ALBERT

Description: The importance of intermediate water masses in climate change and ocean circulation has been emphasized recently. In particular, Southern Ocean Intermediate Waters (SOIW), such as Antarctic Intermediate Water and Subantarctic Mode Water, are thought to have acted as active interhemispheric transmitter of climate anomalies. Here we reconstruct changes in SOIW signature and spatial and temporal evolution based on a 40 kyr time series of oxygen and carbon isotopes as well as planktic Mg/Ca based thermometry from Site GeoB12615-4 in the western Indian Ocean. Our data suggest that SOIW transmitted Antarctic temperature trends to the equatorial Indian Ocean via the "oceanic tunnel" mechanism. Moreover, our results reveal that deglacial SOIW carried a signature of aged Southern Ocean deep water. We find no evidence of increased formation of intermediate waters during the deglaciation.

Description: During Termination 1, millennial-scale weakening events of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) supposedly produced major changes in sea surface temperatures (SST) of the western South Atlantic, and in mean air temperatures (MAT) over southeastern South America. It was suggested, for instance, that the Brazil Current (BC) would strengthen (weaken) and the North Brazil Current (NBC) would weaken (strengthen) during slowdown (speed-up) events of the AMOC. This anti-phase pattern was claimed to be a necessary response to the decreased North Atlantic heat piracy during periods of weak AMOC. However, the thermal evolution of the western South Atlantic and the adjacent continent is largely unknown and a compelling record of the BC-NBC anti-phase behavior remains elusive. Here we address this issue, presenting high temporal resolution SST and MAT records from the BC and southeastern South America, respectively. We identify a warming in the western South Atlantic during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), which is followed first by a drop and then by increasing temperatures during the Bølling–Allerød, in-phase with an existing NBC record. Additionally, a similar SST evolution is shown by a southernmost eastern South Atlantic record, suggesting a South Atlantic-wide pattern in SST evolution during most of Termination 1. Over southeastern South America, our MAT record shows a two-step increase during Termination 1, synchronous with atmospheric CO2 rise (i.e., during the second half of HS1 and during the Younger Dryas), and lagging abrupt SST changes by several thousand years. This delay corroborates the notion that the long duration of HS1 was fundamental to drive the Earth out of the last glacial.

Description: During Termination 1, millennial-scale weakening events of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) supposedly produced major changes in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of the western South Atlantic, and in mean air temperatures (MATs) over southeastern South America. It has been suggested, for instance, that the Brazil Current (BC) would strengthen (weaken) and the North Brazil Current (NBC) would weaken (strengthen) during slowdown (speed-up) events of the AMOC. This anti-phase pattern was claimed to be a necessary response to the decreased North Atlantic heat piracy during periods of weak AMOC. However, the thermal evolution of the western South Atlantic and the adjacent continent is so far largely unknown. Here we address this issue, presenting high-temporal-resolution SST and MAT records from the BC and southeastern South America, respectively. We identify a warming in the western South Atlantic during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), which is followed first by a drop and then by increasing temperatures during the Bølling–Allerød, in phase with an existing SST record from the NBC. Additionally, a similar SST evolution is shown by a southernmost eastern South Atlantic record, suggesting a South Atlantic-wide pattern in SST evolution during most of Termination 1. Over southeastern South America, our MAT record shows a two-step increase during Termination 1, synchronous with atmospheric CO2 rise (i.e., during the second half of HS1 and during the Younger Dryas), and lagging abrupt SST changes by several thousand years. This delay corroborates the notion that the long duration of HS1 was fundamental in driving the Earth out of the last glacial.

Description: The importance of intermediate water masses in climate change and ocean circulation has been emphasized recently. In particular, Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is thought to have acted as an active interhemispheric transmitter of climate anomalies. Here we reconstruct changes in AAIW signature and spatial and temporal evolution based on a 40 kyr time series of oxygen and carbon isotopes as well as planktic Mg/Ca based thermometry from a site in the western Indian Ocean. Our data suggest that AAIW transmitted Antarctic temperature trends to the equatorial Indian Ocean via the "oceanic tunnel" mechanism. Moreover, our results reveal that deglacial AAIW carried a signature of aged Southern Ocean deep water. We find no evidence of increased formation of intermediate waters during the deglaciation.

Description: Shelf and coastal regions are exceptionally important for many countries as they provide the main habitat for many economically important fish and shellfish species. With ongoing global warming and human-induced eutrophication the shelf regions are especially affected, resulting in increased temperatures and stratification as well as oxygen depletion of the bottom waters. In order to be able to predict the magnitude of these changes in the future it is necessary to study how they varied in the past. Commonly used foraminiferal climate and environmental proxies, e.g. stable isotopes and trace metal/Ca ratios, which are applied in open-ocean settings are not necessarily applicable in shelf regions, either as faunas are completely different or as conditions change a-typical compared to the open-ocean. In this study we explore the use of Mg/Ca as paleothermometer and Mn/Ca as a potential proxy for changing dissolved oxygen conditions on the benthic foraminifera Bulimina marginata and Globobulimina turgida. Living specimens were collected from the Skagerrak and the Gullmar Fjord (SW-Sweden); the latter is hypoxic for several months a year. As the specimens were alive when collected it can be excluded that any diagenetic coatings have affected the trace metal/Ca ratios. The Mg/Ca ratios are similar to previously published values from the literature but display much larger variation than would be expected from the annual temperature change of less than 2 °C. An additional impact of the difference in the carbonate ion saturation state between the Skagerrak and the Gullmar Fjord could explain the results. Mn/Ca ratios on Globobulimina turgida potentially record variations in dissolved oxygen of the habitat where the foraminifera calcify. Samples from the Skagerrak display increased Mn/Ca in specimens which lived deeper in the sediment than those that lived near the surface. Globobulimina turgida samples from the lower oxygen Gullmar Fjord showed significantly increased Mn/Ca, being highest when dissolved oxygen was at a minimum. Our study suggests that trace metal/Ca ratios in benthic foraminifera from shelf regions have the potential to record past variations in bottom water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentrations but care needs to be taken to constrain the carbonate system.

Description: Trace element incorporation into foraminiferal shells (tests) is governed by physical and chemical conditions of the surrounding marine environment and therefore foraminiferal geochemistry provides a means of palaeoceanographic reconstructions. With the availability of high spatial resolution instrumentation with high precision, foraminiferal geochemistry has become a major research topic over recent years. However, reconstructions of past bottom water oxygenation using foraminiferal tests remain in their infancy. In this study we explore the potential of using Mn/Ca determined by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) as well as by Flow-Through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (FT-ICP-OES) in the benthic foraminiferal species Eubuliminella exilis as a proxy for recording changes in bottom water oxygen conditions in the low latitude NE Atlantic upwelling system. Furthermore, we compare the SIMS and FT-ICP-OES results with published Mn/Al in the bulk sediment from the same sediment core. This is the first time that benthic foraminiferal Mn/Ca is directly compared with Mn/Al in the bulk sediment, which largely agree on the former oxygen conditions. Samples were selected to include different productivity regimes related to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (35–28 ka), the Last Glacial Maximum (28–19 ka), Heinrich Event 1 (18–15.5 ka), Bølling Allerød (15.5–13.5 ka) and the Younger Dryas (13.5–11.5 ka). Foraminiferal Mn/Ca determined by SIMS and FT-ICP-OES are comparable. Mn/Ca was higher during periods with high primary productivity, such as during the Younger Dryas which indicates low oxygen conditions. This is further supported by the benthic foraminiferal faunal composition. Our results highlight the proxy potential of Mn/Ca in benthic foraminifera from upwelling systems for reconstructing past variations in oxygen conditions of the sea floor environment as well as the need to use it in combination with other proxy records such as faunal assemblage data.

Description: Trace element incorporation into foraminiferal shells (tests) is governed by physical and chemical conditions of the surrounding marine environment, and therefore foraminiferal geochemistry provides a means of palaeo-oceanographic reconstructions. With the availability of high-spatial-resolution instrumentation with high precision, foraminiferal geochemistry has become a major research topic over recent years. However, reconstructions of past bottom-water oxygenation using foraminiferal tests remain in their infancy. In this study we explore the potential of using Mn / Ca determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) as well as by flow-through inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (FT-ICP-OES) in the benthic foraminiferal species Eubuliminella exilis as a proxy for recording changes in bottom-water oxygen conditions in the low-latitude NE Atlantic upwelling system. Furthermore, we compare the SIMS and FT-ICP-OES results with published Mn sediment bulk measurements from the same sediment core. This is the first time that benthic foraminiferal Mn / Ca is directly compared with Mn bulk measurements, which largely agree on the former oxygen conditions. Samples were selected to include different productivity regimes related to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (35–28 ka), the Last Glacial Maximum (28–19 ka), Heinrich Event 1 (18–15.5 ka), Bølling Allerød (15.5–13.5 ka) and the Younger Dryas (13.5–11.5 ka). Foraminiferal Mn / Ca determined by SIMS and FT-ICP-OES is comparable. Mn / Ca was higher during periods with high primary productivity, such as during the Younger Dryas, which indicates low-oxygen conditions. This is further supported by the benthic foraminiferal faunal composition. Our results highlight the proxy potential of Mn / Ca in benthic foraminifera from upwelling systems for reconstructing past variations in oxygen conditions of the sea floor environment as well as the need to use it in combination with other proxy records such as faunal assemblage data.

Description: Shelf and coastal regions are exceptionally important for many countries as they provide the main habitat for many economically important fish and shellfish species. With ongoing climate change and human-induced eutrophication the shelf regions are especially affected, resulting in increased temperatures and stratification as well as oxygen depletion of the bottom waters. In order to be able to predict the magnitude of these changes in the future, it is necessary to study how they varied in the past. Commonly used foraminiferal climate and environmental proxies, e.g., stable isotopes and trace metal/Ca ratios, that are applied in open-ocean settings are not necessarily applicable in shelf regions, either as faunas are significantly different or as conditions can change much faster compared to the open ocean. In this study we explore the use of Mg/Ca as paleothermometer and Mn/Ca as a potential proxy for changing dissolved oxygen conditions in bottom water on the benthic foraminifera Bulimina marginata and Globobulimina turgida. Living specimens were collected from the Skagerrak and the Gullmar Fjord (SW Sweden); the latter is hypoxic for several months a year. As the specimens were alive when collected, we assume it unlikely that any diagenetic coatings have already significantly affected the trace metal/Ca ratios. The Mg/Ca ratios are similar to previously published values but display much larger variation than would be expected from the annual temperature change of less than 2 °C. An additional impact of the difference in the calcite saturation state between the Skagerrak and the Gullmar Fjord could explain the results. Mn/Ca ratios from G. turgida can potentially be related to variations in dissolved oxygen of the habitat where the foraminifera calcify. Samples from the Skagerrak display increased Mn/Ca in specimens that lived deeper in the sediment than those that lived near the surface. G. turgida samples from the low-oxygen Gullmar Fjord showed significantly increased Mn/Ca, being highest when bottom water dissolved oxygen was at a minimum. Our study suggests that trace metal/Ca ratios in benthic foraminifera from shelf regions have the potential to record past variations in bottom water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentrations, but an additional impact of the inorganic carbonate chemistry cannot be excluded.