(Table 2) Radiocarbon contents of TOC and alkenone samples

Radiocarbon age relationships between co-occurring planktic foraminifera, alkenones, and total organic carbon in sediments from the continental margins of southern Chile, northwest Africa, and the South China Sea were compared with published results from the Namibian margin. Age relationships between the sediment components are site-specific and relatively constant over time. Similar to the Namibian slope, where alkenones have been reported to be 1000-4500 years older than co-occurring foraminifera, alkenones were significantly (~1000 years) older than co-occurring foraminifera in the Chilean margin sediments. In contrast, alkenones and foraminifera were of similar age (within 2 sigma error or better) in the NW African and South China Sea sediments. Total organic matter and alkenone ages were similar off Namibia (age difference TOC alkenones: 200-700 years), Chile (100-450 years), and NW Africa (360-770 years), suggesting minor contributions of preaged terrigenous material. In the South China Sea, total organic carbon is significantly (2000-3000 years) older owing to greater inputs of preaged terrigenous material. Age offsets between alkenones and planktic foraminifera are attributed to lateral advection of organic matter. Physical characteristics of the depositional setting, such as seafloor morphology, shelf width, and sediment composition, may control the age of co-occurring sediment components. In particular, offsets between alkenones and foraminifera appear to be greatest in deposition centers in morphologic depressions. Aging of organic matter is promoted by transport. Age offsets are correlated with organic richness, suggesting that formation of organic aggregates is a key process.

Organic carbon and biomarker record from the Laptev Sea continental margin

In order to understand the processes controlling organic carbon deposition (i.e., primary productivity vs. terrigenous supply) and their paleoceanographic significance, three sediment cores (PS2471, PS2474. and PS2476) from the Laptev Sea continental margin were investigated for their content and composition of organic carbon. The characterization of organic matter indudes the determination of buk parameters (hydrogen index values and C/N ratios) and the analysis of specific biomarkers (n-alaknes, fatty acids, alkenones, and pigments). Total organic carbon (TOC) values vary between 0.3 and 2%. In general, the organic matter from the Laptev Sea continental margin is dominated by terrigenous matter throughout. However. significant amounts of marine organic carbon occur. The turbidites, according to a still preliminary stratigraphy probably deposited during glacial Oxygen Isotope Stages 2 and 4, are characterized by maximum amounts of organic carbon of terrigenous origin. Marine organic carbon appears to show enhanced relative abundances in the Termination I (?) and early Holocene time intervals, as indicated by maximum amounts of short chain n-alkanes, short-chain fatty acids, and alkenones. The increased amounts of faity acids, however, may also have a freshwater origin due to increased river discharge at that time. The occurrence of alkenones is suggested to indicate an intensification of Atlantic water inflow along the Eurasian continental margin starting at that time. Oxygen Isotope Stage l accumutation rates of total organic carhon are 0.3, 0.17, and 0.02 C/cm**2/ky in cores PS2476, PS2474, and PS2471, respectively.

TOC, CaCO3, n-alkane and alkenone concentrations of ODP Sites 202-1237 and 202-1239

We generated preliminary downcore records of total organic carbon content, calcium carbonate, long-chain n-alkane concentration, total alkenone concentration, and alkenone-based sea-surface temperature for samples from the easternmost flank of Nazca Ridge (Site 1237) and the eastern crest of Carnegie Ridge (Site 1239). Total organic carbon and long-chain n-alkane concentrations will be used to evaluate terrestrial sediment sources. Downcore records of alkenone sea-surface temperature will benefit studies of paleoceanography of the southeastern Pacific. Since these sites are located under the influence of major tectonic events, such as the uplift of the Andes Mountains and the closure of the Isthmus of Panama, the records will help us to examine the effects of the tectonic events on the oceanic environment.

Surface sediment data, CaCO3 and TOC

Modern sedimentary total organic carbon (TOC) content as a proxy for surface water export production was mapped on the shelf and on the upper continental slope of the Benguela upwelling system using 137 core tops. Shelf maxima in TOC can be correlated with maxima in surface water productivity. On the slope, high TOC contents are observed offshore from sites of strong modern upwelling. Estimates of modern TOC mass accumulation rates (MAR) show that approximately 85% of the total is accumulating on the shelf. TOC MAR were calculated, mapped, and budgeted for the Holocene and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using 19 sediment cores from the continental slope. During the LGM, centers of deposition and production have migrated offshore with respect to their Holocene positions. TOC accumulation on the continental slope was approximately 84% higher during the LGM than during the Holocene, possibly reflecting enhanced productivity. The TOC distribution patterns and sediment echo sounding data suggest that undercurrents strongly influence the sedimentation off Namibia. Winnowing and focusing result in great lateral heterogeneity of sedimentation rates and sediment properties. Individual cores therefore do not necessarily reflect general changes in export production. These results highlight the need for detailed regional studies based on a large number of sediment cores for highly heterogeneous high-productivity areas in order to derive general statements on total fluxes.

Total organic carbon (TOC) on ground bulk and carbonate-free sediment samples of ODP Hole 151-911A

A multiproxy analysis of Hole 911A (Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 151) drilled on the Yermak Plateau (eastern Arctic Ocean) is used to investigate the behaviour of the Svalbard/Barents Sea ice sheet (SBIS) during late Pliocene and early Pleistocene (~3.0-1.7 Ma) climate changes. Contemporary with the 'Mid-Pliocene (~3 Ma) global warmth' (MPGW), a warmer period lasting ~300 kyr with seasonally ice-free conditions in the marginal eastern Arctic Ocean is assumed to be an important regional moisture source, and possibly one decisive trigger for intensification of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation in the Svalbard/Barents Sea area at ~2.7 Ma. An abrupt pulse of ice-rafted debris (IRD) to the Yermak Plateau at ~2.7 Ma reflects distinct melting of sediment-laden icebergs derived from the SBIS and may indicate the protruding advance of the ice sheet onto the outer shelf. Spectral analysis of the total organic carbon (TOC) record being predominantly of terrigenous/fossil-reworked origin indicates SBIS and possibly Scandinavian Ice Sheet response to incoming solar radiation at obliquity and precession periodicities. The strong variance in frequencies near the 41 kyr obliquity cycle between 2.7 and 1.7 Ma indicates, for the first time in the Arctic Ocean, a close relationship of SBIS growth and decay patterns to the Earth's orbital obliquity amplitudes, which dominated global ice volume variations during late Pliocene/early Pleistocene climate changes.

(Table 1) TOC, d13C, and preservation factors of turbidite sediments

In ocean margin sediments both marine and terrestrial organic matter (OM) are buried but the factors governing their relative preservation and degradation are not well understood. In this study, we analysed the degree of preservation of marine isoprenoidal and soil-derived branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) upon long-term oxygen exposure in OM-rich turbidites from the Madeira Abyssal Plain by analyzing GDGT concentrations across oxidation fronts. Relative to the anoxic part of the turbidites ca. 7-20% of the soil-derived branched GDGTs were preserved in the oxidized part while only 0.2-3% of the marine isoprenoid GDGT crenarchaeol was preserved. Due to these different preservation factors the Branched Isoprenoid Tetraether (BIT) index, a ratio between crenarchaeol and the major branched GDGTs that is used as a tracer for soil-derived organic matter, substantially increases from 0.02 to 0.4. Split Flow Thin Cell (SPLITT) separation of turbidite sediments showed that the enhanced preservation of soil-derived carbon was a general phenomenon across the fine particle size ranges (<38 ?m). Calculations reveal that, despite their relatively similar chemical structures, degradation rates of crenarchaeol are 2-fold higher than those of soil-derived branched GDGTs, suggesting preferential soil OM preservation possibly due to matrix protection.