Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features related to the sampling date, time and location. Includes calculated averages of mesaurements made concurrently at the sampling location and depth, and calculated averages from climatologies (AMODIS, VGPM) and satellite products.

Late Miocene to Quaternary planktonic foraminifera of ODP SIte 114-704

The planktonic foraminiferal zonation of Jenkins and Srinivasan (1986), which was defined for the southwestern sector of the temperate South Pacific Ocean, was successfully extended to the temperate sequences at Site 704. The zonation is based on first and last appearances of globorotalids, principally Globoconella species, which are indigenous to temperate surface-water masses. Most of the first and last appearances at ODP Site 704 are diachronous with those in the warmer temperate to subtropical South Atlantic, North Atlantic, and South Pacific oceans. The upper Miocene, upper Pliocene, and Quaternary sequences are punctuated by frequent incursions of subantarctic and polar assemblages of planktonic foraminifers. I assume that the appearance of an assemblage dominated by sinistral Neogloboquadrina pachyderma means that the Polar Front has migrated northward, but I do not know its position north or south of the site based on this preliminary work. The upper Miocene sequence contains five incursions between 6.5 and 5 Ma and the upper Pliocene and Quaternary sequence contains 16 events since 2.47 Ma. These are minimum estimates because the number of observed events will probably increase with higher sample density and use of quantitative methods to reveal more subtle events.

Planktonic foraminiferal abundances and stable isotope ratios in middle Miocene sediments of the North Atlantic and the southwestern Pacific

A three-fold expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet at 13.60, 12.82, and 11.60 Ma has been inferred from delta18O maxima analyzed in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal tests, although accompanying changes in sea surface temperature have not been detailed. We present estimated changes in middle Miocene surface-water temperatures based on analysis of delta18O in planktonic foraminifera collected at mid-latitude Deep Sea Drilling Project sites in the North Atlantic and South Pacific oceans. We also identify periods of ice-sheet growth based on comparisons of benthic and planktonic foraminiferal delta18O values. Our results indicate: (1) a distinct cooling of the sea surface from 13.6 to 13.5 Ma immediately following a peak in ice volume at 13.6 Ma, (2) a cooling of the sea surface during a period of increasing ice volume from 13.2 to 13.0 Ma, and (3) a development of the Antarctic ice sheet during a period of cooling of the sea surface centered at 11.6 Ma.

Navigation and meteorological data during campaign TARA_20090926Z of the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present dataset contains navigation and meteorological data measured during one campaign of the Tara Oceans Expedition. Latitude and Longitude were obtained from TSG data.

Navigation and meteorological data during campaign TARA_20091019Z of the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present dataset contains navigation and meteorological data measured during one campaign of the Tara Oceans Expedition. Latitude and Longitude were obtained from TSG data.

Navigation and meteorological data during campaign TARA_20110826Z of the Tara Oceans expedition 2009-2013

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present dataset contains navigation and meteorological data measured during one campaign of the Tara Oceans Expedition. Latitude and Longitude were obtained from TSG data.