Foraminifer, epifauna and infauna abundance of ODP Hole 183-1138A and core ELT54.007-PC, Kerguelen Plateau

Late Campanian and Maastrichtian benthic foraminifers are recorded from 12 samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 183, Cores 183-1138A-52R through 63R (487.3-602.4 meters below seafloor), Kerguelen Plateau, Indian Ocean, and Danian benthics from one sample in the same section. The entire late Maastrichtian foraminifer fauna is noted from a dredge sample 220 km to the north. The structure of the fauna is compared with the Cenomanian-Turonian of the nearby Eltanin core E54-7. Faunas are reviewed in terms of planktonic percentage, composition, epifaunal/infaunal ratios, and dominance/diversity indices. The region was in the cool Austral Faunal Province through the Campanian-Maastrichtian and was probably warmer in the Cenomanian-Turonian. The ODP section is now 1600 meters below sea level and has subsided several hundred meters since deposition. Its fauna is dominated by epifaunal species suggesting little influence of upwelling. The dredge location has subsided little. Its fauna has a high infaunal content consistent with significant influence of upwelling near the plateau edge. The dominant benthic species remain constant through the ODP Cretaceous section, but subdominance changes, and the section is divided into three informal zones based on dominance/subdominance characteristics of the benthic fauna. Brief taxonomic comments are made on several species and some are figured.

Pollen distribution in marine sediment samples along the south-western African coast

The distribution of pollen in marine sediments is used to reconstruct pathways of terrigenous input to the oceans and provides a record of vegetation change on adjacent continents. The wind transport routes of aeolian pollen is comprehensively illustrated by clusters of trajectories. Isobaric, 4-day backward trajectories are calculated using the modelled wind-field of ECHAM3, and are clustered on a seasonal basis to estimate the main pathways of aeolian particles to sites of marine cores in the south-eastern Atlantic. Trajectories and clusters based on the modelled wind-field of the Last Glacial Maximum hardly differ from those of the present-day. Trajectory clusters show three regional, and two seasonal patterns, determining the pathways of aeolian pollen transport into the south-eastern Atlantic ocean. Mainly, transport out of the continent occurs during austral fall and winter, when easterly and south-easterly winds prevail. South of 25°S, winds blow mostly from the west and southwest, and aeolian terrestrial input is very low. Generally, a good latitudinal correspondence exists between the distribution patterns of pollen in marine surface sediments and the occurrence of the source plants on the adjacent continent. The northern Angola Basin receives pollen and spores from the Congolian and Zambezian forests mainly through river discharge. The Zambezian vegetation zone is the main source area for wind-blown pollen in sediments of the Angola Basin, while the semi-desert and desert areas are the main sources for pollen in sediments of the Walvis Basin and on the Walvis Ridge. A transect of six marine pollen records along the south-western African coast indicates considerable changes in the vegetation of southern Africa between glacial and interglacial periods. Important changes in the vegetation are the decline of forests in equatorial Africa and the north of southern Africa and a northward shift of winter rain vegetation along the western escarpment.

Abundance and biomass of in- and epibenthic invertebrate macrofauna in the German Bight from 1969 to 2000

In order to examine the long-term development of offshore macrozoobenthic soft-bottom communities of the German Bight, four representative permanent stations (MZB-SSd, -FSd, -Slt, -WB) have been sampled continuously since 1969. Inter-annual variability and possible long-term trends were analysed based on spring-time samples from 1969 until 2000. This is part of the ecological long-term series of the AWI and is supplemented by periodic large-scale mapping of the benthos. The main factors influencing the development of the benthic communities are biological interactions, climate, food supply (eutrophication) and the disturbance regime. The most frequent disturbances are sediment relocations during strong storms or by bottom trawling, while occasional oxygen deficiencies and extremely cold winters are important disturbance events working on a much larger scale. Benthic communities at the sampling stations show a large inter-annual variability combined with a variation on a roughly decadal scale. In accordance with large-scale system shifts reported for the North Sea, benthic community transitions occurred between roughly the 1970ies, 80ies and 90ies. The transitions between periods are not distinctly marked by strong changes but rather reflected in gradual changes of the species composition and dominance structure.