Composite depth scale, tie points and magnetic susceptibilities of ODP Site 178-1098 sediments

Multiple holes were cored at Ocean Drilling Program Leg 178 Sites 1098 and 1099 in two subbasins of the Palmer Deep in order to recover complete and continuous records of sedimentation. By correlating measured properties of cores from different holes at a site, we have established a common depth scale, referred to as the meters composite depth scale (mcd), for all cores from Site 1098. For Site 1098, distinct similarities in the magnetic susceptibility records obtained from three holes provide tight constraints on between-hole correlation. Additional constraints come from lithologic features. Specific intervals from other data sets, particularly gamma-ray attenuation bulk density, magnetic intensity, and color reflectance, contain distinctive anomalies that correlate well when placed into the preferred composite depth scale, confirming that the scale is accurate. Coring in two holes at Site 1099 provides only a few meters of overlap. None of the data sets within this limited overlap region provide convincing correlations. Thus, the preferred composite depth scale for Site 1099 is the existing depth scale in meters below seafloor (mbsf).

Sediment color variation in laminated Holocene sediments of ODP Site 178-1098

Continuous sediment color records with a resolution of one measurement per millimeter were generated for Site 1098 (Palmer Deep, Antarctic Peninsula) from digital images of the core surfaces to test if the laminated intervals at this site will allow for analysis of high-frequency climate variability in the Circum-Antarctic. Long-term variation in color values correlates with gamma-ray attenuation bulk density. Darker colors are found in laminated intervals with lower bulk density, high biogenic silica, and high total organic carbon content. Darker color values result from the addition of dark laminae to background sediments that show little variation in color. The thicknesses of dark and light laminae were measured in the top 25 meters composite depth to determine the temporal resolution of the laminae. The alternation between dark, biogenic-rich laminae and background sediment essentially represents an annual cycle, but the sediment is not consistently varved. The modal thickness of light laminae is close to the long-term average annual accumulation rate, and results indicate that approximately half of the dark/light couplets in distinctly laminated intervals represent a single year. Missing biogenic laminae are interpreted to represent reduced primary productivity during cold years with delayed breakup of the sea-ice cover.

(Table 2) U-channel paleomagnetic record of ODP Site 178-1098

Thick Holocene sedimentary sections (>45 m) cored in the Palmer Deep by the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) and during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 178 provide the first opportunity to examine past geomagnetic field behavior at high southern latitudes. After removal of a low-coercivity drilling overprint the sediments display a stable, single-component remanent magnetization. Two short cores that recovered the uppermost 2.6 m of sediment have inclinations that fluctuate about the present day inclination (-57°) measured at Faraday Station, and several features with wavelengths of 10 to 20 cm appear to be correlative. However, shipboard measurements of inclination fluctuations on split-core samples from three holes drilled at ODP Site 1098 do not correlate well with each other, even though the intensity and susceptibility data correlate very well and the overall mean inclination for cores from each hole is consistent with the expected geocentric axial dipole (GAD) inclination. The correlation is improved dramatically by using inclinations measured on u-channels taken from the pristine center of a split core. Consequently, the anomalous directions and the resulting poor between-hole correlation of inclinations obtained from shipboard data can be attributed to coring-induced deformation, which is common on the outer edge of ODP piston cores, and/or measurement artifacts in the split-core data. Our preferred inclination record is thus derived from u-channel results. The upper ~25 m represents continuous sedimentation over the past 9000 yr, with an average sedimentation rate exceeding 250 cm/kyr (0.25 cm/yr). Given that remanence measurements on u-channels average over an interval <7 cm long, we obtained independent measurements of the paleo-geomagnetic field that average over only ~30 yr. This high-resolution record is characterized by an inclination that fluctuates within +/-15° of the current GAD inclination.

(Table T2) Biogenic opal in Palmer Deep sediments at ODP Site 178-1098

High-resolution records of sedimentary proxies provide insights into fine-scale geochemical responses to climatic forcing. Gamma-ray attenuation (GRA) bulk-density data and magnetic stratigraphy records from Palmer Deep, Site 1098, show variability close to the same scale as ice cores, making this site ideal for high-resolution geochemical investigations. In conjunction with shipboard geophysical measurements, silica records allow high-resolution evaluation of the frequencies and amplitudes of biogenic variability. This provides investigators additional data sets to evaluate the global extent of climatic events that are presently defined by regional oceanic data sets (e.g., Younger Dryas in the North Atlantic) and to evaluate the potential mechanisms that link biological productivity and climate in the Southern Ocean. In addition, because of the observed links between diatom blooms and export productivity (Michaels and Silver, 1988, doi:10.1016/0198-0149(88)90126-4), biogenic silica may be an indicator of the efficiency of the biological pump (removal of organic carbon from the euphotic zone and burial within the sediments). Because the net removal of CO2 (on short time scales up to millennial, the balance between upwelled CO2, carbon fixation, and the removal of organic carbon from the surface ocean) can determine the atmospheric concentration; proxies that allow us to quantify export production yield insights into carbon cycle responses. In today's ocean, diatoms are integrally linked with new production (production based on the use of nitrate and molecular nitrogen rather than ammonium, which is generated by the microbial degradation of organic carbon) (Dugdale and Goering, 1967). Thus, as with nutrient utilization proxies, biogenic silica may be a good indicator of export production. The difficulties lie in translating the biogenic opal burial records to export production. Numerous factors control the preservation of sedimentary biogenic silica, including depth of the water column, water temperature, trace element chemistry, grazing pressure, bloom structure, and species composition of the diatom assemblage (Nelson et al., 1995, doi:10.1029/95GB01070). In addition, several recent investigations have noted additional complications. Iron limitation increases the uptake of Si relative to carbon (Hutchins et al., 1998, ; Takeda, 1998, doi:10.1038/31674). In the Southern Ocean, iron limitation could produce more robust, and thus better preserved, diatoms; thus, the burial record may be a record of iron limitation rather than of the export of organic carbon (Boyle, 1998). In addition, laboratory experiments show that bacteria accelerate the dissolution of biogenic silica (Bidle and Azam, 1999, doi:10.1038/17351). Both the species composition and temperature seem to influence the amount of dissolution. Evidence of recycling of silicic acid within the photic zone (Brzezinski et al., 1997) suggests that the silica pump (removal from the euphotic zone of silica relative to nitrogen and phosphorus) may work with variable efficiency. This becomes an issue when trying to reconstruct the removal of organic carbon from sedimentary biogenic silica records. In fact, there is a wide range in the Si:Corganic molar ratio in the Southern Ocean (0.18-0.81) (Nelson et al., 1995; Ragueneau et al., 2000, doi:10.1016/S0921-8181(00)00052-7). Thus, the presence (or absence) of biogenic silica alone may tell us little about the export productivity, complicating the interpretation of age-related trends. One recent assessment has added some hope to links between productivity and opal burial in the Southern Ocean (Pondaven et al., 2000). Quantitative comparison of different productivity proxies will greatly aid in this evaluation.

(Table T1) Correlation of the postglacial laminated unit between ODP Holes 178-1098A, 178-1098B and 178-1098C

The Antarctic Peninsula region is ideally suited to monitor how global change affects Antarctica because it is one of the most sensitive regions of the continent to rapid climate change. This has been clearly demonstrated by the recent break up of the Larsen A Ice Shelf. Drilling at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1098, Palmer Deep, western Antarctic Peninsula, recovered almost 50 m of sediments that record the paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic history of the region from the last glacial maximum through the rapid climate oscillations of deglaciation into the Holocene. This sedimentary section will provide a wealth of high-resolution paleoenvironmental data from Antarctica that will be useful for climate modelers and paleoceanographers alike. This data report presents the preliminary results of a high-resolution, microscale sediment fabric study of the postglacial sediments from Palmer Deep Site 1098. These sediments have previously been described as being annually laminated; however, this investigation shows that although the interpretation of this sequence as seasonal sediments is most likely correct, there are a number of features that indicate there is strong interannual variability affecting the laminations.

Composite depth scales and splice tie points of ODP Sites 178-1095 and 178-1096

During Leg 178, multiple advanced piston corer holes were drilled at four sites (1095, 1096, 1098, and 1099). Cores from the holes were correlated on board to produce composite depths and optimal spliced sections, but the time limitations aboard ship caused these to be preliminary. Recomputed composite depths for Sites 1098 and 1099 in Palmer Deep are reported elsewhere in this volume (doi:10.2973/odp.proc.sr.178.2002). This paper reports recomputed composite depths and spliced sections for Sites 1095 and 1096, located on a sediment drift on the continental rise of the Pacific margin of the Antarctic Peninsula. Limits on the validity of the spliced sections arise from limited multiple coverage and possibly from the effects of ocean swell.

Spectral reflectance of ODP Leg 178 holes

The routine use of spectrophotometry on the sediment surfaces of archive halves of each section during the onboard sedimentological core description process is a great stride toward development of real-time noninvasive characterization of deep-sea sediments. Spectral reflectance data have been used so far for mineral composition studies as well as for lithostratigraphic correlation between sites (Balsam and Deaton, 1991; Balsam et al., 1997; Mix et al., 1995; Ortiz et al., 1999). Their results demonstrate that spectrophotometry can estimate CaCO3 content by using the 4.65-, 5.25-, and 5.55-µm wavelength spectrums. A detailed overview of various other noninvasive methods is given in Ortiz and Rack (1999). The purpose of this study is to test whether spectrophotometry in the visible band can be used as a tool to gather further information about grain-size variation, sorting, compaction, and porosity, which are directly linked to the sedimentation process. From remote sensing data analyses, it is known that diffuse spectral reflectance data in the visible band in the wavelength window of 7.0-6.5 µm are sensitive to grain-size variations. It appears that a relationship between grain size and signal absorption exists only in this wavelength window. (e.g., Clark, 1999; Gaffey, 1986; Gaffey et al., 1993). Variations in grain size during a sedimentation process are linked to depositional energy, which affects sorting, compaction, and porosity of sediment deposits. As an example, we study here the spectrophotometric data of the sedimentary sequence of Hole 1098C, which was deposited under widely varying environmental conditions. Alternating turbidite and finely laminated sediments were recovered from Hole 1098C. The turbidites are related to a high depositional energy environment; the finely laminated sediments are related to a low depositional energy environment. Data from Hole 1098C were therefore used to test whether the spectral reflectance data can provide a proxy for these different depositional environments.