Calcium carbonate, total and organic carbon and accumulation rate characteristics at DSDP Leg 78A Holes

Bulk sediment accumulation rates and carbonate and carbonate-free accumulation rates corrected for tectonic tilting have been calculated for Leg 78A sediments. These rates are uniformly low, ranging from 0.1 to 6.8 g/(cm**2 x 10**3 yr.), reflecting the pelagic-hemipelagic nature of all the sediments drilled in the northern Lesser Antilles forearc. Rates calculated for Sites 541 and 542 [0.6-6.8 g/(cm**2 x 10**3 yr.)], located on the lower slope of the accretionary prism, are significantly greater than the Neogene rates calculated for oceanic reference Site 543 [0.1-2.4 g/(cm**2 x 10**3)]. This difference could be the result of (1) tectonic thickening of accretionary prism sediments due to folding, small-scale faulting, and layer-parallel shortening; (2) deposition in shallower water farther above the CCD (carbonate compensation depth) resulting in preservation of a greater percentage of calcareous microfossils; or (3) a greater percentage of foraminiferal sediment gravity flows. Terrigenous turbidites are not documented in the Leg 78A area because of (1) great distance from South American sources; (2) damming effects of east-west trending tectonic elements; and (3) location on the Tiburon Rise (Site 543). This lack of terrigenous material, characteristic of intraoceanic convergent margins, suggests that published sedimentation models for active continental convergent margins with abundant terrigenous influxes are not applicable to intraoceanic convergent margin settings.

Eolian and silica deposition of ODP sites in the central North Pacific

Sediments recovered at Ocean Drilling Program Sites 885/886 (central North Pacific Ocean at 44°41'N, 168°14'W and 44°41'N, 168°16'W, respectively) record eolian deposition during the Cenozoic and late Mesozoic. We constructed a record of eolian MAR, which is a proxy for aridity/humidity of the climate in the continental source area. Eolian fluxes are low during the Late Cretaceous through Eocene, reflecting humid conditions in the source area. During the Oligocene, more arid climates prevailed at the source area, as indicated by increased eolian accumulation. The "Diatom Dump", an interval of enhanced silica deposition mainly apparent in the northwest Pacific, is reflected in the record at Sites 885/886 by two- to fivefold higher opal fluxes compared with younger and older sediments. Increased eolian deposition starting at 3.5 Ma and culminating at 2-2.6 Ma are coincident with the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Sites 885/886 lie 10° north of sites examined previously for the history of eolian deposition in the central North Pacific and therefore allow enhanced understanding of the latitudinal variation of the wind system.

Calcium carbonate global LGM Burial rate data

Global databases of calcium carbonate concentrations and mass accumulation rates in Holocene and last glacial maximum sediments were used to estimate the deep-sea sedimentary calcium carbonate burial rate during these two time intervals. Sparse calcite mass accumulation rate data were extrapolated across regions of varying calcium carbonate concentration using a gridded map of calcium carbonate concentrations and the assumption that accumulation of noncarbonate material is uncorrelated with calcite concentration within some geographical region. Mean noncarbonate accumulation rates were estimated within each of nine regions, determined by the distribution and nature of the accumulation rate data. For core-top sediments the regions of reasonable data coverage encompass 67% of the high-calcite (>75%) sediments globally, and within these regions we estimate an accumulation rate of 55.9 ± 3.6 x 10**11 mol/yr. The same regions cover 48% of glacial high-CaCO3 sediments (the smaller fraction is due to a shift of calcite deposition to the poorly sampled South Pacific) and total 44.1 ± 6.0 x 10**11 mol/yr. Projecting both estimates to 100 % coverage yields accumulation estimates of 8.3 x 10**12 mol/yr today and 9.2 x 10**12 mol/yr during glacial time. This is little better than a guess given the incomplete data coverage, but it suggests that glacial deep sea calcite burial rate was probably not considerably faster than today in spite of a presumed decrease in shallow water burial during glacial time.

Beryllium concentrations and deposition rates in ODP holes from the north Atlantic

Increases in the production rate of cosmogenic radionuclides associated with geomagnetic excursions have been used as global tie-points for correlation between records of past climate from marine and terrestrial archives. We have investigated the relative timing of variations in 10Be production rate and the corresponding palaeomagnetic signal during one of the largest Pleistocene excursions, the Iceland Basin (IB) event (ca. 190 kyr), as recorded in two marine sediment cores (ODP Sites 1063 and 983) with high sedimentation rates. Variations in 10Be production rate during the excursion were estimated by use of 230Thxs normalized 10Be deposition rates and authigenic 10Be/9Be. Resulting 10Be production rates are compared with high-resolution records of geomagnetic field behaviour acquired from the same discrete samples. We find no evidence for a significant lock-in depth of the palaeomagnetic signal in these high sedimentation-rate cores. Apparent lock-in depths in other cores may sometimes be the result of lower sample resolution. Our results also indicate that the period of increased 10Be production during the IB excursion lasted longer and, most likely, started earlier than the corresponding palaeomagnetic anomaly, in accordance with previous observations that polarity transitions occur after periods of reduced geomagnetic field intensity prior to the transition. The lack of evidence in this study for a significant palaeomagnetic lock-in depth suggests that there is no systematic offset between the 10Be signal and palaeomagnetic anomalies associated with excursions and reversals, with significance for the global correlation of climate records from different archives.

Biostratigraphy and average linear sedimentation rate and accumulation rate of ODP Site 159-959 (Table 1)

Reconstructing the long-term evolution of organic sedimentation in the eastern Equatorial Atlantic (ODP Leg 159) provides information about the history of the climate/ocean system, sediment accumulation, and deposition of hydrocarbon-prone rocks. The recovery of a continuous, 1200 m long sequence at ODP Site 959 covering sediments from Albian (?) to the present day (about 120 Ma) makes this position a key location to study these aspects in a tropical oceanic setting. New high resolution carbon and pyrolysis records identify three main periods of enhanced organic carbon accumulation in the eastern tropical Atlantic, i.e. the late Cretaceous, the Eocene-Oligocene, and the Pliocene-Pleistocene. Formation of Upper Cretaceous black shales off West Africa was closely related to the tectonosedimentary evolution of the semi-isolated Deep Ivorian Basin north of the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana Transform Margin. Their deposition was confined to certain intervals of the last two Cretaceous anoxic events, the early Turonian OAE2 and the Coniacian-Santonian OAE3. Organic geochemical characteristics of laminated Coniacian-Santonian shales reveal peak organic carbon concentrations of up to 17% and kerogen type I/II organic matter, which qualify them as excellent hydrocarbon source rocks, similar to those reported from other marginal and deep sea basins. A middle to late Eocene high productivity period occurred off equatorial West Africa. Porcellanites deposited during that interval show enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) accumulation and a good hydrocarbon potential associated with oil-prone kerogen. Deposition of these TOC-rich beds was likely related to a reversal in the deep-water circulation in the adjacent Sierra Leone Basin. Accordingly, outflow of old deep waters of Southern Ocean origin from the Sierra Leone Basin into the northern Gulf of Guinea favored upwelling of nutrient-enriched waters and simultaneously enhanced the preservation potential of sedimentary organic matter along the West African continental margin. A pronounced cyclicity in the carbon record of Oligocene-lower Miocene diatomite-chalk interbeds indicates orbital forcing of paleoceanographic conditions in the eastern Equatorial Atlantic since the Oligocene-Miocene transition. A similar control may date back to the early Oligocene but has to be confirmed by further studies. Latest Miocene-early Pliocene organic carbon deposition was closely linked to the evolution of the African trade winds, continental upwelling in the eastern Equatorial Atlantic, ocean chemistry and eustatic sea level fluctuations. Reduction in carbonate carbon preservation associated with enhanced carbon dissolution is recorded in the uppermost Miocene (5.82-5.2 Ma) section and suggests that the latest Miocene carbon record of Site 959 documents the influence of corrosive deep waters which formed in response to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Furthermore, sea level-related displacement of higher productive areas towards the West African shelf edge is indicated at 5.65, 5.6, 5.55, 5.2, 4.8 Ma. In view of humid conditions in tropical Africa and a strong West African monsoonal system around the Miocene-Pliocene transition, the onset of pronounced TOC cycles at about 5.6 Ma marks the first establishment of upwelling cycles in the northern Gulf of Guinea. An amplification in organic carbon deposition at 3.3 Ma and 2.45 Ma links organic sedimentation in the tropical eastern Equatorial Atlantic to the main steps of northern hemisphere glaciation and testifies to the late Pliocene transition from humid to arid conditions in central and western African climate. Aridification of central Africa around 2.8 Ma is not clearly recorded at Site 959. However, decreased and highly fluctuating carbonate carbon concentrations are observed from 2.85 Ma on that may relate to enhanced terrigenous (eolian) dilution from Africa.