotos, and Monica Ionita
Biogeosciences, 22, 55–69, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-55-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-55-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed drought conditions for the past 200 years for central and eastern parts of Europe (Romania) using δ18O in oak tree ring cellulose from Romania, revealing periods of both extreme wetness (e.g., 1905–1915) and dryness (e.g., 1818–1835). The most severe droughts occurred in the 19th and 21st centuries, likely linked to large-scale atmospheric circulation. This research highlights the potential of tree rings to improve our understanding of long-term climate variability in Europe.
Theresa M. King, Brad E. Rosenheim, and Noel P. James
Biogeosciences, 21, 5361–5379, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5361-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5361-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Corals can record ocean properties such as temperature in their skeletons. These records are useful for where and when we have no instrumental record like in the distant past. However, coral growth must be understood to interpret these records. Here, we analyze slices of a branching deep-sea coral from Antarctica to determine how to best sample these corals for past-climate work. We recommend sampling from the innermost portion of a coral skeleton for accurate temperature reconstructions.
Alexandra Auderset, Sandi M. Smart, Yeongjun Ryu, Dario Marconi, Haojia Abby Ren, Lena Heins, Hubert Vonhof, Ralf Schiebel, Janne Repschläger, Daniel M. Sigman, Gerald H. Haug, and Alfredo Martínez-García
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2291, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2291, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes (FB-δ15N) as a tool to study the history of photosymbiosis in planktic foraminifera. By analysing multiple species from the South Atlantic, we found that FB-δ15N differentiates between species with dinoflagellate symbionts and those without, probably due to internal ammonium recycling in the former. Overall, this study provides strong support for FB-δ15N as a tool for exploring the evolution of symbiosis in marine ecosystems.
Flavia Boscolo-Galazzo, David Evans, Elaine Mawbey, William Gray, Paul Pearson, and Bridget Wade
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1608, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1608, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Here we present a comparison of results from the Mg/Ca and oxygen stable isotopes paleothermometers obtained from 57 modern to fossil species of planktonic foraminifera from the last 15 million of years. We find that the occurrence (or not) of species-species offsets in Mg/Ca is conservative between ancestor-descendent species, and that taking into account species kinship can significantly improve temperature reconstructions by several degrees.
Allix J. Baxter, Francien Peterse, Dirk Verschuren, Aihemaiti Maitituerdi, Nicolas Waldmann, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 21, 2877–2908, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the impact of long-term lake-system evolution on the climate signal recorded by glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), a popular biomarker in paleoclimate research. It compares downcore changes in GDGTs in the 250 000 year sediment sequence of Lake Chala (Kenya/Tanzania) to independent data for lake mixing and water-column chemistry. These factors influence the GDGT proxies in the earliest depositional phases (before ~180 ka), confounding the climate signal.
Frances A. Procter, Sandra Piazolo, Eleanor H. John, Richard Walshaw, Paul N. Pearson, Caroline H. Lear, and Tracy Aze
Biogeosciences, 21, 1213–1233, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1213-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1213-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study uses novel techniques to look at the microstructure of planktonic foraminifera (single-celled marine organisms) fossils, to further our understanding of how they form their hard exterior shells and how the microstructure and chemistry of these shells can change as a result of processes that occur after deposition on the seafloor. Understanding these processes is of critical importance for using planktonic foraminifera for robust climate and environmental reconstructions of the past.
Josie L. Mottram, Anne M. Gothmann, Maria G. Prokopenko, Austin Cordova, Veronica Rollinson, Katie Dobkowski, and Julie Granger
Biogeosciences, 21, 1071–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1071-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1071-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Knowledge of ancient ocean N cycling can help illuminate past climate change. Using field and lab studies, this work ground-truths a promising proxy for marine N cycling, the N isotope composition of cold-water coral (CWC) skeletons. Our results estimate N turnover in CWC tissue; quantify the isotope effects between CWC tissue, diet, and skeleton; and suggest that CWCs possibly feed mainly on metazoan zooplankton, suggesting that the marine N proxy may be sensitive to the food web structure.
Axelle Gardin, Emmanuelle Pucéat, Géraldine Garcia, Jean-Renaud Boisserie, Adélaïde Euriat, Michael M. Joachimski, Alexis Nutz, Mathieu Schuster, and Olga Otero
Biogeosciences, 21, 437–454, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-437-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-437-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We introduce a novel approach using stable oxygen isotopes from crocodilian fossil teeth to unravel palaeohydrological changes in past continental contexts. Applying it to the Plio-Pleistocene Ethiopian Shungura Formation, we found a significant increase in δ18O in the last 3 million years, likely due to monsoonal shifts and reduced rainfall, and that the local diversity of waterbodies (lakes, rivers, ponds) became restricted.
Angelica Feurdean, Richard S. Vachula, Diana Hanganu, Astrid Stobbe, and Maren Gumnior
Biogeosciences, 20, 5069–5085, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5069-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5069-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents novel results of laboratory-produced charcoal forms from various grass, forb and shrub taxa from the Eurasian steppe to facilitate more robust interpretations of fuel sources and fire types in grassland-dominated ecosystems. Advancements in identifying fuel sources and changes in fire types make charcoal analysis relevant to studies of plant evolution and fire management.
Joost Frieling, Linda van Roij, Iris Kleij, Gert-Jan Reichart, and Appy Sluijs
Biogeosciences, 20, 4651–4668, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4651-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4651-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present a first species-specific evaluation of marine core-top dinoflagellate cyst carbon isotope fractionation (εp) to assess natural pCO2 dependency on εp and explore its geological deep-time paleo-pCO2 proxy potential. We find that εp differs between genera and species and that in Operculodinium centrocarpum, εp is controlled by pCO2 and nutrients. Our results highlight the added value of δ13C analyses of individual micrometer-scale sedimentary organic carbon particles.
Julia Homann, Niklas Karbach, Stacy A. Carolin, Daniel H. James, David Hodell, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Ola Kwiecien, Mark Brenner, Carlos Peraza Lope, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 20, 3249–3260, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3249-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3249-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cave stalagmites contain substances that can be used to reconstruct past changes in local and regional environmental conditions. We used two classes of biomarkers (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and monosaccharide anhydrides) to detect the presence of fire and to also explore changes in fire regime (e.g. fire frequency, intensity, and fuel source). We tested our new method on a stalagmite from Mayapan, a large Maya city on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Claudia Voigt, Anne Alexandre, Ilja M. Reiter, Jean-Philippe Orts, Christine Vallet-Coulomb, Clément Piel, Jean-Charles Mazur, Julie C. Aleman, Corinne Sonzogni, Helene Miche, and Jérôme Ogée
Biogeosciences, 20, 2161–2187, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2161-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2161-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Data on past relative humidity (RH) ARE needed to improve its representation in Earth system models. A novel isotope parameter (17O-excess) of plant silica has been developed to quantify past RH. Using comprehensive monitoring and novel methods, we show how environmental and plant physiological parameters influence the 17O-excess of plant silica and leaf water, i.e. its source water. The insights gained from this study will help to improve estimates of RH from fossil plant silica deposits.
David J. Harning, Brooke Holman, Lineke Woelders, Anne E. Jennings, and Julio Sepúlveda
Biogeosciences, 20, 229–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-229-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In order to better reconstruct the geologic history of the North Water Polynya, we provide modern validations and calibrations of lipid biomarker proxies in Baffin Bay. We find that sterols, rather than HBIs, most accurately capture the current extent of the North Water Polynya and will be a valuable tool to reconstruct its past presence or absence. Our local temperature calibrations for GDGTs and OH-GDGTs reduce the uncertainty present in global temperature calibrations.
Jessica G. M. Crumpton-Banks, Thomas Tanner, Ivan Hernández Almeida, James W. B. Rae, and Heather Stoll
Biogeosciences, 19, 5633–5644, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5633-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5633-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Past ocean carbon is reconstructed using proxies, but it is unknown whether preparing ocean sediment for one proxy might damage the data given by another. We have tested whether the extraction of an organic proxy archive from sediment samples impacts the geochemistry of tiny shells also within the sediment. We find no difference in shell geochemistry between samples which come from treated and untreated sediment. This will help us to maximize scientific return from valuable sediment samples.
Pablo Forjanes, María Simonet Roda, Martina Greiner, Erika Griesshaber, Nelson A. Lagos, Sabino Veintemillas-Verdaguer, José Manuel Astilleros, Lurdes Fernández-Díaz, and Wolfgang W. Schmahl
Biogeosciences, 19, 3791–3823, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3791-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3791-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Aragonitic skeletons are employed to decipher past climate dynamics and environmental change. Unfortunately, the information that these skeletons keep can be destroyed during diagenesis. In this work, we study the first changes undergone by aragonitic skeletons upon hydrothermal alteration. We observe that major changes occur from the very beginning of the alteration, even without mineralogical changes. These results have major implications for the use of these archives to understand the past.
Inga Labuhn, Franziska Tell, Ulrich von Grafenstein, Dan Hammarlund, Henning Kuhnert, and Bénédicte Minster
Biogeosciences, 19, 2759–2777, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2759-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2759-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the isotopic composition of recent biogenic carbonates from several lacustrine species which calcify during different times of the year. The authors demonstrate that when biological offsets are corrected, the dominant cause of differences between species is the seasonal variation in temperature-dependent fractionation of oxygen isotopes. Consequently, such carbonates from lake sediments can provide proxy records of seasonal water temperature changes in the past.
Gerard J. M. Versteegh, Karin A. F. Zonneveld, Jens Hefter, Oscar E. Romero, Gerhard Fischer, and Gesine Mollenhauer
Biogeosciences, 19, 1587–1610, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1587-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1587-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A 5-year record of long-chain mid-chain diol export flux and composition is presented with a 1- to 3-week resolution sediment trap CBeu (in the NW African upwelling). All environmental parameters as well as the diol composition are dominated by the seasonal cycle, albeit with different phase relations for temperature and upwelling. Most diol-based proxies are dominated by upwelling. The long-chain diol index reflects temperatures of the oligotrophic summer sea surface.
Johannes Hepp, Christoph Mayr, Kazimierz Rozanski, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Mario Tuthorn, Bruno Glaser, Dieter Juchelka, Willibald Stichler, Roland Zech, and Michael Zech
Biogeosciences, 18, 5363–5380, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5363-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Deriving more quantitative climate information like relative air humidity is one of the key challenges in paleostudies. Often only qualitative reconstructions can be done when single-biomarker-isotope data are derived from a climate archive. However, the coupling of hemicellulose-derived sugar with leaf-wax-derived n-alkane isotope results has the potential to overcome this limitation and allow a quantitative relative air humidity reconstruction.
Angelica Feurdean
Biogeosciences, 18, 3805–3821, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3805-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3805-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study characterized the diversity of laboratory-produced charcoal morphological features of various fuel types from Siberia at different temperatures. The results obtained improve the attribution of charcoal particles to fuel types and fire characteristics. This work also provides recommendations for the application of this information to refine the past wildfire history.
Martin Tetard, Laetitia Licari, Ekaterina Ovsepyan, Kazuyo Tachikawa, and Luc Beaufort
Biogeosciences, 18, 2827–2841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2827-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2827-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Oxygen minimum zones are oceanic regions almost devoid of dissolved oxygen and are currently expanding due to global warming. Investigation of their past behaviour will allow better understanding of these areas and better prediction of their future evolution. A new method to estimate past [O2] was developed based on morphometric measurements of benthic foraminifera. This method and two other approaches based on foraminifera assemblages and porosity were calibrated using 45 core tops worldwide.
Maximiliano Rodríguez and Christelle Not
Biogeosciences, 18, 1987–2001, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1987-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1987-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Mg/Ca in calcium carbonate shells of marine organisms such as foraminifera and ostracods has been used as a proxy to reconstruct water temperature. Here we provide new Mg/Ca–temperature calibrations for two shallow marine species of ostracods. We show that the water temperature in spring produces the best calibrations, which suggests the potential use of ostracod shells to reconstruct this parameter at a seasonal scale.
Hongrui Zhang, Chuanlian Liu, Luz María Mejía, and Heather Stoll
Biogeosciences, 18, 1909–1916, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1909-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1909-2021, 2021
Delphine Dissard, Gert Jan Reichart, Christophe Menkes, Morgan Mangeas, Stephan Frickenhaus, and Jelle Bijma
Biogeosciences, 18, 423–439, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-423-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-423-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Results from a data set acquired from living foraminifera T. sacculifer collected from surface waters are presented, allowing us to establish a new Mg/Ca–Sr/Ca–temperature equation improving temperature reconstructions. When combining equations, δ18Ow can be reconstructed with a precision of ± 0.5 ‰, while successive reconstructions involving Mg/Ca and δ18Oc preclude salinity reconstruction with a precision better than ± 1.69. A new direct linear fit to reconstruct salinity could be established.
Feng Wang, Dominique Arseneault, Étienne Boucher, Shulong Yu, Steeven Ouellet, Gwenaëlle Chaillou, Ann Delwaide, and Lily Wang
Biogeosciences, 17, 4559–4570, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4559-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4559-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Wood stain is challenging the use of the blue intensity technique for dendroclimatic reconstructions. Using stained subfossil trees from eastern Canadian lakes, we compared chemical destaining approaches with the
delta bluemathematical correction of blue intensity data. Although no chemical treatment was completely efficient, the delta blue method is unaffected by the staining problem and thus is promising for climate reconstructions based on lake subfossil material.
Dulcinea V. Groff, David G. Williams, and Jacquelyn L. Gill
Biogeosciences, 17, 4545–4557, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4545-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Tussock grasses that grow along coastlines of the Falkland Islands are slow to decay and build up thick peat layers over thousands of years. Grass fragments found in ancient peat can be used to reconstruct past climate because grasses can preserve a record of growing conditions in their leaves. We found that modern living tussock grasses in the Falkland Islands reliably record temperature and humidity in their leaves, and the peat they form can be used to understand past climate change.
Maxence Guillermic, Sambuddha Misra, Robert Eagle, Alexandra Villa, Fengming Chang, and Aradhna Tripati
Biogeosciences, 17, 3487–3510, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3487-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3487-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Boron isotope ratios (δ11B) of foraminifera are a promising proxy for seawater pH and can be used to constrain pCO2. In this study, we derived calibrations for new foraminiferal taxa which extend the application of the boron isotope proxy. We discuss the origin of different δ11B signatures in species and also discuss the potential of using multispecies δ11B analyses to constrain vertical pH and pCO2 gradients in ancient water columns to shed light on biogeochemical carbon cycling in the past.
Zeynep Erdem, Joachim Schönfeld, Anthony E. Rathburn, Maria-Elena Pérez, Jorge Cardich, and Nicolaas Glock
Biogeosciences, 17, 3165–3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3165-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3165-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Recent observations from today’s oceans revealed that oxygen concentrations are decreasing, and oxygen minimum zones are expanding together with current climate change. With the aim of understanding past climatic events and their relationship with oxygen content, we looked at the fossils, called benthic foraminifera, preserved in the sediment archives from the Peruvian margin and quantified the bottom-water oxygen content for the last 22 000 years.
Hannah K. Donald, Gavin L. Foster, Nico Fröhberg, George E. A. Swann, Alex J. Poulton, C. Mark Moore, and Matthew P. Humphreys
Biogeosciences, 17, 2825–2837, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2825-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2825-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The boron isotope pH proxy is increasingly being used to reconstruct ocean pH in the past. Here we detail a novel analytical methodology for measuring the boron isotopic composition (δ11B) of diatom opal and apply this to the study of the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii grown in culture over a range of pH. To our knowledge this is the first study of its kind and provides unique insights into the way in which diatoms incorporate boron and their potential as archives of palaeoclimate records.
Eleonora Fossile, Maria Pia Nardelli, Arbia Jouini, Bruno Lansard, Antonio Pusceddu, Davide Moccia, Elisabeth Michel, Olivier Péron, Hélène Howa, and Meryem Mojtahid
Biogeosciences, 17, 1933–1953, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1933-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1933-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study focuses on benthic foraminiferal distribution in an Arctic fjord characterised by continuous sea ice production during winter and the consequent cascading of salty and corrosive waters (brine) to the seabed. The inner fjord is dominated by calcareous species (C). In the central deep basins, where brines are persistent, calcareous foraminifera are dissolved and agglutinated (A) dominate. The high A/C ratio is suggested as a proxy for brine persistence and sea ice production.
Johannes Hepp, Imke Kathrin Schäfer, Verena Lanny, Jörg Franke, Marcel Bliedtner, Kazimierz Rozanski, Bruno Glaser, Michael Zech, Timothy Ian Eglinton, and Roland Zech
Biogeosciences, 17, 741–756, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-741-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-741-2020, 2020
Julian Struck, Marcel Bliedtner, Paul Strobel, Jens Schumacher, Enkhtuya Bazarradnaa, and Roland Zech
Biogeosciences, 17, 567–580, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-567-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-567-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present leaf wax n-alkanes and their compound-specific (CS) δ13C isotopes from semi-arid and/or arid Mongolia to test their potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Plants and topsoils were analysed and checked for climatic control. Chain-length variations are distinct between grasses and Caragana, which are not biased by climate. However CS δ13C is strongly correlated to climate, so n-alkanes and their CS δ13C show great potential for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in Mongolia.
Elena Lo Giudice Cappelli, Jessica Louise Clarke, Craig Smeaton, Keith Davidson, and William Edward Newns Austin
Biogeosciences, 16, 4183–4199, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4183-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4183-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Fjords are known sinks of organic carbon (OC); however, little is known about the long-term fate of the OC stored in these sediments. The reason for this knowledge gap is the post-depositional degradation of OC. This study uses benthic foraminifera (microorganisms with calcite shells) to discriminate between post-depositional OC degradation and actual OC burial and accumulation in fjordic sediments, as foraminifera would only preserve the latter information in their assemblage composition.
Sara K. E. Goulden, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Katherine H. Freeman, Yoshito Chikaraishi, Nanako O. Ogawa, Hisami Suga, Oliver Chadwick, and Benjamin Z. Houlton
Biogeosciences, 16, 3869–3882, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3869-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3869-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate whether soil organic compounds preserve information about nitrogen availability to plants. We isolate chlorophyll degradation products in leaves, litter, and soil and explore possible species and climate effects on preservation and interpretation. We find that compound-specific nitrogen isotope measurements in soil have potential as a new tool to reconstruct changes in nitrogen cycling on a landscape over time, avoiding issues that have limited other proxies.
Nicolai Schleinkofer, Jacek Raddatz, André Freiwald, David Evans, Lydia Beuck, Andres Rüggeberg, and Volker Liebetrau
Biogeosciences, 16, 3565–3582, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3565-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3565-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we tried to correlate Na / Ca ratios from cold-water corals with environmental parameters such as salinity, temperature and pH. We do not observe a correlation between Na / Ca ratios and seawater salinity, but we do observe a strong correlation with temperature. Na / Ca data from warm-water corals (Porites spp.) and bivalves (Mytilus edulis) support this correlation, indicating that similar controls on the incorporation of sodium exist in these aragonitic organisms.
Mattia Greco, Lukas Jonkers, Kerstin Kretschmer, Jelle Bijma, and Michal Kucera
Biogeosciences, 16, 3425–3437, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3425-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3425-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
To be able to interpret the paleoecological signal contained in N. pachyderma's shells, its habitat depth must be known. Our investigation on 104 density profiles of this species from the Arctic and North Atlantic shows that specimens reside closer to the surface when sea-ice and/or surface chlorophyll concentrations are high. This is in contrast with previous investigations that pointed at the position of the deep chlorophyll maximum as the main driver of N. pachyderma vertical distribution.
Eunmi Park, Jens Hefter, Gerhard Fischer, Morten Hvitfeldt Iversen, Simon Ramondenc, Eva-Maria Nöthig, and Gesine Mollenhauer
Biogeosciences, 16, 2247–2268, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2247-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2247-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed GDGT-based proxy temperatures in the polar oceans. In the eastern Fram Strait (79° N), the nutrient distribution may determine the depth habit of Thaumarchaeota and thus the proxy temperature. In the Antarctic Polar Front (50° S), the contribution of Euryarchaeota or the nonlinear correlation between the proxy values and temperatures may cause the warm biases of the proxy temperatures relative to SSTs.
Marijke W. de Bar, Jenny E. Ullgren, Robert C. Thunnell, Stuart G. Wakeham, Geert-Jan A. Brummer, Jan-Berend W. Stuut, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 16, 1705–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1705-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1705-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We analyzed sediment traps from the Cariaco Basin, the tropical Atlantic and the Mozambique Channel to evaluate seasonal imprints in the concentrations and fluxes of long-chain diols (LDIs), in addition to the long-chain diol index proxy (sea surface temperature proxy) and the diol index (upwelling indicator). Despite significant degradation, LDI-derived temperatures were very similar for the sediment traps and seafloor sediments, and corresponded to annual mean sea surface temperatures.
Jens Zinke, Juan P. D'Olivo, Christoph J. Gey, Malcolm T. McCulloch, J. Henrich Bruggemann, Janice M. Lough, and Mireille M. M. Guillaume
Biogeosciences, 16, 695–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-695-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-695-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Here we report seasonally resolved sea surface temperature (SST) reconstructions for the southern Mozambique Channel in the SW Indian Ocean, a region located along the thermohaline ocean surface circulation route, based on multi-trace-element temperature proxy records preserved in two Porites sp. coral cores for the past 42 years. Particularly, we show the suitability of both separate and combined Sr / Ca and Li / Mg proxies for improved multielement SST reconstructions.
Hilde Pracht, Brett Metcalfe, and Frank J. C. Peeters
Biogeosciences, 16, 643–661, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-643-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-643-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In palaeoceanography the shells of single-celled foraminifera are routinely used as proxies to reconstruct the temperature, salinity and circulation of the ocean in the past. Traditionally a number of specimens were pooled for a single stable isotope measurement; however, technical advances now mean that a single shell or chamber of a shell can be measured individually. Three different hypotheses regarding foraminiferal biology and ecology were tested using this approach.
Anna Jentzen, Dirk Nürnberg, Ed C. Hathorne, and Joachim Schönfeld
Biogeosciences, 15, 7077–7095, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7077-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7077-2018, 2018
Shauna Ní Fhlaithearta, Christophe Fontanier, Frans Jorissen, Aurélia Mouret, Adriana Dueñas-Bohórquez, Pierre Anschutz, Mattias B. Fricker, Detlef Günther, Gert J. de Lange, and Gert-Jan Reichart
Biogeosciences, 15, 6315–6328, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6315-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6315-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study looks at how foraminifera interact with their geochemical environment in the seabed. We focus on the incorporation of the trace metal manganese (Mn), with the aim of developing a tool to reconstruct past pore water profiles. Manganese concentrations in foraminifera are investigated relative to their ecological preferences and geochemical environment. This study demonstrates that Mn in foraminiferal tests is a promising tool to reconstruct oxygen conditions in the seabed.
Siobhan Williams, Walter Adey, Jochen Halfar, Andreas Kronz, Patrick Gagnon, David Bélanger, and Merinda Nash
Biogeosciences, 15, 5745–5759, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5745-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5745-2018, 2018
Robert Frei, Cora Paulukat, Sylvie Bruggmann, and Robert M. Klaebe
Biogeosciences, 15, 4905–4922, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4905-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4905-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The reconstruction of paleo-redox conditions of seawater has the potential to link to climatic changes on land and therefore to contribute to our understanding of past climate change. The redox-sensitive chromium isotope system is applied to marine calcifiers in order to characterize isotope offsets that result from vital processes during calcification processes and which can be eventually used in fossil equivalents to reconstruct past seawater compositions.
Thomas M. DeCarlo, Michael Holcomb, and Malcolm T. McCulloch
Biogeosciences, 15, 2819–2834, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2819-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2819-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the mechanisms of coral calcification is limited by the isolation of the calcifying environment. The boron systematics (B / Ca and δ11B) of aragonite have recently been developed as a proxy for the carbonate chemistry of the calcifying fluid, but a variety of approaches have been utilized. We assess the available experimental B / Ca partitioning data and present a computer code for deriving calcifying fluid carbonate chemistry from the boron systematics of coral skeletons.
Manuel Bringué, Robert C. Thunell, Vera Pospelova, James L. Pinckney, Oscar E. Romero, and Eric J. Tappa
Biogeosciences, 15, 2325–2348, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2325-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2325-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We document 2.5 yr of dinoflagellate cyst production in the Cariaco Basin using a sediment trap record. Each species' production pattern is interpreted in the context of the physico-chemical (e.g., temperature, nutrients) and biological (other planktonic groups) environment. Most species respond positively to upwelling, but seem to be negatively impacted by an El Niño event with a 1-year lag. This work helps understanding dinoflagellate ecology and interpreting fossil assemblages in sediments.
Gabriella M. Weiss, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Marcel T. J. van der Meer
Biogeosciences, 14, 5693–5704, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5693-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5693-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Algal-derived compounds allow us to make assumptions about environmental conditions in the past. In order to better understand how organisms record environmental conditions, we grew microscopic marine algae at different light intensities, salinities, and alkalinities in a temperature-controlled environment. We determined how these environmental parameters affected specific algal-derived compounds, especially their relative deuterium content, which seems to be mainly affected by salinity.
S. Nemiah Ladd, Nathalie Dubois, and Carsten J. Schubert
Biogeosciences, 14, 3979–3994, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3979-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3979-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Hydrogen isotopes of lipids provide valuable information about microbial activity, climate, and environmental stress. We show that heavy hydrogen in fatty acids declines from spring to summer in a nutrient-rich and a nutrient-poor lake and that the effect is nearly 3 times as big in the former. This effect is likely a combination of increased biomass from algae, warmer temperatures, and higher algal growth rates.
Karoliina A. Koho, Lennart J. de Nooijer, Christophe Fontanier, Takashi Toyofuku, Kazumasa Oguri, Hiroshi Kitazato, and Gert-Jan Reichart
Biogeosciences, 14, 3067–3082, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3067-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3067-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Here we report Mn / Ca ratios in living benthic foraminifera from the NE Japan margin. The results show that the Mn incorporation directly reflects the environment where the foraminifera calcify. Foraminifera that live deeper in sediment, under greater redox stress, generally incorporate more Mn into their carbonate skeletons. As such, foraminifera living close to the Mn reduction zone in sediment appear promising tools for paleoceanographic reconstructions of sedimentary redox conditions.
Stefania Milano, Gernot Nehrke, Alan D. Wanamaker Jr., Irene Ballesta-Artero, Thomas Brey, and Bernd R. Schöne
Biogeosciences, 14, 1577–1591, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1577-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1577-2017, 2017
Cited articles
Altuna, N. E. B., Pieńkowski, A. J., Eynaud, F., and Thiessen, R.: The
morphotypes of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma: Isotopic signature and
distribution patterns in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and adjacent
regions, Mar. Micropaleontol., 142, 13–24, 2018. a
Bollmann, J., Quinn, P. S., Vela, M., Brabec, B., Brechner, S., Cortés,
M. Y., Hilbrecht, H., Schmidt, D. N., Schiebel, R., and Thierstein, H. R.:
Automated particle analysis: calcareous microfossils, in: Image analysis,
sediments and paleoenvironments, Springer, 229–252, 2005. a
Cape, M. R., Vernet, M., Pettit, E. C., Wellner, J. S., Truffer, M., Akie, G.,
Domack, E., Leventer, A., Smith, C. R., and Huber, B. A.: Circumpolar Deep
Water impacts glacial meltwater export and coastal biogeochemical cycling
along the west Antarctic Peninsula, Front. Mar. Sci., 6, 1–23,
2019. a
Coplen, T. B.: Normalization of oxygen and hydrogen isotope data, Chem.
Geol., 72, 293–297, 1988. a
Darling, K. F., Kucera, M., Kroon, D., and Wade, C. M.: A resolution for the
coiling direction paradox in Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Paleoceanography,
21, 1–14, 2006. a
Eynaud, F., Cronin, T., Smith, S., Zaragosi, S., Mavel, J., Mary, Y., Mas, V.,
and Pujol, C.: Morphological variability of the planktonic foraminifer
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma from ACEX cores: Implications for Late
Pleistocene circulation in the Arctic Ocean, Micropaleontology, 55, 101–116,
2009. a, b
Ezard, T. H., Edgar, K. M., and Hull, P. M.: Environmental and biological
controls on size-specific δ13C and δ18O in recent planktonic
foraminifera, Paleoceanography, 30, 151–173, 2015. a
Gleiber, M. R., Steinberg, D. K., and Ducklow, H. W.: Time series of vertical
flux of zooplankton fecal pellets on the continental shelf of the western
Antarctic Peninsula, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 471, 23–36, 2012. a
Grange, L. J. and Smith, C. R.: Megafaunal communities in rapidly warming
fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula: hotspots of abundance and beta
diversity, PloS One, 8, e77917, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077917, 2013. a
Gyldenfeldt, A.-B. v., Carstens, J., and Meincke, J.: Estimation of the
catchment area of a sediment trap by means of current meters and
foraminiferal tests, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 47, 1701–1717, 2000. a
Hemleben, C., Spindler, M., and Anderson, O. R.: Modern planktonic
foraminifera, Springer Science & Business Media, 374 pp., 2012. a
Huang, K., Ducklow, H., Vernet, M., Cassar, N., and Bender, M. L.: Export
production and its regulating factors in the West Antarctica Peninsula region
of the Southern Ocean, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 26, 1–13, 2012. a
Huber, R., Meggers, H., Baumann, K.-H., Raymo, M. E., and Henrich, R.: Shell
size variation of the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sin.
in the Norwegian–Greenland Sea during the last 1.3 Myrs: implications for
paleoceanographic reconstructions, Palaeogeogr. Palaeocl., 160, 193–212, 2000. a
Hut, G.: Consultants' group meeting on stable isotope reference samples for
geochemical and hydrological investigations, 42 pp., 1987. a
Jonkers, L. and Kučera, M.: Global analysis of seasonality in the shell flux of extant planktonic Foraminifera, Biogeosciences, 12, 2207–2226, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2207-2015, 2015. a
Jonkers, L., Brummer, G.-J. A., Peeters, F. J., van Aken, H. M., and De Jong,
M. F.: Seasonal stratification, shell flux, and oxygen isotope dynamics of
left-coiling N. pachyderma and T. quinqueloba in the western subpolar North
Atlantic, Paleoceanography, 25, 1–13, 2010. a
Kim, H., Doney, S. C., Iannuzzi, R. A., Meredith, M. P., Martinson, D. G., and
Ducklow, H. W.: Climate forcing for dynamics of dissolved inorganic nutrients
at Palmer Station, Antarctica: an interdecadal (1993–2013) analysis, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 121, 2369–2389, 2016. a
Kim, H., Ducklow, H. W., Abele, D., Ruiz Barlett, E. M., Buma, A. G., Meredith,
M. P., Rozema, P. D., Schofield, O. M., Venables, H. J., and Schloss, I. R.:
Inter-decadal variability of phytoplankton biomass along the coastal West
Antarctic Peninsula, Philos. T. R. Soc. A, 376, 20170174, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0174, 2018. a, b
Kim, S.-T. and O'Neil, J. R.: Equilibrium and nonequilibrium oxygen isotope
effects in synthetic carbonates, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 61,
3461–3475, 1997. a
Kohfeld, K. E., Fairbanks, R. G., Smith, S. L., and Walsh, I. D.:
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral coiling) as paleoceanographic tracers
in polar oceans: Evidence from Northeast Water Polynya plankton tows,
sediment traps, and surface sediments, Paleoceanography, 11, 679–699, 1996. a, b, c, d, e, f, g
Kuroyanagi, A., Kawahata, H., and Nishi, H.: Seasonal variation in the oxygen
isotopic composition of different-sized planktonic foraminifer
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) in the northwestern North Pacific and
implications for reconstruction of the paleoenvironment, Paleoceanography,
26, 1–10, 2011. a, b
Lea, D., Bijma, J., Spero, H., and Archer, D.: Implications of a carbonate ion
effect on shell carbon and oxygen isotopes for glacial ocean conditions, in:
Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography, Springer, 513–522, 1999. a
Lencina-Avila, J. M., Goyet, C., Kerr, R., Orselli, I. B., Mata, M. M., and
Touratier, F.: Past and future evolution of the marine carbonate system in a
coastal zone of the Northern Antarctic Peninsula, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 149, 193–205, 2018. a
Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V., Antonov, J. I., Boyer, T. P., Garcia, H. E.,
Baranova, O. K., Zweng, M. M., Paver, C. R., Reagan, J. R., Johnson, D. R.,
and Hamilton, M.: World ocean atlas 2013, Vol. 1, Temperature, 40 pp., 2013. a
Marshall, G. J.: Trends in the Southern Annular Mode from observations and
reanalyses, J. Clim., 16, 4134–4143, 2003. a
Marshall, G. J. and Thompson, D. W.: The signatures of large-scale patterns of
atmospheric variability in Antarctic surface temperatures, J.
Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 3276–3289, 2016. a
Martinson, D. G., Stammerjohn, S. E., Iannuzzi, R. A., Smith, R. C., and
Vernet, M.: Western Antarctic Peninsula physical oceanography and
spatio–temporal variability, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 55, 1964–1987, 2008. a
Meredith, M. P., Venables, H. J., Clarke, A., Ducklow, H. W., Erickson, M.,
Leng, M. J., Lenaerts, J. T., and van den Broeke, M. R.: The freshwater
system west of the Antarctic Peninsula: spatial and temporal changes, J. Clim., 26, 1669–1684, 2013. a
Meredith, M. P., Stammerjohn, S. E., Venables, H. J., Ducklow, H. W.,
Martinson, D. G., Iannuzzi, R. A., Leng, M. J., Van Wessem, J. M., Reijmer,
C. H., and Barrand, N. E.: Changing distributions of sea ice melt and
meteoric water west of the Antarctic Peninsula, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 139, 40–57, 2017. a, b, c
Mikis, A., Hendry, K. R., Pike, J., Schmidt, D. N., Edgar, K. M., Peck, V. L., Peeters, Frank, J. C., Leng, M. J., Meredith, M. P., Todd, C., Stammerjohn, S., and Ducklow, H. W.: Morphometric data and stable isotope composition of sediment trap foraminifera from the West Antarctic Peninsula, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.902778, 2019.
Moffat, C. and Meredith, M.: Shelf–ocean exchange and hydrography west of the
Antarctic Peninsula: a review, Philos. T. R.
Soc. A, 376, 20170164, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2017.0164,
2018. a
Montes-Hugo, M., Doney, S. C., Ducklow, H. W., Fraser, W., Martinson, D.,
Stammerjohn, S. E., and Schofield, O.: Recent changes in phytoplankton
communities associated with rapid regional climate change along the western
Antarctic Peninsula, Science, 323, 1470–1473, 2009. a
Mortyn, P. G. and Charles, C. D.: Planktonic foraminiferal depth habitat and
δ18O calibrations: Plankton tow results from the Atlantic sector of
the Southern Ocean, Paleoceanography, 18, 1–14, 2003. a
Peck, V. L., Allen, C. S., Kender, S., McClymont, E. L., and Hodgson, D. A.:
Oceanographic variability on the West Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene
and the influence of upper circumpolar deep water, Quaternary Sci.
Rev., 119, 54–65, 2015. a
Pike, J., Allen, C. S., Leventer, A., Stickley, C. E., and Pudsey, C. J.:
Comparison of contemporary and fossil diatom assemblages from the western
Antarctic Peninsula shelf, Mar. Micropaleontol., 67, 274–287, 2008. a
Pike, J., Crosta, X., Maddison, E. J., Stickley, C. E., Denis, D., Barbara, L.,
and Renssen, H.: Observations on the relationship between the Antarctic
coastal diatoms Thalassiosira antarctica Comber and Porosira glacialis
(Grunow) Jørgensen and sea ice concentrations during the late Quaternary,
Mar. Micropaleontol., 73, 14–25, 2009. a
Reynolds, L. A. and Thunell, R. C.: Seasonal production and morphologic
variation of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (Ehrenberg) in the northeast
Pacific, Micropaleontology, 32, 1–18, 1986. a
Schiebel, R., Hiller, B., and Hemleben, C.: Impacts of storms on Recent
planktic foraminiferal test production and CaCO3 flux in the North Atlantic
at 47∘ N, 20∘ W (JGOFS), Mar. Micropaleontol., 26, 115–129, 1995. a
Schmidt, D. N., Renaud, S., and Bollmann, J.: Response of planktic
foraminiferal size to late Quaternary climate change, Paleoceanography, 18, 1–12,
2003. a
Schmidt, D. N., Lazarus, D., Young, J. R., and Kucera, M.: Biogeography and
evolution of body size in marine plankton, Earth-Sci. Rev., 78,
239–266, 2006. a
Smith, D. A. and Klinck, J. M.: Water properties on the west Antarctic
Peninsula continental shelf: a model study of effects of surface fluxes and
sea ice, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 49,
4863–4886, 2002. a
Stammerjohn, S. E., Martinson, D. G., Smith, R. C., and Iannuzzi, R. A.: Sea
ice in the western Antarctic Peninsula region: Spatio-temporal variability
from ecological and climate change perspectives, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 55, 2041–2058, 2008. a
Turner, J.: The El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Antarctica, International
J. Climatol., 24,
1–31, 2004. a
van Wessem, J. M., Reijmer, C. H., van de Berg, W. J., van Den Broeke, M. R.,
Cook, A. J., van Ulft, L. H., and van Meijgaard, E.: Temperature and wind
climate of the Antarctic Peninsula as simulated by a high-resolution regional
atmospheric climate model, J. Clim., 28, 7306–7326, 2015. a
Vernet, M., Martinson, D., Iannuzzi, R., Stammerjohn, S., Kozlowski, W., Sines,
K., Smith, R., and Garibotti, I.: Primary production within the sea-ice zone
west of the Antarctic Peninsula: I – Sea ice, summer mixed layer, and
irradiance, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. II, 55,
2068–2085, 2008. a
Wolter, K. and Timlin, M. S.: El Niño/Southern Oscillation behaviour since
1871 as diagnosed in an extended multivariate ENSO index (MEI. ext),
Int. J. Climatol., 31, 1074–1087, 2011. a
Zweng, M. M., Reagan, J. R., Antonov, J. I., Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V.,
Boyer, T. P., Garcia, H. E., Baranova, O. K., Johnson, D. R., Seidov, D., and Biddle, M. M.: World ocean atlas 2013. Vol. 2, Salinity, 39 pp., 2013. a
Short summary
Antarctic marine calcifying organisms are threatened by regional climate change and ocean acidification. Future projections of regional carbonate production are challenging due to the lack of historical data combined with complex climate variability. We present a 6-year record of flux, morphology and geochemistry of an Antarctic planktonic foraminifera, which shows that their growth is most sensitive to sea ice dynamics and is linked with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
Antarctic marine calcifying organisms are threatened by regional climate change and ocean...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint