Publication Date:
2024-01-09
Description:
The Matuyama Diatom Maximum (MDM) is a time of peak opal accumulation from 2.6 to ~2.0 Ma within the Benguela Current upwelling system that was initiated by increased influence of Southern Ocean water on the eastern South Atlantic. We measured opal, total organic carbon (TOC), and CaCO3 fluxes and C and N stable isotopes in sediments deposited from 2.4 to 1.95 Ma at Sites 1082 and 1084 to explore the biogeochemical dynamics within the Benguela region. The infusion of Southern Ocean water delivered dissolved nutrients and Southern Ocean flora and fauna, resulting in local opal accumulation increasing up to 8 g/cm**2/ky and the production of diatom mats. Some d15N measurements of diatom-bound organic matter indicate that the mats grew within the Benguela region. The bulk sediment d15N records are taken to reflect changes in the d15N of nitrate in the incoming water, where lower values at 2.4 Ma reflect less nitrate utilization in the Antarctic. A long-term increase in relative nitrate uptake in the Southern Ocean is evidenced by the gradual increase in d15N toward 1.9 Ma.
Keywords:
175-1082A; 175-1084A; AGE; Benguela Current, South Atlantic Ocean; DEPTH, sediment/rock; DRILL; Drilling/drill rig; DSDP/ODP/IODP sample designation; Event label; Joides Resolution; Leg175; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP; Sample code/label; Δδ15N; δ15N, bulk sediment; δ15N, diatom-bound organic matter
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 36 data points
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