Calcareous nannofossil abundance and datums of ODP Holes 171B-1051A and 171B-1052A

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 171B, a thick sequence of lower to middle Eocene sediments was recovered from Sites 1051 and 1052 at Blake Nose in the North Atlantic Ocean. Calcareous nannofossils are moderately well preserved in the upper to middle Eocene sediments but are moderate to poorly preserved in the lower Eocene sediments. Calcareous nannofossils are diverse throughout the recovered sequence, which extends from nannofossil Zone CP8 to Subzone CP15a. The nannofossil biostratigraphy of these sites indicates the presence of a hiatus in Subzone CP12a in the middle Eocene, in which the major nannofossil assemblage changes dramatically from Toweius to reticulofenestrid; however, no major change in the nannoflora was observed across the Eocene/Paleocene boundary. Coccolith size evolution patterns were recognized. Coccolithus, Reticulofenestra, and Cribrocentrum specimens may suggest a trend of increasing size upward through the sedimentary sequence, but Dictyococcites does not show a similar simple trend. Most traditional zonal markers are present. The reworking of Discoaster sublodoensis and overgrowth of Tribrachiatus in the lower Eocene makes zonal subdivision of this part of the sequence difficult. For this reason, tentative nannofossil zonation is given for the lower Eocene.

Time series of zooplankton abundance at station L4 in the English Channel from 1988 to 2011

Ongoing zooplankton research at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory has established a time series of zooplankton species since 1988 at L4, a coastal station off Plymouth. Samples were collected by vertical net hauls (WP2 net, mesh 200 µm; UNESCO 1968) from the sea floor (approximately 50 m) to the surface and stored in 4% formalin. Much of the zooplankton analysis has been to the level of "major taxonomic groups" only, and a number of different analysts have participated over the years. The level of expertise has generally been consistent, but the user should be aware that levels of taxonomic discrimination may vary during the course of the dataset. The dominant calanoid copepods are generally well discriminated to species throughout. Calanus has not been routinely examined for species determination, the assumption being that the local population is entirely composed of Calanus helgolandicus. In certain years there has been a particular interest in Temora stylifera, Centropages cherchiae and other species reflected in the dataset. The lack of records in other previous years does not necessarily reflect species absence. We view it as essential for all users of L4 plankton data to establish and maintain contact with the nominated current data originators as well as fully consulting the metadata. While not impinging on free data access, this ensures that this large, species-rich but slightly complex species database is being used in the correct way, and any potential issues with the data are clarified. Furthermore, a proper dialogue with these local experts on the time series will enable where appropriate the most recent sampling timepoints to be used. The data can be downloaded from BODC or from doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.778092 as files for each year by searching for "L4 zooplankton". The most comprehensive dataset is the version downloadable directly from this page. The entire set of zooplankton samples is stored at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in buffered formalin, and may be available for further taxonomic analysis on request.

Strontium and oxygen isotope data for DSDP Hole 44-390A and ODP Leg 171 holes

Differences in regional responses to climate fluctuations are well documented on short time scales (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation), but with the exception of latitudinal temperature gradients, regional patterns are seldom considered in discussions of ancient greenhouse climates. Contrary to the expectation of global warming or global cooling implicit in most treatments of climate evolution over millions of years, this paper shows that the North Atlantic warmed by as much as 6°C (1.5% decrease in d18O values of planktic foraminifera) during the Maastrichtian global cooling interval. We suggest that warming was the result of the importation of heat from the South Atlantic. Decreasing North Atlantic d18O values are also associated with increasing gradients in planktic d13C values, suggesting increasing surface-water stratification and a correlated strengthening of the North Atlantic Polar Front. If correct, this conclusion predicts arctic cooling during the late Maastrichtian. Beyond implications for the Maastrichtian, these data demonstrate that climate does not behave as if there is a simple global thermostat, even on geologic time scales.

Supplemental Data - Bioremediation of polluted air from an industrial plant using rotating biofilter reactor-based technology

Two microbial isolates (HDB, Hydrogen-Degrading Bacteria) obtained from industrial wastewater were inoculated into the rotating biofilter reactor 'Biowheel 2.0' and tested for the ability to purify gaseous flows containing benzene and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) released at an industrial plant. Different classes of gaseous flow were tested, namely 'cold box', 'in shell', and 'mix', all of them associated with the industrial process of 'mold-casting'. A significant increase in Removal Efficiency (RE) was recorded for benzene and NMVOCs in the inoculated 'Biowheel 2.0' biofilter, compared to uninoculated control. For each type of gaseous flow, odor impact was evaluated in the inlet and outlet flows at the industrial plant, using the test panel method and electronic nose technology. A significant drop in the amount of Olfactometric Units (O.U.) m-3 occurred in the gaseous flows treated with the bacterial consortium. The reported data demonstrate the ability of the consortium to degrade hydrocarbons, revealing its potential for bioremediation of polluted air emissions occurring at industrial plants.

Calcium isotope fractionation in cultured, modern and fossil scleractinian coral skeleton

The present study investigates the influence of environmental (temperature, salinity) and biological (growth rate, inter-generic variations) parameters on calcium isotope fractionation (d44/40Ca) in scleractinian coral skeleton to better constrain this record. Previous studies focused on the d44/40Ca record in different marine organisms to reconstruct seawater composition or temperature, but only few studies investigated corals. This study presents measurements performed on modern corals from natural environments (from the Maldives for modern and from Tahiti for fossil corals) as well as from laboratory cultures (Centre Scientifique de Monaco). Measurements on Porites sp., Acropora sp., Montipora verrucosa and Stylophora pistillata allow constraining inter-generic variability. Our results show that the fractionation of d44/40Ca ranges from 0.6 to 0.1 per mil, independent of the genus or the environmental conditions. No significant relationship between the rate of calcification and d44/40Ca was found. The weak temperature dependence reported in earlier studies is most probably not the only parameter that is responsible for the fractionation. Indeed, sub-seasonal temperature variations reconstructed by d18O and Sr/Ca ratio using a multi-proxy approach, are not mirrored in the coral's d44/40Ca variations. The intergeneric variability and intrageneric variability among the studied samples are weak except for S. pistillata, which shows calcium isotopic values increasing with salinity. The variability between samples cultured at a salinity of 40 is higher than those cultured at a salinity of 36 for this species. The present study reveals a strong biological control of the skeletal calcium isotope composition by the polyp and a weak influence of environmental factors, specifically temperature and salinity (except for S. pistillata). Vital effects have to be investigated in situ to better constrain their influence on the calcium isotopic signal. If vital effects could be extracted from the isotopic signal, the calcium isotopic composition of coral skeletons could provide reliable information on the calcium composition and budget in ocean.

The evolutionary history of size variation of planktic foraminiferal assemblages in the Cenozoic

The iterative evolutionary radiation of planktic foraminifers is a well-documented macroevolutionary process. Here we document the accompanying size changes in entire planktic foraminiferal assemblages for the past 70 My and their relationship to paleoenvironmental changes. After the size decrease at the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/P) boundary, high latitude assemblages remained consistently small. Size evolution in low latitudes can be divided into three major phases: the first is characterized by dwarfs (65-42 Ma), the second shows moderate size fluctuations (42-14 Ma), and in the third phase, planktic foraminifers have grown to the unprecedented sizes observed today. Our analyses of size variability with paleoproxy records indicate that periods of size increase coincided with phases of global cooling (Eocene and Neogene). These periods were characterized by enhanced latitudinal and vertical temperature gradients in the oceans and high diversity (polytaxy). In the Paleocene and during the Oligocene, the observed (minor) size changes of the largely low-diversity (oligotaxic) assemblages seem to correlate with productivity changes. However, polytaxy per se was not responsible for larger test sizes.

Physical oceanography during METEOR cruise M10/1

During leg 1 of Meteor cruise 10 in March/April 1989 at 18°N, 30°W, the high spatial and temporal resolution of hydrographic CTD-stations indicated that the study site was in a hydrographically complex region in the transition zone between the Canary Current and the North Equatorial Current at the southern boundary of the subtropical gyre. Strong variability was found within the upper 120 m due to interleavings of warmer and saltier subtropical salinity maximum water with colder and less saline upper thermocline water. The interleavings caused unexpected nose-like temperature, salinity, nitrate and oxygen profiles yet not described in the literature. A second variability source was found in the Central Water area, because the study area was situated in the vicinity of the Central Water Boundary dividing North and South Atlantic Central Water. Hydrographic analysis of the study shows that interpretations of biological and chemical data can only be done in conjunction with high resolution CTD-profiling.

Neodymium isotope record of late Paleocene to eraly Eocene fish teeth

High-resolution, fish tooth Nd isotopic records for eight Deep Sea Drilling Project and Ocean Drilling Program sites were used to reconstruct the nature of late Paleocene-early Eocene deep-water circulation. The goal of this reconstruction was to test the hypothesis that a change in thermohaline circulation patterns caused the abrupt 4-5°C warming of deep and bottom waters at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary - the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) event. The combined set of records indicates a deep-water mass common to the North and South Atlantic, Southern and Indian oceans characterized by mean epsilon-Nd values of ~-8.7, and different water masses found in the central Pacific Ocean (epsilon-Nd ~-4.3) and Caribbean Sea (epsilon-Nd ~1.2). The geographic pattern of Nd isotopic values before and during the PETM suggests a Southern Ocean deep-water formation site for deep and bottom waters in the Atlantic and Indian ocean basins. The Nd data do not contain evidence for a change in the composition of deep waters prior to the onset of the PETM. This finding is consistent with the pattern of warming established by recently published stable isotope records, suggesting that deep- and bottom-water warming during the PETM was gradual and the consequence of surface-water warming in regions of downwelling.