Characterization of late Campanian and Maastrichtian planktonic foraminiferal depth habitats and vital activities based on stable isotopes

Depth habitats of 56 late Cretaceous planktonic foraminiferal species from cool and warm climate modes were determined based on stable isotope analyses of deep-sea samples from the equatorial Pacific DSDP Sites 577A and 463, and South Atlantic DSDP Site 525A. The following conclusions can be reached: Planoglobulina multicamerata (De Klasz) and Heterohelix rajagopalani (Govindan) occupied the deepest plankton habitats, followed by Abathomphalus mayaroensis (Bolli), Globotruncanella havanensis (Voorwijk), Gublerina cuvillieri Kikoine, and Laeviheterohelix glabrans (Cushman) also at subthermocline depth. Most keeled globotruncanids, and possibly Globigerinelliodes and Racemiguembelina species, lived at or within the thermocline layer. Heterohelix globulosa (Ehrenberg) and Rugoglobigerina, Pseudotextularia and Planoglobulina occupied the subsurface depth of the mixed layer, and Pseudoguembelina species inhabited the surface mixed layer. However, depth ranking of some species varied depending on warm or cool climate modes, and late Campanian or Maastrichtian age. For example, most keeled globotruncanids occupied similar shallow subsurface habitats as Rugoglobigerina during the warm late Campanian, but occupied the deeper thermocline layer during cool climatic intervals. Two distinct types of "vital effect" mechanisms reflecting photosymbiosis and respiration effects can be recognized by the exceptional delta13C signals of some species. (1) Photosymbiosis is implied by the repetitive pattern of relatively enriched delta13C values of Racemiguembelina (strongest), Planoglobulina, Rosita and Rugoglobigerina species, Pseudoguembelina excolata (weakest). (2) Enriched respiration 12C products are recognized in A. mayaroensis, Gublerina acuta De Klasz, and Heterohelix planata (Cushman). Isotopic trends between samples suggest that photosymbiotic activities varied between localities or during different climate modes, and may have ceased under certain environmental conditions. The appearance of most photosymbiotic species in the late Maastrichtian suggests oligotrophic conditions associated with increased water-mass stratification.

XRF scanning, pollen and spores of ODP Site 108-659

Pliocene vegetation dynamics and climate variability in West Africa have been investigated through pollen and XRF-scanning records obtained from sediment cores of ODP Site 659 (18°N, 21°W). The comparison between total pollen accumulation rates and Ti/Ca ratios, which is strongly correlated with the dust input at the site, showed elevated aeolian transport of pollen during dusty periods. Comparison of the pollen records of ODP Site 659 and the nearby Site 658 resulted in a robust reconstruction of West African vegetation change since the Late Pliocene. Between 3.6 and 3.0 Ma the savannah in West Africa differed in composition from its modern counterpart and was richer in Asteraceae, in particular of the Tribus Cichorieae. Between 3.24 and 3.20 Ma a stable wet period is inferred from the Fe/K ratios, which could stand for a narrower and better specified mid-Pliocene (mid-Piacenzian) warm time slice. The northward extension of woodland and savannah, albeit fluctuating, was generally greater in the Pliocene. NE trade wind vigour increased intermittently around 2.7 and 2.6 Ma, and more or less permanently since 2.5 Ma, as inferred from increased pollen concentrations of trade wind indicators (Ephedra, Artemisia, Pinus). Our findings link the NE trade wind development with the intensification of the Northern Hemisphere glaciations (iNHG). Prior to the iNHG, little or no systematic relation could be found between sea surface temperatures of the North Atlantic with aridity and dust in West Africa.

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios and paleotemperature reconstructions from Inoceramus in Cretaceous sediments of DSDP Sites

Inoceramus is an epibenthic bivalve which lived in a wide variety of paleoenvironments encompassing a broad range of paleodepths. A survey of all Cretaceous sediments from Deep Sea Drilling Project legs 1-69 and 75 revealed over 500 Inoceramus specimens at twenty sites. Of these, 47 well-preserved Late Cretaceous specimens from the South Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans were analyzed for oxygen and carbon isotopes. The specimens exhibit small internal isotopic variability and oxygen isotopic paleotemperatures that are consistent with a deep-sea habitat. Paleotemperatures ranging from 5 to 16°C show that Late Cretaceous oceans were significantly warmer than the present oceans. The data suggest that deep water was formed both by cooling at high latitudes and by evaporation in the subtropics.

Stratigraphy of the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary in ODP Hole 122-762C

An integrated framework of magnetostratigraphy, calcareous microfossil bio-events, cyclostratigraphy and d13C stratigraphy is established for the upper Campanian-Maastrichtian of ODP Hole 762C (Exmouth Plateau, Northwestern Australian margin). Bulk-carbonate d13C events and nannofossil bio-events have been recorded and plotted against magnetostratigraphy, and provided absolute ages using the results of the cyclostratigraphic study and the recent astronomical calibration of the Maastrichtian. Thirteen carbon-isotope events and 40 nannofossil bio-events are recognized and calibrated with cyclostratigraphy, as well as 14 previously published foraminifer events, thus constituting a solid basis for large-scale correlations. Results show that this site is characterized by a nearly continuous sedimentation from the upper Campanian to the K-Pg boundary, except for a 500 kyr gap in magnetochron C31n. Correlation of the age-calibrated d13C profile of ODP Hole 762C to the d13C profile of the Tercis les Bains section, Global Stratotype Section and Point of the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary (CMB), allowed a precise recognition and dating of this stage boundary at 72.15 ± 0.05 Ma. This accounts for a total duration of 6.15 ± 0.05 Ma for the Maastrichtian stage. Correlation of the boundary level with northwest Germany shows that the CMB as defined at the GSSP is ~800 kyr younger than the CMB as defined by Belemnite zonation in the Boreal realm. ODP Hole 762C is the first section to bear at the same time an excellent recovery of sediments throughout the upper Campanian-Maastrichtian, a precise and well-defined magnetostratigraphy, a high-resolution record of carbon isotope events and calcareous plankton biostratigraphy, and a cyclostratigraphic study tied to the La2010a astronomical solution. This section is thus proposed as an excellent reference for the upper Campanian-Maastrichtian in the Indian Ocean.

Diatom biostratigraphy and sea ice concentration reconstruction from core DA06-139G, Vaigat Strait in Disko Bugt, West Greenland

A diatom-based sea-ice concentration (SIC) transfer function is developed using 72 surface samples from west of Greenland and around Iceland, and through comparison with the associated modern SIC. Canonical correspondence analysis on surface sediment diatoms and monthly average of SIC reveals that April SIC is the most important environmental factor controlling the distribution of diatoms in the area, and permits the development of a diatom-based SIC transfer function. The consistency between reconstructed SIC based on diatoms from West Greenland and the instrumental and documentary data during the last ~75 years demonstrates that the diatom-based SIC reconstruction is reliable for studying the palaeoceanography off West Greenland. Relatively warm conditions with strong influence of the Irminger Current (IC) are indicated for the early part of the record (~5000-3860 cal. yr BP), corresponding in time to the latest part of the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The April SIC oscillated around the mean value between 3860 and 1510 cal. yr BP and was above mean afterwards, particularly during the time interval 1510-1120 cal. yr BP and after 650 cal. yr BP, indicating more extensive sea-ice cover in Disko Bugt. A high degree of consistency between the reconstructed April SIC and changes in the diatom species suggests that the sea-ice condition in Disko Bugt is strongly influenced by variations in the relative strength of two components of the West Greenland Current, i.e. the cold East Greenland Current and the relatively warm IC.