Articles | Volume 16, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-643-2019
© 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-16-643-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
01 Feb 2019
Research article |
| 01 Feb 2019
| 01 Feb 2019
Oxygen isotope composition of the final chamber of planktic foraminifera provides evidence of vertical migration and depth-integrated growth
Hilde Pracht
Earth and Climate Cluster, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of
Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Earth and Climate Cluster, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of
Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL,
CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Frank J. C. Peeters
Earth and Climate Cluster, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of
Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV,
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Lukas Jonkers, Tonke Strack, Montserrat Alonso-Garcia, Simon D'haenens, Robert Huber, Michal Kucera, Iván Hernández-Almeida, Chloe L. C. Jones, Brett Metcalfe, Rajeev Saraswat, Lóránd Silye, Sanjay K. Verma, Muhamad Naim Abd Malek, Gerald Auer, Cátia F. Barbosa, Maria A. Barcena, Karl-Heinz Baumann, Flavia Boscolo-Galazzo, Joeven Austine S. Calvelo, Lucilla Capotondi, Martina Caratelli, Jorge Cardich, Humberto Carvajal-Chitty, Markéta Chroustová, Helen K. Coxall, Renata M. de Mello, Anne de Vernal, Paula Diz, Kirsty M. Edgar, Helena L. Filipsson, Ángela Fraguas, Heather L. Furlong, Giacomo Galli, Natalia L. García Chapori, Robyn Granger, Jeroen Groeneveld, Adil Imam, Rebecca Jackson, David Lazarus, Julie Meilland, Marína Molčan Matejová, Raphael Morard, Caterina Morigi, Sven N. Nielsen, Diana Ochoa, Maria Rose Petrizzo, Andrés S. Rigual-Hernández, Marina C. Rillo, Matthew L. Staitis, Gamze Tanık, Raúl Tapia, Nishant Vats, Bridget S. Wade, and Anna E. Weinmann
J. Micropalaeontol., 44, 145–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-145-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-44-145-2025, 2025
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Our study provides guidelines improving the reuse of marine microfossil assemblage data, which are valuable for understanding past ecosystems and environmental change. Based on a survey of 113 researchers, we identified key data attributes required for effective reuse. Analysis of a selection of datasets available online reveals a gap between the attributes scientists consider essential and the data currently available, highlighting the need for clearer data documentation and sharing practices.
Bryan C. Lougheed and Brett Metcalfe
Biogeosciences, 19, 1195–1209, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1195-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1195-2022, 2022
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Measurements on sea-dwelling shelled organisms called foraminifera retrieved from deep-sea sediment cores have been used to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST) variation. To evaluate the method, we use a computer model to simulate millions of single foraminifera and how they become mixed in the sediment after being deposited on the seafloor. We compare the SST inferred from the single foraminifera in the sediment core to the true SST in the water, thus quantifying method uncertainties.
Brett Metcalfe, Bryan C. Lougheed, Claire Waelbroeck, and Didier M. Roche
Clim. Past, 16, 885–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-885-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-885-2020, 2020
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Planktonic foraminifera construct a shell that, post mortem, settles to the seafloor, prior to collection by Palaeoclimatologists for use as proxies. Such organisms in life are sensitive to the ambient conditions (e.g. temperature, salinity), which therefore means our proxies maybe skewed toward the ecology of organisms. Using a proxy system model, Foraminifera as Modelled Entities (FAME), we assess the potential of extracting ENSO signal from tropical Pacific planktonic foraminifera.
Bryan C. Lougheed, Philippa Ascough, Andrew M. Dolman, Ludvig Löwemark, and Brett Metcalfe
Geochronology, 2, 17–31, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-17-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gchron-2-17-2020, 2020
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The current geochronological state of the art for applying the radiocarbon (14C) method to deep-sea sediment archives lacks key information on sediment bioturbation, which could affect palaeoclimate interpretations made from deep-sea sediment. We use a computer model that simulates the 14C activity and bioturbation history of millions of single foraminifera at the sea floor, allowing us to evaluate the current state of the art at the most fundamental level.
Geert-Jan A. Brummer, Brett Metcalfe, Wouter Feldmeijer, Maarten A. Prins, Jasmijn van 't Hoff, and Gerald M. Ganssen
Clim. Past, 16, 265–282, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-265-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-265-2020, 2020
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Here, mid-ocean seasonality is resolved through time, using differences in the oxygen isotope composition between individual shells of the commonly used (sub)polar planktonic foraminifera species in ocean-climate reconstruction, N. pachyderma and G. bulloides. Single-specimen isotope measurements during the deglacial period revealed a surprising bimodality, the cause of which was investigated.
Anna Mikis, Katharine R. Hendry, Jennifer Pike, Daniela N. Schmidt, Kirsty M. Edgar, Victoria Peck, Frank J. C. Peeters, Melanie J. Leng, Michael P. Meredith, Chloe L. C. Jones, Sharon Stammerjohn, and Hugh Ducklow
Biogeosciences, 16, 3267–3282, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, 2019
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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.
Didier M. Roche, Claire Waelbroeck, Brett Metcalfe, and Thibaut Caley
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3587–3603, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3587-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3587-2018, 2018
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The oxygen-18 signal recorded in fossil planktonic foraminifers has been used for over 50 years in many geoscience applications. However, different planktonic foraminifer species from the same sediment core generally yield distinct oxygen-18 signals, as a consequence of their specific living habitat in the water column and along the year. To explicitly take into account this variability for five common planktonic species, we developed the portable module FAME (Foraminifers As Modeled Entities).
Bryan C. Lougheed, Brett Metcalfe, Ulysses S. Ninnemann, and Lukas Wacker
Clim. Past, 14, 515–526, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-515-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-515-2018, 2018
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Palaeoclimate reconstructions from deep-sea sediment archives provide valuable insight into past rapid climate change, but only a small proportion of the ocean is suitable for such reconstructions using the existing state of the art, i.e. the age–depth approach. We use dual radiocarbon (14C) and stable isotope analysis on single foraminifera to bypass the long-standing age–depth approach, thus facilitating past ocean chemistry reconstructions from vast, previously untapped ocean areas.
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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
Anna Mikis, Katharine R. Hendry, Jennifer Pike, Daniela N. Schmidt, Kirsty M. Edgar, Victoria Peck, Frank J. C. Peeters, Melanie J. Leng, Michael P. Meredith, Chloe L. C. Jones, Sharon Stammerjohn, and Hugh Ducklow
Biogeosciences, 16, 3267–3282, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3267-2019, 2019
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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.
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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
In palaeoceanography the shells of single-celled foraminifera are routinely used as proxies to...
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