228 resultados para difference distri bution table
Resumo:
Oxygen isotope analyses of Tertiary and Cretaceous planktic foraminifera indicate that species have been stratified with respect to depth in the water column at least since Albian time. There is a relationship between morphology and depth habitat. Species with globigerine morphology have consistently occupied shallower depths than have species with globorotalid morphology. Biserially arranged species occupied both shallow and deep levels in the water column. On the average, it appears that ancient species with shallow habitats have been more susceptible to dissolution and have been preserved less well than species dwelling in deeper habitats. This relationship is similar to that observed for Recent planktic foraminifera. Comparison of carbon isotope ratios of adult and juvenile forms indicates that either the source of the carbon found in the shell or the carbon isotopic fractionations which occur during calcite secretion change during the development of individual foraminifera. The carbon isotopic ratios do not provide a reliable means for reconstructing the depth habitats of ancient species. Temperature-depth profiles for tropical Tertiary oceans have been reconstructed from the isotopic temperatures of planktic and benthic foraminifera. The vertical thermal structure of Oligocene oceans resembled that of modern oceans most closely. Those of Paleocene and Maastrichtian times differed most from that of modern oceans.
Resumo:
Eight- to ten-point depth profiles (from 1200 to 4800 m water depth) of oxygen and carbon isotopic values derived from benthic foraminifera, averaged over selected times in the past 160 ka, are presented. The data are from 10 sediment cores off eastern New Zealand, mainly North Chatham Rise. This lies under the Deep Western Boundary Current in the Southwest Pacific and is the main point of entry for several water masses into the Pacific Ocean. The benthic isotopic profiles are related to the structure of water masses at present and inferred for the past. These have retained a constant structure of Lower Circumpolar Deep Water-Upper Circumpolar Deep Water/North Pacific Deep Water-Antarctic Intermediate Water with no apparent changes in the depths of water mass boundaries between glacial and interglacial states. Sortable silt particle size data for four cores are also examined to show that the vigour of the inflow to the Pacific, while variable, appears to have remained fairly constant on average. Among the lowest Last Glacial Maximum values of benthic d13C in the world ocean (-1.03 per mil based on Cibicidoides wüllerstorfi) occurs here at ~2200 m. Comparable values occur in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, while those from the rest of the Pacific are distinctly higher, confirming that the Southern Ocean was the source for the unventilated/nutrient-enriched water seen here. Oxygen and carbon isotopic data are compatible with a glacial cold deep water mass of high salinity, but lower nutrient content (or better ventilated), below ~3500 m depth. This contrasts with the South Atlantic where unventilated/nutrient-enriched water extends all the way to the sea bed. Comparison with previous studies also suggests that the deeper reaches of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current below ~3500 m are not homogeneous all around the Southern Ocean, with the Kerguelen Plateau and/or the Macquarie-Balleny Ridges posing barriers to the eastward spread of the deepest low-d13C water out of the South Atlantic in glacials. These barriers, combined with inferred high density of bottom waters, restricted inter-basin exchange and allow three glacial domains dominated by bottom waters from Weddell Sea, Adelie Coast and Ross Sea to be defined. We suggest that the Ross Sea was the main source of the deep water entering the Pacific below ~3500 m.
Resumo:
Core-top samples from the eastern tropical Pacific (10°N to 20°S) were used to test whether the ratio between Globorotalia menardii cultrata and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei abundance (Rc/d) and the oxygen isotope composition (?18O) of planktonic foraminifera can be used as proxies for the latitudinal position of the Equatorial Front. Specifically, this study compares the ?18O values of eight species of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber sensu stricto (ss) and sensu lato (sl), Globigerinoides sacculifer, Globigerinoides triloba, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Globorotalia menardii menardii, Globorotalia menardii cultrata and Globorotalia tumida) with the seasonal hydrography of the region, and evaluates the application of each species or combination of species for paleoceanographic reconstructions. The results are consistent with sea surface temperature and water column stratification patterns. We found that in samples north of 1°N, the Rc/d values tend to be higher and d18O values of G. ruber, G. sacculifer, G. triloba, P. obliquiloculata, N. dutertrei, and G. menardii cultrata tend to be lower than those from samples located south of 1°N. We suggest that the combined use of Rc/d and the d18O difference between G. ruber and G. tumida or between P. obliquiloculata and G. tumida are the most suitable tools for reconstructing changes in the latitudinal position of the Equatorial Front and changes in the thermal stratification of the upper water column in the eastern tropical Pacific.
Resumo:
In order to understand the vertical transport of particulate matter, suspended and settling particles were collected along a meridional transect between 46°N and 35°S and an equatorial longitudinal transect between 135°E and 175°E in the Pacific. The low COrganic/N atomic ratios (<8.2) of suspended particulate organic matter (OM) and good correlation between particulate organic carbon (OC) and chlorophyll-a confirmed that the suspended particulate OM in the surface water was mainly produced by phytoplankton. Only 0.1-3.2% of primary production was transported to 1.3 km water depth in the boreal central Pacific. All data on settling particles (excluding deep trap data) showed strongly positive correlation between total mass and OM fluxes with high correlation factor of 0.93. Biogenic opal-producing plankton, mainly diatoms were responsible for most of the vertical transport of particulate OM in association with higher COrganic/CCarbonate ratios in the subarctic and equatorial hemipelagic regions in the Pacific. This vertical transport of settling particles potentially works as a sink of CO2. In the transition zone during the May 1993, large difference between PCO2 (<300 µatm) in the surface water and pCO2 (340 µatm) in the atmosphere was actually due to enhanced particulate OM flux. Since the deep water of the Pacific is enriched in CO2 and nutrients, upwelled seawater may tend to release CO2 to the atmosphere. However, higher production of particulate matter could reduce the partial pressure of CO2 in the surface water. Also terrestrial nutrients' inputs in the western equatorial Pacific have potential for the reduction of CO2 in the surface water.
Resumo:
The zinc concentration of siliceous sponge spicules was determined from spicules recovered from four sediment cores spanning the last 160 kyr, from the Campbell Plateau region southeast of New Zealand. Zinc/Si results showed little difference between Holocene and glacial aged spicules. An increase in Zn/Si was observed for core Y14, where Zn/Si peaked at about 0.6 ?mol/mol during marine isotope stages 5a-5b. To better understand the role carbon export has on sponge Zn/Si, we explored the strong relationship observed between surficial sediment particulate organic carbon (POC) and the Zn/Si of sponge silica and related this to sediment trap POC flux estimates. Conversion of the Zn/Si records to benthic POC fluxes suggests that there has been little change in the amount of POC reaching Campbell Plateau sediments over the past 30 kyr. These results suggest that surface productivity over the Campbell Plateau has remained relatively low over the past 160 kyr and suggests that glacial productivity was not significantly higher than the present day. Finally, this work reveals that living marine sponges appear to act as the biological equivalents of moored sediment traps, recording the flux of POC to the seafloor by archiving zinc associated with sinking POC in the growing silica skeleton.
Resumo:
Sr, Nd, and Os isotopic data are presented for sediments from diverse locations in the Bay of Bengal. These data allow the samples to be divided into three groups, related to their sedimentary contexts. The first group, mainly composed of sediments from the shelf off Bangladesh and the currently active fan, has Sr and Nd characteristics consistent with a dominantly Himalayan source. Their 187Os/188Os ratios (~1.2-1.5) show that the average detrital material delivered by the Ganga-Brahmaputra (G-B) river system is not unusually radiogenic. A large difference in 187Os/188Os ratio exists between these Bengal Fan sediments and Ganga bedloads (187Os/188Os ~2.5, Pierson-Wickmann et al. (2000, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00003-0)). This difference mainly reflects addition of a less radiogenic Brahmaputra component, though mineralogical sorting and loss of radiogenic Os during transport may also play some role. The second sample group contains sediments from elsewhere in the Bay, particularly those located on the continental slope. They display Os isotopic compositions (0.99-1.11) similar to that of present seawater and higher Os and Re concentrations. These characteristics suggest the presence of a large hydrogenous contribution, consistent with the lower sedimentation rate of these samples. Sr and Nd ratios indicate that a significant fraction of these sediments is derived from erosion of non-Himalayan sources, such as the Indo-Burman range. These observations could be explained by the deflection of sediments from the G-B river system by westward currents in the head of the Bay. The third group contains only one sample, but shows that in addition to a Himalayan source, sediment discharge from Sri Lanka may influence the detrital component in the distal part of the fan. The similarity between the isotopic compositions of the group I R/V Sonne samples and those of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 116 (France-Lanord et al., 1993; Reisberg et al., 1997, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00003-0) suggests that the material eroding in the Himalayas has been roughly constant since the Miocene. The high Os isotopic ratios of leachates of both Sonne group I and Miocene Leg 116 sediments imply that much of the leachable highly radiogenic Os component was conserved during transport through the estuary or interaction with seawater. In constrast, samples with lower, but still relatively high, sedimentation rates (Sonne groups II and III and Pliocene Leg 116) seem to have significantly adsorbed or exchanged Os and Re with seawater. This suggests that in some cases the Os isotopic ratios of leachates of detrital sediments can be used to constrain the ancient marine Os record, or conversely, to date unfossiliferous sediments.
Resumo:
A short sediment core from a local depression forming an intra basin on the Lomonosov Ridge, was retrieved during the Healy-Oden Trans-Arctic Expedition 2005 (HOTRAX). It contains a record of the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1-3 showing exceptionally high abundances of calcareous microfossils during parts of MIS 3. Based on radiocarbon dating, linear sedimentation rates of 7-9 cm/ka persist during the last deglaciation. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is partly characterized by a hiatus. Planktic foraminiferal abundance variations of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral and calcareous nannofossils reflect changes in Arctic Ocean summer sea ice coverage and probably inflow of subpolar North Atlantic water. Calibration of the radiocarbon ages, using modeled reservoir corrections from previous studies and the microfossil abundance record of the studied core, results in marine reservoir ages of 1400 years or more, at least during the last deglaciation. Paired benthic-planktic radiocarbon dated foraminiferal samples indicate a slow decrease in age difference between surface and bottom waters from the Lateglacial to the Holocene, suggesting circulation and ventilation changes.
Resumo:
The present study investigated the concentrations and patterns of PBDEs and hydroxylated (OH) PBDE analogues in two ringed seal populations: less contaminated Svalbard and more contaminated Baltic Sea. Mean concentration of hepatic sum-PBDE, which was dominated by BDE47, was six times higher in the ringed seals from the Baltic Sea compared to the seals from Svalbard. BDE47/sum-PBDE was higher in the seals from Svalbard compared to that for Baltic seals, while the trend was opposite for BDE153 and 154. The geographical difference in contaminant pattern of PBDEs in ringed seals could be explained by biotransformation via oxidative metabolism and/or by dietary differences. OH-PBDEs were detectable in the majority of plasma samples from both locations, and dominated by bioaccumulation of naturally occurring congeners. Low levels of 3-OH-BDE47 and 4'-OH-BDE49 in the Baltic ringed seals suggested minor oxidative biotransformation of BDE47. In the Baltic seals, BDE153/sum-PBDEs and BDE154/sum-PBDEs increased and BDE28/sum-PBDE decreased with increasing sum-POP concentration, which suggests BDE153 and 154 are more persistent than BDE28. Contrasting diets of the ringed seals in these two locations may influence the PBDE congener pattern due to selective long-range transport and direct effluent emissions to Svalbard and the Baltic, respectively.
Resumo:
Extensive dirty ice patches with up to 7 kg/m**2 sediment concentrations in layers of up to 10 cm thickness were encountered in 2005 and 2007 in numerous areas across the central Arctic. The Fe grain fingerprint determination of sources for these sampled dirty ice floes indicated both Russian and Canadian sources, with the latter dominating. The presence of benthic shells and sea weeds along with thick layers (2-10 cm) of sediment covering 5-10 m2 indicates an anchor ice entrainment origin as opposed to suspension freezing for some of these floes. The anchor ice origin might explain the dominance of Canadian sources where only narrow flaw leads occur that would not favor suspension freezing as an entrainment process. Expandable clays, commonly used as an indicator of a Kara Sea origin for dirty sea ice, are present in moderately high percentages (>20%) in many circum-Arctic source areas, including the Arctic coasts of North America. Some differences between the Russian and the North American coastal areas are found in clay mineral abundance, primarily the much higher abundance of chlorite in North America and the northern Barents Sea as opposed to the rest of the Russian Arctic. However, sea ice clay mineralogy matched many source areas, making it difficult to use as a provenance tool by itself. The bulk mineralogy (clay and non-clay) does not match specific sources possibly due to reworking of the sediment in dirty floes through summer melting or the failure to characterize all possible source areas.
Resumo:
We analyzed the oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of planktonic and benthic foraminifers picked from 13 late Eocene to late Oligocene samples from DSDP Site 540 (23°49.73'N, 84°22.25'W, 2926 m water depth) from the Gulf of Mexico. An enrichment occurs in 18O of about 0.5 to 0.8 per mil in both benthic foraminifers and surface-dwelling planktonic foraminifers between the latest Eocene and early Oligocene. This early Oligocene maximum is followed by lower 18O values. A 1.2 per mil d13C decrease in both benthic and planktonic foraminiferal data occurs from the late Eocene to the late Oligocene. There is a correspondence of the 13C signal to deep-sea records; however, the amplitude of this change is greater than previously seen in deep-sea cores, possibly as a result of proximity to terrestrial sources of carbon. The covarying isotopic changes in both benthic and planktonic foraminifers suggest global causes, such as ice volume increases and increased terrestrial carbon input to the ocean. However, during the latter part of the record (early-late Oligocene), the increases in the benthic 18O without accompanying increases observed with planktonic foraminifers suggest that changes in only one part of the system occurred; one potential explanation being a decrease in bottom-water temperatures without concomitant changes in the surface waters. The 18O differences between species of planktonic foraminifers and the difference between planktonic and benthic 18O data indicate that diagenesis problems are minimal. These preliminary results are encouraging given that these cores are partially lithified.
Resumo:
Twelve year datasets of weekly atmospheric concentrations of alpha- and gamma-HCH were compared between the two Arctic monitoring stations of Alert, Nunavut, Canada, and Zeppelin Mountain, Svalbard, Norway. Time-series analysis was conducted with the use of dynamic harmonic regression (DHR), which provided a very good model fit, to examine both the seasonal behaviour in these isomers and the longer-term, underlying trends. Strong spatial differences were not apparent between the two sites, although subtle differences in seasonal behaviour and composition were identified. For example, the composition of gamma-HCH to total HCH (alpha + gamma) was greater at Zeppelin compared to Alert, probably reflecting this site's proximity to major use regions of lindane. Pronounced seasonality in air concentrations for gamma-HCH was marked by a 'spring maximum event' (SME), confirming earlier studies. For alpha-HCH, the SME was much weaker and only evident at Alert, whereas at Zeppelin, seasonal fluctuations for alpha-HCH were marked by elevated concentrations in summer and lower concentrations during winter, with this pattern most apparent for the years after 2000. We attribute this difference in spatial and temporal patterns to the Arctic oscillation. A similar climatic pattern was not evident at either site in the gamma-HCH data. Seasonally adjusted, long-term trends revealed declining concentrations at both sites for alpha- and gamma-HCH over the entire time-series. Recent legislation affecting lindane use appear to account for this decline in gamma-HCH, with little evidence of a delay or 'lag' between the banning of lindane in Europe (a main source region) or Canada, and a decline in air concentrations observed at both Arctic sites.
Resumo:
Today the deep western boundary current (DWBC) east of New Zealand is the most important route for deep water entering the Pacific Ocean. Large-scale changes in deep water circulation patterns are thought to have been associated with the development of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) close to the main source of bottom water for the DWBC. Here we reconstruct the changing speed of the southwest Pacific DWBC during the middle Miocene from ~15.5-12.5 Ma, a period of significant global ice accumulation associated with EAIS growth. Sortable silt mean grain sizes from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1123 reveal variability in the speed of the Pacific inflow on the timescale of the 41 kyr orbital obliquity cycle. Similar orbital period flow changes have recently been demonstrated for the Pleistocene epoch. Collectively, these observations suggest that a strong coupling between changes in the speed of the deep Pacific inflow and high-latitude climate forcing may have been a persistent feature of the global thermohaline circulation system for at least the past 15 Myr. Furthermore, long-term changes in flow speed suggest an intensification of the DWBC under an inferred increase in Southern Component Water production. This occurred at the same time as decreasing Tethyan outflow and major EAIS growth between ~15.5 and 13.5 Ma. These results provide evidence that a major component of the deep thermohaline circulation was associated with the middle Miocene growth of the EAIS and support the view that this time interval represents an important step in the development of the Neogene icehouse climate.
Resumo:
15 samples obtained with Beyer's epibenthic closing net were studied quantitatively. The numbers of epi- and endobenthic animals were found to be correlated with the volume of sediment in the samples. Among the planktonic components, calanoid copepodes were strongly predominant. In the samples obtained on the Great Meteor Seamount, very much larger numbers of these animals were caught in the daytime than at night. Possible explanations for this difference are suggested.
Resumo:
Site 723 is located in a water depth of 808 m at the center of the oxygen minimum zone and the middle part of the main thermocline on the Oman Margin. Oxygen isotope curves of planktonic delta18OP and benthic delta18OB can be traced back continuously to Stage 23 with high resolution measurements. A tentative correlation to Stage 53 has been tried using oxygen isotope stratigraphy. The amplitudes of the fluctuations of the benthic delta18OB curve are small, compared with the planktonic delta18OP curve. The delays of benthic oxygen isotopes delta18OB related to the planktonic delta18OP appear in the transgressive stages. Carbon isotopes of benthic delta13CB and planktonic delta13CP generally show an inverse correlation with oxygen isotope values delta18OB and delta18OB and delta18OP, however, the changes of delta13C are more gradual than those of delta18O during transgressive stages in spite of the synchronized changes of delta13C with those of delta18O during regressive stages. The difference of oxygen isotope between benthic and planktonic foraminifers represents the degree of pushing up the thermocline by upwelling, and the difference of carbon isotope represents the relative amount of upwelling Sigma[CO2] to the biological uptake in the surface water. These isotopic differences can be used as indicators of upwelling and show strong upwelling in the interglacial and weak upwelling in the glacial stages. The organic carbon content is correlated with the isotopic upwelling indicators, and higher content is correlated with the isotopic upwelling indicators and higher content appears in the interglacial stages. The calculated rate of sedimentation based on oxygen isotope stratigraphy in glacial stages is significantly high, two to four times that of interglacial stages, and the absolute flux of fluvial sediments with variability of lithofacies increased in the glacial stage. The present glacial-interglacial cycle with the fluctuation of upwelling relating to the southwest monsoon can be traced back to Stage 8, 250 ka. From Stage 8 to 12, 250-450 ka, the upwelling indicator of oxygen isotope difference did not show such distinct cyclicity. For Stages 12-15, 450-600 ka, the upwelling can be estimated as strong as in interglacial stage of the present cycles, with slightly weak upwelling in the glacial stage. This upwelling and climate can be traced back to the late Pliocene. The strongest upwelling can be estimated in the Pliocene-Pleistocene time by the isotopic indicators and the high organic carbon content.