Paleomagnetic and stable isotope measurements and distribution of benthic foraminifera in sediment core PS1388-3 from the Antarctic continental margin in the eastern Weddell Sea

A stable isotope record from the eastern Weddell Sea from 69°S is presented. For the first time, a 250,000-yr record from the Southern Ocean can be correlated in detail to the global isotope stratigraphy. Together with magnetostratigraphic, sedimentological and micropalaeontological data, the stratigraphic control of this record can be extended back to 910,000 yrs B.P. A time scale is constructed by linear interpolation between confirmed stratigraphic data points. The benthic d18O record (Epistominella exigua) reflects global continental ice volume changes during the Brunhes and late Matuyama chrons, whereas the planktonic isotopic record (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma) may be influenced by a meltwater lid caused by the nearby Antarctic ice shelf and icebergs. The worldwide climatic improvement during deglaciations is documented in the eastern Weddell Sea by an increase in production of siliceous plankton followed, with a time lag of approximately 10,000 yrs, by planktonic foraminifera production. Peak values in the difference between planktonic and benthic d13C records, which are 0.5 per mil higher during warm climatic periods than during times with expanded continental ice sheets, also suggest increased surface productivity during interglacials in the Southern Ocean.

Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic properties of ODP Leg 173 sites, west Iberia continental margin

We present detailed paleomagnetic and rock magnetic results of rock samples recovered during Leg 173. The Leg 173 cores display a multicomponent magnetization nature. Variations in magnetic properties correlate with changes in lithology that result from differences in the abundance and size of magnetic minerals. The combined investigation suggests that the magnetic properties of the "fresher" peridotite samples from Site 1070 are controlled mainly by titanomagnetite, with a strong Verwey transition in the vicinity of 110 K, and with field- and frequency-dependent susceptibility curves that resemble those of titanomagnetites. These results are in excellent agreement with thermomagnetic characteristics where titanomagnetites with Curie temperature ~580°C were identified from the "fresher" peridotites. In contrast to the magnetic properties observed from the "fresher" peridotites, the low-temperature curves for the "altered" peridotites did not show any Verwey transition. Thermomagnetic analysis using the high-temperature vibrating sample magnetometer also failed to show evidence for titanomagnetites. The remanent magnetization is carried by a thermally unstable mineral that breaks down at ~420°C, probably maghemite. The field- and frequency-dependent relationships are also directly opposite to those in the reversal zone, with no signs of titanomagnetite characteristics. Altogether, these rock magnetic data seem to be sensitive indicators of alteration and support the contention that maghemite is responsible for the magnetic signatures displayed in the altered peridotites of the upper section. The magnetic minerals of the basement rocks from Sites 1068, 1069, and 1070 are of variable particle size but fall within the pseudo-single-domain size range (0.2-14 µm). The average natural remanent magnetization (NRM) intensity of recovered serpenitinized peridotite is typically on the order of 20 mA/m for samples from Site 1068, but ~120 mA/m for samples from Site 1070. The much stronger magnetization intensity of Site 1070 is apparently in excellent agreement with the observed magnetic anomaly high. Nearly half of the NRM intensity remained after 400°C demagnetization, suggesting that the remanence can contribute significantly to the marine magnetic anomaly.

(Table 1) Paleomagnetic properties of specimens from DSDP Holes 69-504B and 70-504B

Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic measurements of basalt specimens from DSDP Hole 504B, associated with the Costa Rica Rift, have a mean natural remanence intensity (Jn) between 5 and 10 x 10**-3 gauss, consistent with the presence of a magnetized layer that is 0.5 to 1 km thick, which produces the observed magnetic anomalies. A mean Koenigsberger ratio (Qn) greater than 10 indicates that the remanence dominates the magnetic signal of the drilled section. The susceptibility (x) increases with depth, and the median demagnetizing field (MDF) decreases with increasing depth in Hole 504B, congruent with the downhole increase in the relative abundance of massive flow units. Hole 504B is composed of at least 12 units with distinct stable average inclinations (Is), which probably represent extrusion at times of different geomagnetic field directions and possibly also the effects of faulting. The thickness of basalt associated with these inclination units varies from less than 9 meters to possibly as much as 160 meters. Two relatively thick magnetic units (40 m and 45 m, separated by 100 m) have anomalously high Is values of -53° and -63°, in contrast with the near zero inclinations expected for the equatorial latitude of Site 504. For this reason and because the average inclination of all the magnetic units is skewed to a negative value, it might be that the entire section at Hole 504B was tilted by approximately 30°.

Rock magnetism of pelagic sediments from DSDP Leg 85 sites

A detailed rock magnetic investigation has been carried out on Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) pelagic sediments from the Central Equatorial Pacific. This comprises hysteresis and thermomagnetic measurements, Lowrie-Fuller test and, for the first time, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR). Nearly stochiometric magnetite in two grain size fractions, single domain (SD) and multi domain (MD), has been deduced to be the carrier of magnetic remanence. Comparatively strong paramagnetic contributions are carried by pyrite, being identified by X-ray analysis. The statistical analysis of paleomagnetic parameters (NRM, MDF, initial susceptibility, Königsberger ratio Q) from a large number (> 1000) of samples, supported by hysteresis measurements, indicates a latitude and sedimentation rate dependent ratio of SD/MD grains. Possible sources for the magnetic constituents are discussed in terms of bacterial, volcanic, meteoritic and authigenic origin.

Sedimentology and age determinations on core PS2813-1

Die Rekonstruktion des Einflusses von Strömungen und glazialmarinen Prozessen auf das Sedimentationsgeschehen am Kontinentalhang der Antarktischen Halbinsel im westlichen Weddellmeer basiert auf sedimentologischen und geophysikalischen Daten eines Kolbenlotkerns. Der Sedimentkern wurde während des Fahrtabschnitts ANT-XIV/3 mit dem FS "Polarstern" aus einer mächtigen Levee-Struktur eines Rinnen-Rückensystems gewonnen. Es wurden sedimentologische sowie sedimentphysikalische Untersuchungen an dem Kernmaterial durchgeführt. Die texturellen Änderungen im Kern und die Variationen der gemessenen Parameter ermöglichen eine lithofazielle Gliederung und stratigraphische Einstufung der Sedimentabfolge. Die untersuchten Sedimente umfassen den Zeitraum der vier letzten Klimazyklen bis heute und repräsentieren die Ablagerungsbedingungen von mehr als 340 000 Jahren. Vier Faziestypen wurden unterschieden, die sowohl glaziale als auch interglaziale Ablagerungsräume charakterisieren. (1) Die überwiegend groblaminierten Sedimentabfolgen wurden der Laminitfazies zugeordnet. Unter glazialen Umweltbedingungen kam es infolge schwacher Bodenströmungen zur Ablagerung feinkörniger, laminierter, strömungsbetonter Sedimente. (2) Strukturlose, sehr homogene Sedimentabfolgen des Kems beschreiben einen weiteren, den Kaltzeiten zugeordneten, Faziestyp, der durch geringe Variationen in den Sedimenteigenschaften charakterisiert ist. (3) Kernabschnitte, die weitgehend strukturlos sind bzw. leichte Bioturbationen und relativ viel eistransportiertes Material aufweisen, wurden als IRD-Fazies bezeichnet. Sie repräsentiert den Übergang vom Glazial zum Interglazial, in dem sich das Schelfeis und die Meereisbeckung zurückzogen. In den Sedimenten kam es infolge der gesteigerten Kalbungsrate zur Anreicherung der Eisfracht. (4) Die relativ biogenreichen, hellen Ablagerungen wurden der interglazialzeitlichen Karbonatfazies zugeteilt. Der signifikant erhöhte Anteil planktischer Foraminiferen weist auf eine gesteigerte Bioproduktivität im Oberflächenwasser hin, die aus verstärkten jahreszeitlichen Schwankungen der Meereisbedeckung resultiert. Die betrachteten Sedimentationsprozesse, wie biologische Produktivität, Umlagerungsprozesse durch Meeresströmungen, gravitativer Sedimenttransport und Eistransport, sind das Abbild komplexer Wechselwirkungen aus Meeresspiegelschwankungen, Änderungen ozeanographischer Bedingungen und der Vereisungsdynamik. Das Sedimentationsgeschehen im Untersuchungsgebiet wurde folglich durch die Variationen der vorherrschenden Umweltbedingungen bestimmt. Im Glazial kam es unter einer geschlossenen Meereisbedeckung zur Ablagerung feinkörniger, geschichteter Sedimente. Vorwiegend Turbiditströmungen kontrollierten das Sedimentationsgeschehen innerhalb des betrachteten Rinnen-Rückensystems. Unter dem Einfluß der Coriolis-Kraft und wahrscheinlich einer Konturströmung wurden die suspendierten, feinkörnigen Partikel aus dem zentralen Bereich der Rinne verdriftet und über dem nördlichen Uferwall abgelagert. Höherenergetische gravitative Prozesse beeinflußten das Sedimentationsgeschehen episodisch und sind durch gut sortierte Ablagerungen mit erhöhten Gehalten im Mittel- bis Grobsiltbereich dokumentiert. Höhere Sedimentationsraten in den Glazialen trugen verstärkt zur Bildung des Uferwalls bei. Die Ablagerungen der ebenfalls glazialzeitlichen homogenen Fazies belegen unterschiedliche Ablagerungsbedingungen und eine Verschiebung der dominierenden Prozesse. Während des Übergangs vom Glazial zum Interglazial nahm die Bodenwasserbildungsrate durch das Aufschwimmen des Schelfeises zu, wodurch die Strömungsintensität gesteigert wurde. Eine verstärkte Eisbergaktivität wird durch die Anreichung des IRD-Materials dokumentiert. Während interglazialer Zeiten ermöglichten offen-marine Bedingungen im Südsommer eine leicht erhöhte biologische Produktivität, so daß der Ablagerungsraum durch die Sedimentation biogener Komponenten verstärkt beeinflußt wurde.

Sedimentological and paleomagnetic investigations on two gravity cores and ODP sites 113-690 and 693 off Kapp Norvegia, Antarctic continental margin

Oligocene to Quaternary sediments were recovered from the Antarctic continental margin in the eastern Weddell Sea during ODP Leg 113 and Polarstern expedition ANT-VI. Clay mineral composition and grain size distribution patterns are useful for distinguishing sediments that have been transported by ocean currents from those that were ice-rafted. This, in turn, has assisted in providing insights about the changing late Paleogene to Neogene sedimentary environment as the cryosphere developed in Antarctica. During the middle Oligocene, increasing glacial conditions on the continent are indicated by the presence of glauconite sands, that are interpreted to have formed on the shelf and then transported down the continental slope by advancing glaciers or as a result of sea-level lowering. The dominance of illite and a relatively high content of chlorite suggest predominantly physical weathering conditions on the continent. The high content of biogenic opal from the late Miocene to the late Pliocene resulted from increased upwelling processes at the continental margin due to increased wind strength related to global cooling. Partial melting of the ice-sheet occurred during an early Pliocene climate optimum as is shown by an increasing supply of predominantly current-derived sediment with a low mean grain size and peak values of smectite. Primary productivity decreased at ~ 3 Ma due to the development of a permanent sea-ice cover close to the continent. Late Pleistocene sediments are characterized by planktonic foraminifers and biogenic opal, concentrated in distinct horizons reflecting climatic cycles. Isotopic analysis of AT. pachyderma produced a stratigraphy which resulted in a calculated sedimentation rate of 1 cm/k.y. during the Pleistocene. Primary productivity was highest during the last three interglacial maxima and decreased during glacial episodes as a result of increasing sea-ice coverage.

Sedimentologic and magnetic data of sediment cores on the western slope of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The relative paleointensity (RPI) method assumes that the intensity of post depositional remanent magnetization (PDRM) depends exclusively on the magnetic field strength and the concentration of the magnetic carriers. Sedimentary remanence is regarded as an equilibrium state between aligning geomagnetic and randomizing interparticle forces. Just how strong these mechanical and electrostatic forces are, depends on many petrophysical factors related to mineralogy, particle size and shape of the matrix constituents. We therefore test the hypothesis that variations in sediment lithology modulate RPI records. For 90 selected Late Quaternary sediment samples from the subtropical and subantarctic South Atlantic Ocean a combined paleomagnetic and sedimentological dataset was established. Misleading alterations of the magnetic mineral fraction were detected by a routine Fe/kappa test (Funk, J., von Dobeneck, T., Reitz, A., 2004. Integrated rock magnetic and geochemical quantification of redoxomorphic iron mineral diagenesis in Late Quaternary sediments from the Equatorial Atlantic. In: Wefer, G., Mulitza, S., Ratmeyer, V. (Eds.), The South Atlantic in the Late Quaternary: reconstruction of material budgets and current systems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York/Tokyo, pp. 239-262). Samples with any indication of suboxic magnetite dissolution were excluded from the dataset. The parameters under study include carbonate, opal and terrigenous content, grain size distribution and clay mineral composition. Their bi- and multivariate correlations with the RPI signal were statistically investigated using standard techniques and criteria. While several of the parameters did not yield significant results, clay grain size and chlorite correlate weakly and opal, illite and kaolinite correlate moderately to the NRM/ARM signal used here as a RPI measure. The most influential single sedimentological factor is the kaolinite/illite ratio with a Pearson's coefficient of 0.51 and 99.9% significance. A three-member regression model suggests that matrix effects can make up over 50% of the observed RPI dynamics.

Rock magnetic properties of ODP Leg 134 sites

During Leg 134, the influence of ridge collision and subduction on the structural evolution of island arcs was investigated by drilling at a series of sites in the collision zone between the d'Entrecasteaux Zone (DEZ) and the central New Hebrides Island Arc. The DEZ is an arcuate Eocene-Oligocene submarine volcanic chain that extends from the northern New Caledonia Ridge to the New Hebrides Trench. High magnetic susceptibilities and intensities of magnetic remanence were measured in volcanic silts, sands, siltstones, and sandstones from collision zone sites. This chapter presents the preliminary results of studies of magnetic mineralogy, magnetic properties, and magnetic fabric of sediments and rocks from Sites 827 through 830 in the collision zone. The dominant carrier of remanence in the highly magnetic sediments and sedimentary rocks in the DEZ is low-titanium titanomagnetite of variable particle size. Changes in rock magnetic properties reflect variations in the abundance and size of titanomagnetite particles, which result from differences in volcanogenic contribution and the presence or absence of graded beds. Although the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility results are difficult to interpret in terms of regional stresses because the cores were azimuthally unoriented, the shapes of the susceptibility ellipsoids provide information about deformation style. The magnetic fabric of most samples is oblate, dominated by foliation, as is the structural fabric. The variability of degree of anisotropy (P) and a factor that measures the shape of the ellipsoid (q) reflect the patchy nature of deformation, at a micrometer scale, that is elucidated by scanning electron microscope analysis. The nature of this patchiness implies that deformation in the shear zones is accomplished primarily by motion along bedding planes, whereas the material within the beds themselves remains relatively undeformed.

Radiocarbon ages, grain sizes, paleomagentic properties and XRF data of Lake Nam Co sediments, Tibetan Plateau

In September 2008 several cores (68 cm-115 cm length) (water depth: 93 m) were retrieved from Lake Nam Co (southern-central Tibetan Plateau; 4718 m a.s.l.). This study focuses on the interpretation of high-resolution (partly 0.2 cm) data from three gravity cores and the upper part of a 10.4 m long piston core, i.e., the past 4000 cal BP in terms of lake level changes, hydrological variations in the catchment area and consequently variations in monsoon strength. A wide spectrum of sedimentological, geochemical and mineralogical investigations was carried out. Results are presented for XRF core-scans, grain size distribution, XRD-measurements and SEM-image analyses. These data are complemented by an age-depth model using 210Pb and 137Cs analyses as well as eleven AMS-14C-ages. This model is supported by excellent agreement between secular variations determined on one of the gravity cores to geomagnetic field models. This is a significant improvement of the chronology as most catchments of lacustrine systems on the Tibetan Plateau contain carbonates resulting in an unknown reservoir effect for radiocarbon dates. The good correlation of our record to the geomagnetic field models confirms our age-depth model and indicates only insignificant changes in the reservoir effect throughout the last 4 ka. High (summer-) monsoonal activity, i.e. moist environmental conditions, was detected in our record between approximately 4000 and 1950 cal BP as well as between 1480 and 1200 cal BP. Accordingly, lower monsoon activity prevails in periods between the two intervals and thereafter. This pattern shows a good correlation to the variability of the Indian Ocean Summer Monsoon (IOSM) as recorded in a peat bog ~1000 km in NE direction from Lake Nam Co. This is the first time that such a supra regional homogenous monsoon activity is shown on the Tibetan Plateau and beyond. Finally our data show a significant lake level rise after the Little Ice Age (LIA) in Lake Nam Co which is suggested to be linked to glacier melting in consequence of rising temperatures occurring on the whole Tibetan Plateau during this time.

PSV for the past 16 ka cal BP from Lake Tangra Yumco, Tibetan Plateau

Paleomagnetic data including inclination, declination, MAD values and MDF are given on an event correct composite depth (ECCD) and age for the composite lacustrine record TAN12-2 from Lake Tangra Yumco, Tibetan Plateau.

Sedimentary record of the western Amundsen Sea Embayment after the last glacial maximum

Reliable dating of glaciomarine sediments deposited on the Antarctic shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is very challenging because of the general absence of calcareous (micro-) fossils and the recycling of fossil organic matter. As a consequence, radiocarbon (14C) ages of the acid-insoluble organic fraction (AIO) of the sediments bear uncertainties that are very difficult to quantify. In this paper we present the results of three different chronostratigraphic methods to date a sedimentary unit consisting of diatomaceous ooze and diatomaceous mud that was deposited following the last deglaciation at five core sites on the inner shelf in the western Amundsen Sea (West Antarctica). In three cores conventional 14C dating of the AIO in bulk sediment samples yielded age reversals down-core, but at all sites the AIO 14C ages obtained from diatomaceous ooze within the diatom-rich unit yielded similar uncorrected 14C ages ranging from 13,517±56 to 11,543±47 years before present (yr BP). Correction of these ages by subtracting the core-top ages, which are assumed to reflect present-day deposition (as indicated by 21044 Pb dating of the sediment surface at one core site), yielded ages between ca. 10,500 and 8,400 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP). Correction of the AIO ages of the diatomaceous ooze by only subtracting the marine reservoir effect (MRE) of 1,300 years indicated deposition of the diatom-rich sediments between 14,100 and 11,900 cal yr BP. Most of these ages are consistent with age constraints between 13.0 and 8.0 ka BP for the diatom-rich unit, which we obtained by correlating the relative palaeomagnetic intensity (RPI) records of three of the sediment cores with global and regional reference curves for palaeomagnetic intensity. As a third dating technique we applied conventional 53 radiocarbon dating of the AIO included in acid-cleaned diatom hard parts that were extracted from the diatomaceous ooze. This method yielded uncorrected 14C ages of only 5,111±38 and 5,106±38 yr BP, respectively. We reject these young ages, because they are likely to be overprinted by the adsorption of modern atmospheric carbon dioxide onto the surfaces of the extracted diatom hard parts prior to sample graphitisation and combustion for 14C dating. The deposition of the diatom-rich unit in the western Amundsen Sea suggests deglaciation of the inner shelf before ca. 13 ka BP. The deposition of diatomaceous oozes on other parts of the Antarctic shelf around the same time, however, seems to be coincidental rather than directly related.