Articles | Volume 18, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1909-2021
© Author(s) 2021. 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-18-1909-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Technical note: Accelerate coccolith size separation via repeated centrifugation
Hongrui Zhang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai,
200092, China
Department of Earth Science, Geological Institute, ETH, Sonneggstrasse 5,
8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Chuanlian Liu
State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai,
200092, China
Luz María Mejía
Department of Earth Science, Geological Institute, ETH, Sonneggstrasse 5,
8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Heather Stoll
Department of Earth Science, Geological Institute, ETH, Sonneggstrasse 5,
8092 Zürich, Switzerland
Related authors
Amanda Gerotto, Hongrui Zhang, Renata Hanae Nagai, Heather M. Stoll, Rubens César Lopes Figueira, Chuanlian Liu, and Iván Hernández-Almeida
Biogeosciences, 20, 1725–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Based on the analysis of the response of coccolithophores’ morphological attributes in a laboratory dissolution experiment and surface sediment samples from the South China Sea, we proposed that the thickness shape (ks) factor of fossil coccoliths together with the normalized ks variation, which is the ratio of the standard deviation of ks (σ) over the mean ks (σ/ks), is a robust and novel proxy to reconstruct past changes in deep ocean carbon chemistry.
Laura Endres, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Ruza Ivanovic, Lauren Gregoire, Anna L. C. Hughes, Hai Cheng, and Heather Stoll
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3911, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3911, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
Short summary
Short summary
Stable isotope data of a precisely dated stalagmite from northwestern Iberia indicate gradual North Atlantic meltwater input during the last glacial maximum, followed by abrupt surges early in the last deglaciation. The first abrupt surge was followed by cooling about 850 years later – unlike later events – which reveals that the Atlantic circulation’s sensitivity to meltwater is variable and related to the evolving background climate boundary conditions.
Heather Stoll, Clara Bolton, Madalina Jaggi, Alfredo Martinez-Garcia, and Stefano Bernasconi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2449, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2449, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
In periods of high atmospheric CO2 many proxies suggest more extreme past polar warming than is simulated by current coupled climate models. Providing new data on high latitude temperatures in the South Atlantic over the last 15 million years using clumped isotope thermometry, we show that absolute temperatures may not have been as warm as indicated by some biomarker based proxy climate records.
Nicolas Tapia, Laura Endres, Madalina Jaggi, and Heather Stoll
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1000, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1000, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We use stalagmites to study past changes in the terrestrial P cycle. Our P records from multiple, coeval stalagmites from NW Spain, show that past abrupt cooling events are characterized by multi-century reproducible peaks in stalagmite P which reflect higher groundwater P/Ca concentrations and enhanced P export, potentially resulting from increased freeze-thaw frequency and more intense infiltration from snowmelt.
Judit Torner, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Ana Moreno, Joan O. Grimalt, Francisco J. Sierro, Joan J. Fornós, Hai Cheng, and R. Lawrence Edwards
Clim. Past, 21, 465–487, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-465-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We offer a clearer view of the timing of three relevant past glacial terminations. By analyzing the climatic signal recorded in stalagmite and linking it with marine records, we revealed differences in the intensity and duration of the ice melting associated with these three key deglaciations. This study shows that some deglaciations began earlier than previously thought; this improves our understanding of natural climate processes, helping us to contextualize current climate change.
José Guitián, Samuel R. Phelps, Reto S. Wijker, Pratigya J. Polissar, Laura Arnold, and Heather M. Stoll
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-65, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-65, 2024
Preprint under review for CP
Short summary
Short summary
We reconstructed from sediments of different ocean sites phytoplankton carbon isotopic fractionation (εp), mainly linked to CO2 variations, during the Oligocene to early Miocene. Records confirm long-term trends but show contrasting relationships with the sea surface temperatures evolution. We evaluate the role of non-CO2 physiological factors such as temperature and nutrients at each site εp, highlighting the complexity of interpreting climate dynamics and CO2 reconstructions.
Alexander J. Clark, Ismael Torres-Romero, Madalina Jaggi, Stefano M. Bernasconi, and Heather M. Stoll
Clim. Past, 20, 2081–2101, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2081-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Coccoliths are abundant in sediments across the world’s oceans, yet it is difficult to apply traditional carbon or oxygen isotope methodologies for temperature reconstructions. We show that our coccolith clumped isotope temperature calibration with well-constrained temperatures systematically differs from inorganic carbonate calibrations. We suggest the use of our well-constrained calibration for future coccolith carbonate temperature reconstructions.
Nikita Kaushal, Carlos Perez-Mejias, and Heather M. Stoll
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-37, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-37, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
Short summary
Short summary
Terminations are large magnitude rapid events triggered in the North Atlantic region that manifest across the global climate system. They provide key examples of climatic teleconnections and dynamics. In this study, we use the SISAL global speleothem database and find that there are sufficient climatic records from key locations to make speleothems a valuable archive for studying Terminations and provide instances for more targeted work on speleothem research.
Nikita Kaushal, Franziska A. Lechleitner, Micah Wilhelm, Khalil Azennoud, Janica C. Bühler, Kerstin Braun, Yassine Ait Brahim, Andy Baker, Yuval Burstyn, Laia Comas-Bru, Jens Fohlmeister, Yonaton Goldsmith, Sandy P. Harrison, István G. Hatvani, Kira Rehfeld, Magdalena Ritzau, Vanessa Skiba, Heather M. Stoll, József G. Szűcs, Péter Tanos, Pauline C. Treble, Vitor Azevedo, Jonathan L. Baker, Andrea Borsato, Sakonvan Chawchai, Andrea Columbu, Laura Endres, Jun Hu, Zoltán Kern, Alena Kimbrough, Koray Koç, Monika Markowska, Belen Martrat, Syed Masood Ahmad, Carole Nehme, Valdir Felipe Novello, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Jiaoyang Ruan, Natasha Sekhon, Nitesh Sinha, Carol V. Tadros, Benjamin H. Tiger, Sophie Warken, Annabel Wolf, Haiwei Zhang, and SISAL Working Group members
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 1933–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-1933-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Speleothems are a popular, multi-proxy climate archive that provide regional to global insights into past hydroclimate trends with precise chronologies. We present an update to the SISAL (Speleothem Isotopes
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Synthesis and AnaLysis) database, SISALv3, which, for the first time, contains speleothem trace element records, in addition to an update to the stable isotope records available in previous versions of the database, cumulatively providing data from 365 globally distributed sites.
Miguel Bartolomé, Ana Moreno, Carlos Sancho, Isabel Cacho, Heather Stoll, Negar Haghipour, Ánchel Belmonte, Christoph Spötl, John Hellstrom, R. Lawrence Edwards, and Hai Cheng
Clim. Past, 20, 467–494, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-467-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructing past temperatures at regional scales during the Common Era is necessary to place the current warming in the context of natural climate variability. We present a climate reconstruction based on eight stalagmites from four caves in the Pyrenees, NE Spain. These stalagmites were dated precisely and analysed for their oxygen isotopes, which appear dominated by temperature changes. Solar variability and major volcanic eruptions are the two main drivers of observed climate variability.
Heather M. Stoll, Leopoldo D. Pena, Ivan Hernandez-Almeida, José Guitián, Thomas Tanner, and Heiko Pälike
Clim. Past, 20, 25–36, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-25-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-25-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Oligocene and early Miocene periods featured dynamic glacial cycles on Antarctica. In this paper, we use Sr isotopes in marine carbonate sediments to document a change in the location and intensity of continental weathering during short periods of very intense Antarctic glaciation. Potentially, the weathering intensity of old continental rocks on Antarctica was reduced during glaciation. We also show improved age models for correlation of Southern Ocean and North Atlantic sediments.
Heather M. Stoll, Chris Day, Franziska Lechleitner, Oliver Kost, Laura Endres, Jakub Sliwinski, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Hai Cheng, and Denis Scholz
Clim. Past, 19, 2423–2444, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and vegetation conditions. In this contribution, we present a new method to better estimate past changes in soil and vegetation productivity using carbon isotopes and trace elements measured in stalagmites. Applying this method to other stalagmites should provide a better indication of past vegetation feedbacks to climate change.
Oliver Kost, Saúl González-Lemos, Laura Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Jakub Sliwinski, Laura Endres, Negar Haghipour, and Heather Stoll
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 2227–2255, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2227-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-2227-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Cave monitoring studies including cave drip water are unique opportunities to sample water which has percolated through the soil and rock. The change in drip water chemistry is resolved over the course of 16 months, inferring seasonal and hydrological variations in soil and karst processes at the water–air and water–rock interface. Such data sets improve the understanding of hydrological and hydrochemical processes and ultimately advance the interpretation of geochemical stalagmite records.
Amanda Gerotto, Hongrui Zhang, Renata Hanae Nagai, Heather M. Stoll, Rubens César Lopes Figueira, Chuanlian Liu, and Iván Hernández-Almeida
Biogeosciences, 20, 1725–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Based on the analysis of the response of coccolithophores’ morphological attributes in a laboratory dissolution experiment and surface sediment samples from the South China Sea, we proposed that the thickness shape (ks) factor of fossil coccoliths together with the normalized ks variation, which is the ratio of the standard deviation of ks (σ) over the mean ks (σ/ks), is a robust and novel proxy to reconstruct past changes in deep ocean carbon chemistry.
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.
José Guitián, Miguel Ángel Fuertes, José-Abel Flores, Iván Hernández-Almeida, and Heather Stoll
Biogeosciences, 19, 5007–5019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5007-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5007-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The effect of environmental conditions on the degree of calcification of marine phytoplankton remains unclear. This study implements a new microscopic approach to quantify the calcification of ancient coccolithophores, using North Atlantic sediments. Results show significant differences in the thickness and shape factor of coccoliths for samples with minimum dissolution, providing the first evaluation of phytoplankton physiology adaptation to million-year-scale variable environmental conditions.
Franziska A. Lechleitner, Christopher C. Day, Oliver Kost, Micah Wilhelm, Negar Haghipour, Gideon M. Henderson, and Heather M. Stoll
Clim. Past, 17, 1903–1918, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1903-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1903-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Soil respiration is a critical but poorly constrained component of the global carbon cycle. We analyse the effect of changing soil respiration rates on the stable carbon isotope ratio of speleothems from northern Spain covering the last deglaciation. Using geochemical analysis and forward modelling we quantify the processes affecting speleothem stable carbon isotope ratios and extract a signature of increasing soil respiration synchronous with deglacial warming.
Ana Moreno, Miguel Iglesias, Cesar Azorin-Molina, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Miguel Bartolomé, Carlos Sancho, Heather Stoll, Isabel Cacho, Jaime Frigola, Cinta Osácar, Arsenio Muñoz, Antonio Delgado-Huertas, Ileana Bladé, and Françoise Vimeux
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10159–10177, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10159-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10159-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We present a large and unique dataset of the rainfall isotopic composition at seven sites from northern Iberia to characterize their variability at daily and monthly timescales and to assess the role of climate and geographic factors in the modulation of δ18O values. We found that the origin, moisture uptake along the trajectory and type of precipitation play a key role. These results will help to improve the interpretation of δ18O paleorecords from lacustrine carbonates or speleothems.
Catarina Cavaleiro, Antje H. L. Voelker, Heather Stoll, Karl-Heinz Baumann, and Michal Kucera
Clim. Past, 16, 2017–2037, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2017-2020, 2020
Cited articles
Beaufort, L., Lancelot, Y., Camberlin, P., Cayre, O., Vincent, E., Bassinot,
F., and Labeyrie, L.: Insolation cycles as a major control of equatorial
Indian Ocean primary production, Science 278, 1451–1454,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.278.5342.1451, 1997.
Bolton, C. T., Stoll, H. M., and Mendez-Vicente, A.: Vital effects in coccolith calcite: Cenozoic climate-pCO2drove the diversity of carbon acquisition strategies in coccolithophores?, Paleoceanography, 27,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2012pa002339, 2012.
Bordiga, M., Bartol, M., and Henderiks, J.: Absolute nannofossil abundance
estimates: Quantifying the pros and cons of different techniques, Rev.
Micropaleontol., 58, 155–165, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2015.05.002, 2015.
Dorsey, N. E.: Properties of ordinary water-substance, Reinhold
Publishing Corporation, New York, 1940.
Fuertes, M.-Á., Flores, J.-A., and Sierro, F. J.: The use of circularly
polarized light for biometry, identification and estimation of mass of
coccoliths, Mar. Micropaleontol. 113, 44–55,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2014.08.007, 2014.
Hermoso, M., Candelier, Y., Browning, T. J., and Minoletti, F.: Environmental
control of the isotopic composition of subfossil coccolith calcite: Are
laboratory culture data transferable to the natural environment?, GeoResJ, 7, 35–42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.grj.2015.05.002, 2015.
Paull, C. K. and Thierstein, H. R.: Stable isotopic fractionation among
particles in Quaternary coccolith-sized deep-sea sediments, Paleoceanography
2, 423–429, https://doi.org/10.1029/PA002i004p00423, 1987.
Stoll, H. M. and Ziveri, P.: Separation of monospecific and restricted
coccolith assemblages from sediments using differential settling velocity.
Mar. Micropaleontol., 46, 209–221, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-8398(02)00040-3, 2002.
Stoll, H. M., Rosenthal, Y., and Falkowski, P.: Climate proxies from Sr Ca of coccolith calcite: calibrations from continuous culture of Emiliania huxleyi, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 66, 927–936,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00836-5, 2002.
Young, J. R. and Ziveri, P.: Calculation of coccolith volume and it use in
calibration of carbonate flux estimates, Deep Sea Res. Pt. II, 47, 1679–1700, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(00)00003-5, 2000.
Zhang, H., Stoll, H., Bolton, C., Jin, X., and Liu, C.: Technical note: A refinement of coccolith separation methods: measuring the sinking characteristics of coccoliths, Biogeosciences, 15, 4759–4775, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4759-2018, 2018.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint