Holocene Labrador Sea planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes and trace element data, and ice rafted debris percentage

Formation of Labrador Sea Water proper commenced about 7000 years ago during the Holocene interglacial. To test whether fresher surface water conditions may have inhibited Labrador Sea Water convection during the early Holocene we measured planktonic foraminiferal (Globigerina bulloides) oxygen isotopes (d18O) and Mg/Ca ratios at Orphan Knoll (cores HU91-045-093 and MD95-2024, 3488 m) in the Labrador Sea to reconstruct shallow subsurface summer conditions (temperature and seawater d18O). Lighter foraminiferal d18O values are recorded during the early Holocene between 11000 and 7000 years ago. Part of these lighter foraminiferal d18O values can be explained by increased calcification temperatures. Reconstructed seawater d18O values were, however, still on average 0.5 per mil lighter compared with those of recent times, confirming that fresher surface waters in the Labrador Sea were probably a limiting factor in Labrador Sea Water formation during the early Holocene.

Geochemistry of samples from Valtournenche, Western Italian Alps

Slices of polycyclic metasediments (marbles and meta-cherts) are tectonically amalgamated with the polydeformed basement of the Dent Blanche tectonic system along a major Alpine shear zone in the Western Alps (Becca di Salé area, Valtournenche Valley). A combination of techniques (structural analysis at various scales, metamorphic petrology, geochronology and trace element geochemistry) was applied to determine the age and composition of accessory phases (titanite, allanite and zircon) and their relation to major minerals. The results are used to reconstruct the polyphase structural and metamorphic history, comprising both pre-Alpine and Alpine cycles. The pre-Alpine evolution is associated with low-pressure high-temperature metamorphism related to Permo-Triassic lithospheric thinning. In meta-cherts, microtextural relations indicate coeval growth of allanite and garnet during this stage, at ~ 300 Ma. Textures of zircon also indicate crystallization at HT conditions; ages scatter from 263-294 Ma, with a major cluster of data at ~ 276 Ma. In impure marble, U-Pb analyses of titanite domains (with variable Al and F contents) yield apparent 206Pb/238U dates range from Permian to Jurassic. Chemical and isotopic data suggest that titanite formed at Permian times and was then affected by (extension-related?) fluid circulation during the Triassic and Jurassic, which redistributed major elements (Al and F) and partially opened the U-Pb system. The Alpine cycle lead to early blueschist facies assemblages, which were partly overprinted under greenschist facies conditions. The strong Alpine compressional overprint disrupted the pre-Alpine structural imprint and/or reactivated earlier structures. The pre-Alpine metamorphic record, preserved in these slices of metasediments, reflects the onset of the Permo-Triassic lithospheric extension to Jurassic rifting.

High-resolution planktic stable isotope and trace element record of ODP Hole 161-976

Multi-decadal to centennial planktic d18O and Mg/Ca records were generated at ODP976 in the Alboran Sea. The site is in the flow path of Atlantic inflow waters entering the Mediterranean and captured North Atlantic signals through the surface inflow and the atmosphere. The records reveal similar climatic oscillations during the last two glacial-to-interglacial transitions, albeit with a different temporal pacing. Glacial termination 1 (T1) was marked by Heinrich event 1 (H1), post-H1 Bolling/Allerod (B/A) warming and Younger Dryas (YD) cooling. During T2 the H11 d18O anomaly was twice as high and lasted 30% longer than during H1. The post-H11 warming marked the start of MIS5e while the subsequent YD-style cooling occurred during early MIS5e. The post-H11 temperature increase at ODP976 matched the sudden Asian Monsoon Termination II at 129 ka BP. Extending the 230Th-dated speleothem timescale to ODP976 suggests glacial conditions in the Northeast Atlantic region were terminated abruptly and interglacial warmth was reached in less than a millennium. The early-MIS5e cooling and freshening at ODP976 coincided with similar changes at North Atlantic sites suggesting this was a basin-wide event. By analogy with T1 we argue that this was a YD-type event that was shifted into the early stages of the last interglacial period. This scenario is consistent with evidence from northern North Atlantic and Nordic Sea sites that the continuing disintegration of the large Saalian Stage (MIS6) ice sheet in Eurasia delayed the advection of warm North Atlantic waters and full-strength convective overturn until later stages of MIS5e.

TOC, carbonate, opal composition and trace element concentration from ODP Holes 175-1082A and 175-1084A

Distinctive light-dark color cycles in sediment beneath the Benguela Current Upwelling System indicate repetitive alternations in sediment delivery and deposition. Geochemical proxies for paleoproductivity and for depositional conditions were employed to investigate the paleoceanographic processes involved in creating these cycles in three mid-Pleistocene intervals from ODP Sites 1082 and 1084. Concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) vary between 3.5 and 17.1%. Concentrations of CaCO3 vary inversely to TOC and Al, which suggests that both carbonate dissolution and terrigenous dilution contribute to the light-dark cycles. Opal concentrations are independent of both TOC and CaCO3, therefore eliminating diatom production and lateral transport of shelf material as causes of the light-dark cycles. d13Corg and d15Ntot values do not vary across light-dark sediment intervals, implying that the extent of relative nutrient utilization did not change. The stable d15Ntot values represent a balanced change in nitrate supply and export production and therefore indicate that productivity was elevated during deposition of the TOC-rich layers. Parallel changes in concentrations of indicator trace elements and TOC imply that changes in organic matter delivery influenced geochemical processes on the seafloor by controlling consumption of pore water oxygen. Cu, Ni, and Zn are enriched in the darker sediment as a consequence of greater organic matter delivery. Redox-sensitive metals vary due to loss (Mn and Ba) or enrichment (Mo) under reducing conditions created by TOC oxidation. Organic matter delivery impacts subsequent geochemical changes such as carbonate dissolution, sulfate reduction and the concentration of metals. Thus, export production is considered ultimately responsible for the generation of the color cycles.

Geochemistry of sands and sandstones in ODP Leg 126 sites

During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 126, six sites were cored in a young backarc rift basin and its flanks (rift onset 1.1-3.56 Ma) and in the forearc basin of the Izu-Bonin Arc. In the backarc area, strata are younger than about 4.5 Ma, whereas in the forearc, ages are about 0-31 Ma in sections punctuated by important Miocene unconformities. Bulk chemical analyses of volcaniclastic turbidite sands and sandstones, derived directly from the arc, were obtained from 271 atomic absorption analyses (major elements), 253 XRF analyses (trace elements) and 16 ICP-MS analyses (trace and rare-earth elements). Of the 271 samples, 78 come from the backarc area and the remainder from the forearc. The sands and sandstones reflect the igneous compositions of their sources. Most are formed of materials derived from subalkaline, low-K andesites, and dacites, although compositions range from basalt to rhyolite. Basic and acid andesites are predominant in Oligocene rocks; in contrast, Pliocene-Pleistocene sediments were derived from acid andesitic to rhyolitic sources. The oldest sandstones, estimated to have an age of about 31 Ma, were derived from an arc tholeiitic, not boninitic, source. The 26-31 Ma sandstones furthest to the north, at Sites 787 and 792, have higher relative concentrations of Ti, Zr, and Y than do those at southern Site 793. Data from younger samples indicate that, for more than 30 m.y., the average composition of volcaniclastic sediments and volcanism near Aoga Shima was more basic than to the south, near Sumisu Jima. Using the sandstones as igneous proxies, we conclude that magmas erupted along the arc have become more depleted in light-rare-earth elements (LREE) with time. There was a major change in rare-earth-element (REE) concentrations in the late Oligocene, from essentially flat patterns (normalized La/Yb about 1-1.5) to LREE-depleted patterns (normalized La/Yb about 0.5). At the same time, Zr/Y ratios decreased from about 2-4 to about 1.5-2.5. These changes may reflect a shift in provenance, or changes in the composition of the mantle wedge beneath the arc. In the backarc area, lithic clasts and glass shards of rift-facies basalt are present in sediments as old as 2.35-3.15 Ma. Two samples of mafic sand from the backarc basin have flat REE patterns (normalized La/Yb about 1.0), like some of the <1-Ma rift lavas and unlike pre-rift sand and sandstone samples. These possibly represent the local effects of sedimentary mixing of detritus from arc and backarc eruptions because no evidence from the arc itself exists to suggest a recent change in the REE content of magmas.

Trace element ratios of Globigerina bulloides from the southwest Pacific Ocean

We present Mg/Ca data for Globigerina bulloides from 10 core top sites in the southwest Pacific Ocean analyzed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). Mg/Ca values in G. bulloides correlate with observed ocean temperatures (7°C-19°C), and when combined with previously published data, an integrated Mg/Ca-temperature calibration for 7°C-31°C is derived where Mg/Ca (mmol/mol) = 0.955 * e**(0.068 * T) (r**2 = 0.95). Significant variability of Mg/Ca values (20%-30%) was found for the four visible chambers of G. bulloides, with the final chamber consistently recording the lowest Mg/Ca and is interpreted, in part, to reflect changes in the depth habitat with ontogeny. Incipient and variable dissolution of the thin and fragile final chamber, and outermost layer concomitantly added to all chambers, caused by different cleaning techniques prior to solution-based ICPMS analyses, may explain the minor differences in previously published Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations for this species. If the lower Mg/Ca of the final chamber reflects changes in depth habitat, then LA-ICPMS of the penultimate (or older) chambers will most sensitively record past changes in near-surface ocean temperatures. Mean size-normalized G. bulloides test weights correlate negatively with ocean temperature (T = 31.8 * e**(-30.5*wtN); r**2 = 0.90), suggesting that in the southwest Pacific Ocean, temperature is a prominent control on shell weight in addition to carbonate ion levels.