Description and chemical composition of ferromanganese encrustations and deposits in the Atlantic Ocean from R/V Atlantis II cruises 20, 42, 60, 85; R/V Chain cruise 35; R/V Knorr cruise 61 and RRS Shackleton cruise 75/1 stations

Chemical and mineralogical compositions of ferromanganese oxide coatings on rocks dredged from the New England Seamounts, the Sierra Leone Rise and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near the Equator have been determined in an investigation of regional differences in Atlantic ferromanganese deposits. Most encrustations are clearly of hydrogenous origin, consisting mainly of todorokite and delta MnO2, but several recovered from the equatorial fracture zones may be hydrothermal accumulations. Differences in the chemistry of the water column and in growth rates of the ferromanganese coatings may be important in producing this regional contrast in composition. Fine-scale changes in element abundances within the encrustations indicate that the nature of the substrate has little influence on compositional variations.

(Table 1) Organic carbon isotopic composition in Cretaceous sediments at DSDP Hole 75-530A

Cretaceous sediments from DSDP Site 530 have been analyzed for organic carbon isotopic composition. The d13C values in the sediments decrease from -22.7 per mil to -27.5 per mil in the following order: light-olive green mudstone/claystone, dark brown-red mudstone/siltstone/claystone, and black shale. This large range is primarily the result of variation in the relative amounts of terrestrial organic carbon superimposed on that derived from marine organisms. The black shales have an average d13C value of -25.9 per mil (range is from -23.7 per mil to -27.5 per mil). These values indicate that they originated primarily in terrigenous organic materials. The average d13C value present throughout the Cretaceous suggests that a large amount of terrestrial organic matter was supplied into this paleoenvironment, except during the Campanian, when an average d13C of -23.9 per mil is found near the marine end of the range.

Geochemistry of the oldest Atlantic oceanic crust

Controversy has surrounded the issue of whether mantle plume activity was responsible for Pangaean continental rifting and massive flood volcanism (resulting in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province or CAMP, emplaced around 200 Ma) preceding the opening of the central Atlantic Ocean in the Early Mesozoic. Our new Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic and trace element data for the oldest basalts sampled from central Atlantic oceanic crust by deep-sea drilling show that oceanic crust generated from about 160 to 120 Ma displays clear isotopic and chemical signals of plume contamination (e.g., 87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0.7032-0.7036, epsilonNd(t) =+6.2 to +8.2, incompatible element patterns with positive Nb anomalies), but these signals are muted or absent in crust generated between 120 and 80 Ma, which resembles young Atlantic normal mid-ocean ridge basalt. The plume-affected pre-120 Ma Atlantic crustal basalts are isotopically similar to lavas from the Ontong Java Plateau, and may represent one isotopic end-member for CAMP basalts. The strongest plume signature is displayed near the center of CAMP magmatism but the hotspots presently located nearest this location in the mantle reference frame do not appear to be older than latest Cretaceous and are isotopically distinct from the oldest Atlantic crust. The evidence for widespread plume contamination of the nascent Atlantic upper mantle, combined with a lack of evidence for a long-lived volcanic chain associated with this plume, leads us to propose that the enriched signature of early Atlantic crust and possibly the eruption of the CAMP were caused by a relatively short-lived, but large volume plume feature that was not rooted at a mantle boundary layer. Such a phenomenon has been predicted by recent numerical models of mantle circulation.

Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages of DSDP Hole 75-532

Qualitative and quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages from Deep Sea Drilling Project site 532 shed light on hydrographic changes over the Walvis Ridge during the past 500,000 years. From changes in distribution of foraminiferal assemblages, two major hydrographic regimes (coastal and geostrophic branches of the Benguela Current and the Angola Current) can be distinguished at site 532. It is suggested that the hydrographic situation on the northeastern Walvis Ridge was characterized by intensified upwelling and a westward expansion of the coastal upwelling cells during several global cooling pulses. During glacial stages 2-4, the middle part of stage 6, sporadically from the lower stage 8 through upper stage 10, and during stage 12, site 532 was located beneath the coastal branch of the Benguela Current because faunal distribution patterns indicate intensified upwelling. The Angola Current probably intruded the area of study during the lower stages 5, sporadically 6-8, and 11, as documented by the increased abundance of Neogloboquadrina dutertrei.

Geochemical and nannofossil analyses of Cenomanian/Turonian sediments of DSDP Hole 75-530A

One of the key objectives of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 75 was to shed light on the underlying causes of Cretaceous oceanic anoxia in the South Atlantic by addressing two major hypotheses: productivity productivity-driven anoxia vs. enhanced ocean stratification leading to preservation of organic matter and black shale deposition. Here we present a detailed geochemical dataset from sediments deposited during the Cenomanian/Turonian (C/T) transition and the global oceanic anoxic event 2 (OAE 2) at DSDP Site 530A, located off-shore Namibia (southeast Angola Basin, north of Walvis Ridge). To characterise the succession of alternating black and green shales at this site and to reconstruct the evolution of their paleoenvironmental setting, we have combined data derived from investigations on bulk organic matter, biomarkers and the inorganic fraction. The location of the C/T boundary itself is biostratigraphically not well constrained due to the carbonate-poor (but organic matter-rich) facies of these sediments. The bulk d13Corg record and compound-specific d13C data, in combination with published as well as new biostratigraphic data, enabled us to locate more precisely the C/T boundary at DSDP Site 530A. The compound-specific d13C record is the first of this kind reported from C/T black shales in the South Atlantic. It is employed for paleoenvironmental reconstructions and chemostratigraphic correlation to other C/T sections in order to discuss the paleoceanographic aspects and implications of the observations at DSDP Site 530A in a broader context, e.g., with regard to the potential trigger mechanisms of OAE 2, global changes in black shale deposition and climate. On a stratigraphic level, an approximation and monitoring of the syndepositional degree of oxygen depletion within the sediments/bottom waters in comparison to the upper water column is achieved by comparing normalised concentrations of redox-sensitive trace elements with the abundance of highly source specific molecular compounds. These biomarkers are derived from photoautotrophic and simultaneously anoxygenic green sulphur bacteria (Chlorobiacea) and are interpreted as paleoindicators for events of photic zone euxinia. In contrast to a number of other OAE 2 sections that are characterised by continuous black shale sequences, DSDP Site 530A represents a highly dynamic setting where newly deposited black shales were repeatedly exposed to conditions of subtle bottom water re-oxidation, presumably leading to their progressive alteration into green shales. The frequent alternation between both facies and the related anoxic to slight oxygenated conditions can be best explained by variations in vertical extent of an oxygen minimum zone in response to changes in a highly productive western continental margin setting driven by upwelling.

Validated sample ages from 823 EPD sites

The number of well-dated pollen diagrams in Europe has increased considerably over the last 30 years and many of them have been submitted to the European Pollen Database (EPD). This allows for the construction of increasingly precise maps of Holocene vegetation change across the continent. Chronological information in the EPD has been expressed in uncalibrated radiocarbon years, and most chronologies to date are based on this time scale. Here we present new chronologies for most of the datasets stored in the EPD based on calibrated radiocarbon years. Age information associated with pollen diagrams is often derived from the pollen stratigraphy itself or from other sedimentological information. We reviewed these chronological tie points and assigned uncertainties to them. The steps taken to generate the new chronologies are described and the rationale for a new classification system for age uncertainties is introduced. The resulting chronologies are fit for most continental-scale questions. They may not provide the best age model for particular sites, but may be viewed as general purpose chronologies. Taxonomic particularities of the data stored in the EPD are explained. An example is given of how the database can be queried to select samples with appropriate age control as well as the suitable taxonomic level to answer a specific research question.

Total organic carbon, lithology and alkylthiophenes in immature sediments (Table 1)

A series of novel long-chain 3,4-dialkylthiophenes (C36-C54) was identified in a number of sediments ranging from Pleistocene to Cretaceous. The identifications were based on mass spectral characterisation, desulphurisation and mass spectral data of synthesised model compounds. These organic sulphur compounds are probably formed by sulphur incorporation into mid-chain dimethylalkadienes with two methylenic double bonds. These putative precursor lipids are unprecedented and may be considered rather unusual. The distribution of 3,4-dialkylthiophenes in sediments varies considerably with the depositional palaeoenvironment, indicating that these compounds have a potential as molecular markers reflecting changes in palaeoenvironment.

(Table 1) Composition of clay minerals in DSDP Hole 75-532

An investigation of the quantitative composition of the coarse (> 40 µm) and clay (< 2 µm) fraction of HPC 532, DSDP Leg 75, in 1300 m water depth on the eastern Walvis Ridge off Southwest Africa yielded the following results: (1) The sediments reflect a complete Latest Miocene to Recent depositional history. Sedimentation rates vary between 2.3 and 7.8 cm/ka. (2) Preservation of calcium carbonate is subject to strong variations: short-term (< 100,000 years) and long-term (about 1 m.y.) cycles in carbonate dissolution have been observed, with strongest dissolution occurring during periods of lowered sea level. (3) Upwelling influence from the near-coastal upwelling centre has been detected by means of the opal content: interglacial periods show high opal contents, because the Benguela Current turned westward at about 20°S and carried opal-laden upwelled water to the west. Sediments from glacial periods, however, show opal minima. Besides these short-term cyclic variations in opal content, long-term cycles have been found, with maximum upwelling influence in the latest Pliocene/early Quaternary. (4) Each CaCO3 dissolution minimum (maximum) is correlated with an opal maximum (minimum) throughout the sediment sequence. (5) The oceanographic system off southwest Africa remained essentially unchanged since the latest Miocene: sea level rose and fell periodically on a small and on a large scale, and the Benguela Current flowed southeast-northwest and turned to the west at the latitude of Site 532 during interglacial periods, when sea level was high. (6) The climate in the near-coastal area of southwest Africa in the latitude of Site 532 has probably been arid throughout the investigated period.