Physical properties and abundance of diatoms of the ANDRILL AND1-1B drill core

In the austral summer of 2006/7 the ANDRILL MIS (ANtarctic geological DRILLing- McMurdo Ice Shelf) project recovered a 1285 m sediment core from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf near Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island, Antarctica in a flexural moat associated with the volcanic loading of Ross Island. Contained within the upper ~600 m of this core are sediments recording 38 glacial to interglacial cycles of Early Pliocene to Pleistocene time, including 13 discrete diatomite units (DU). The longest of these, DU XI, is ~76 m thick, contains two distinct unconformities marked by layers of volcanic brecciated sands, and has been assigned an Early to Mid-Pliocene age (5-3 Ma). A detailed record (avg. sample spacing of 33 cm) of the siliceous microfossil assemblages have been generated for DU XI and used in conjunction with geochemical and sedimentological data to subdivide DU XI into four discrete subunits of continuous sedimentation. Within each unit, changes in diatom assemblages have been correlated with the d18O record, providing a temporal resolution as high as 600 yr, and allowing for the construction of a detailed age model and calculation of associated sediment accumulation rates within DU XI. Results indicate a productivity-dominated sedimentary record with higher sediment accumulation rates containing a greater proportion of hemipelagic mud occurring during relatively cool periods and reduced accumulation during warmer intervals. This implies that even during periods of substantial warmth, Milankovitch-paced changes in Antarctic ice volume can be linked to ecological changes recorded as shifts in diatom assemblages.

Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of benthic foraminifers from ODP Site 167-1014 and Hole 167-1020C

Benthic foraminiferal stable isotope data are presented for Sites 1014 (Tanner Basin, 1176 m) and 1020 (Gorda Ridge, 3040 m) to constrain past changes in Pacific deep- and intermediate-water nutrient chemistry associated with the onset of large-amplitude 100-k.y. climate cycles after ~900 ka. The Site 1014 data were based on analyses of separate species of Cibicidoides, whereas only Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi was used to generate the Site 1020 record. The present data span 380-920 and 620-950 ka at Sites 1014 and 1020, respectively.

Carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of benthic foraminifers from ODP Leg 167 sites

Three sites, drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 167, were chosen for detailed late Pleistocene paleoceanographic studies of intermediate water along the California margin. These sites are Site 1011 (Animal Basin, 31°17'N, 117°38'W, 2033 m water depth, 1600 m sill depth), Site 1012 (East Cortez Basin, 32°17'N, 118°23'W, 1783 m water depth, 1415 m sill depth), and Site 1018 (Guide Seamount, 36°59'N, 123°17'W, 2476 m water depth). Here we present carbon and oxygen isotopic measurements of benthic foraminifers from these three sites. We made 135 measurements from Site 1011, 387 measurements from Site 1012, and 231 measurements from Site 1018. This data report includes an explanation of the methods used to generate these isotopic records and the age models for each site. Detailed paleoceanographic interpretations of the isotopic records are currently under way.