Age determination of corals from the North Atlantic and the Tasman Sea

During the past 40,000 years, global climate has moved into and out of a full glacial period, with the deglaciation marked by several millennial-scale rapid climate change events. Here we investigate the ecological response of deep-sea coral communities to both glaciation and these rapid climate change events. We find that the deep-sea coral populations of Desmophyllum dianthus in both the North Atlantic and the Tasmanian seamounts expand at times of rapid climate change. However, during the more stable Last Glacial Maximum, the coral population globally retreats to a more restricted depth range. Holocene populations show regional patterns that provide some insight into what causes these dramatic changes in population structure. The most important factors are likely responses to climatically driven changes in productivity, [O2] and [CO3]2-.

Age determination of sediments and biomarkers of ODP Hole 169-1034C

The radiocarbon contents of various biomarkers extracted from the varve-counted sediments of Saanich Inlet, Canada, were determined to assess their applicability for dating purposes. Calibrated ages obtained from the marine planktonic archaeal biomarker crenarchaeol compared favorably with varve-count ages. The same conclusion could be drawn for a more general archaeal biomarker (GDGT-0), although this biomarker proved to be less reliable due to its less-specific origin. The results also lend support to earlier indications that marine crenarchaeota use dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) as their carbon source. The average reservoir age offset DR of 430 years, determined using the crenarchaeol radiocarbon ages, varied by ±110 years. This may be caused by natural variations in ocean-atmosphere mixing or upwelling at the NE Pacific coast but variability may also be due to an inconsistency in the marine calibration curve when used at sites with high reservoir ages.

Geochemistry of ODP Sites 121-758 and 121-757

Nd isotopes are useful tracers for paleoceanography due to the short Nd residence time in seawater and the large differences between the isotopic signatures of various geological reservoirs. Therefore, ?Nd variations reflect the geological history of individual oceanic basins. Using a differential dissolution technique, which extracts Nd isotopes of seawater trapped in MnO2 coatings and carbonates in marine sediment, we measured almost two hundred samples from ODP Sites 758 and 757 in the Northern Bay of Bengal covering the last 4 Ma. For the first time, we have shown a covariation between epsilon-Nd and d18O over at least the last 800 ka. We also show that from 4 Ma to 2.6 Ma, epsilon-Nd is almost constant and starts to fluctuate at 2.6 Ma when northern glaciations increased. From 2.6 Ma to 1 Ma the fluctuation period is close to 40 ka while from 1 Ma to present it is dominantly 100 ka. We attribute these findings to mixing between Himalayan river water (that ultimately originates as Indian summer monsoon rain) and normal Bay of Bengal seawater. Previous studies on seawater, using epsilon-Nd, d18O analyzed on planktonic foraminifera and sedimentary data, can be integrated into this model. A simple quantitative binary mixing model suggests that the summer monsoon rain was more intense during interglacial than glacial periods. During last glacial episode, the monsoon trajectory was deviated to the east. At a large scale, the Indian monsoon is fully controlled by the variations in Northern Hemisphere climate but with a complex response function to this forcing. Our study clearly establishes the large potential of Nd isotope data to evaluate the hydrological river regime during the Quaternary and its relationship with climate fluctuations, particularly when the sediment archive is sampled close to sediment sources.

Response of marine palynomorphs to Neogene climate cooling in the Iceland Sea, ODP Hole 151-907A

The present study on ODP Leg 151 Hole 907A combines a detailed analysis of marine palynomorphs (dinoflagellate cysts, prasinophytes, and acritarchs) and a low-resolution alkenone-based sea-surface temperature (SST) record for the interval between 14.5 and 2.5 Ma, and allows to investigate the relationship between palynomorph assemblages and the paleoenvironmental evolution of the Iceland Sea. A high marine productivity is indicated in the Middle Miocene, and palynomorphs and SSTs both mirror the subsequent long-term Neogene climate deterioration. The diverse Middle Miocene palynomorph assemblages clearly diminish towards the impoverished assemblages of the Late Pliocene; parallel with a somewhat gradual decrease of SSTs being as high as 20 °C at ~13.5 Ma to around 8 °C at ~3 Ma. Superimposed, palynomorph assemblages not only reflect Middle to Late Miocene climate variability partly coinciding with the short-lived global Miocene isotope events (Mi-events), but also the initiation of a proto-thermohaline circulation across the Middle Miocene Climate Transition, which led to increased meridionality in the Nordic Seas. Last occurrences of species cluster during three events in the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene and are ascribed to the progressive strengthening and freshening of the proto-East Greenland Current towards modern conditions. A significant high latitude cooling between 6.5 and 6 Ma is depicted by the supraregional "Decahedrella event" coeval with lowest Miocene productivity and a SST decline. In the Early Pliocene, a transient warming is accompanied by surface water stratification and increased productivity that likely reflects a high latitude response to the global biogenic bloom. The succeeding crash in palynomorph accumulation, and a subsequent interval virtually barren of marine palynomorphs may be attributed to enhanced bottom water oxygenation and substantial sea ice cover, and indicates that conditions seriously affecting marine productivity in the Iceland Sea were already established well before the marked expansion of the Greenland Ice Sheet at 3.3 Ma.

Age determination of North Atlantic sediment cores

Records of planktonic foraminiferal shell weights for Globigerina bulloides, covering Termination I from four proximal sites at waters depths from 1150 to 4045 m in the northeast Atlantic, demonstrate the influence of dissolution superimposed upon initial shell weight variability. Records of shell weight, unaffected by dissolution, may be used as a reference for interpreting deeper records in terms of preservation history. Combining records of planktonic shell weight (and benthic d13C) from shallow and deep sites suggests that maximum oceanic stratification and incursion of southern sourced deep waters in the North Atlantic occurred at about 18-20 ka, defining the glacial mode of Atlantic circulation. Reduced stratification and enhanced preservation in deeper waters reflect conditions during Heinrich event 1. A state similar to the modern mode of Atlantic circulation was attained by about 10 ka.

Age determination of sediment core MD99-2201

A marine sediment core from the leeward margin of Great Bahama Bank (GBB) was subjected to a multiproxy study. The aragonite dominated core MD992201 comprises the past 7230 years in a decadal time resolution and shows sedimentation rates of up to 13.8 m/kyr. Aragonite mass accumulation rates, age differences between planktonic foraminifera and aragonite sediments, and temperature distribution are used to deduce changes in aragonite production rates and paleocurrent strengths. Aragonite precipitation rates on GBB are controlled by exchange of carbonate ions and CO2 loss due to temperature-salinity conditions and biological activity, and these are dependent on the current strength. Paleocurrent strengths on GBB show high current velocities during the periods 6000-5100 years BP, 3500-2700 years BP, and 1600-700 years BP; lower current speeds existed during the time intervals 5100-3500 years BP, 2700-1600 years BP, and 700-100 years BP. Bahamian surface currents are directly linked to the North Atlantic atmospheric circulation, and thus periods with high (low) current speeds are proposed to be phases of strong (weak) atmospheric circulation.

Age determination of sediment cores from the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

We construct age models for a suite of cores from the northeast Atlantic Ocean by means of accelerator mass spectrometer dating of a key core, BOFS 5K, and correlation with the rest of the suite. The effects of bioturbation and foraminiferal species abundance gradients upon the age record are modeled using a simple equation. The degree of bioturbation is estimated by comparing modeled profiles with dispersal of the Vedde Ash layer in core 5K, and we find a mixing depth of roughly 8 cm for sand-sized material. Using this value, we estimate that age offsets between unbioturbated sediment and some foraminifera species after mixing may be up to 2500 years, with lesser effect on fine carbonate (< 10 µm) ages. The bioturbation model illustrates problems associated with the dating of 'instantaneous' events such as ash layers and the 'Heinrich' peaks of ice-rafted detritus. Correlations between core 5K and the other cores from the BOFS suite are made on the basis of similarities in the downcore profiles of oxygen and carbon isotopes, magnetic susceptibility, water and carbonate content, and via marker horizons in X radiographs and ash beds.

Age determination and paleomagnetic investigations on a sediment profile from laguna Potrok Aike

Paleomagnetic inclination, declination and relative paleointensity were reconstructed from the sediments of Laguna Potrok Aike in the framework of the International Continental scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Potrok Aike maar lake Sediment Archive Drilling prOject (PASADO). Here we present the u-channel-based full vector paleomagnetic field reconstruction since 51.2 ka cal BP. The relative paleointensity proxy (RPI) was built by normalising the natural remanent magnetisation with the anhysteretic remanent magnetisation using the average ratio at 4 demagnetisation steps part of the ChRM interval (NRM/ARM10e40 mT). A grain size influence on the RPI was removed using a correction based on the linear relationship between the RPI and the median destructive field of the natural remanent magnetisation (MDFNRM). The new record is compared with other lacustrine and marine records and stacks from the mid- to high-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, revealing consistent millennial-scale variability, the identification of the Laschamp and possibly the Mono Lake geomagnetic excursions, and a direction swing possibly associated to the Hilina Pali excursion at 20 ka cal BP. Nonetheless, a global-scale comparison with other high-resolution records located on the opposite side of the Earth and with various dipole field references hint at a different behaviour of the geomagnetic field around southern South America at 46 ka cal BP.

Sea surafe temperture calculation for the Arabian Sea

Sea surface temperature (SST) and seawater d18O (d18Ow) were reconstructed in a suite of sediment cores from throughout the Arabian Sea for four distinct time intervals (0 ka, 8 ka, 15 ka, and 20 ka) with the aim of understanding the history of the Indian Monsoon and the climate of the Arabian Sea region. This was accomplished through the use of paired Mg/Ca and d18O measurements of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber. By analyzing basin-wide changes and changes in cross-basinal gradients, we assess both monsoonal and regional-scale climate changes. SST was colder than present for the majority of sites within all three paleotime slices. Furthermore, both the Indian Monsoon and the regional Arabian Sea mean climate have varied substantially over the past 20 kyr. The 20 ka and 15 ka time slices exhibit average negative temperature anomalies of 2.5°-3.5°C attributable, in part, to the influences of glacial atmospheric CO2 concentrations and large continental ice sheets. The elimination of the cross-basinal SST gradient during these two time slices likely reflects a decrease in summer monsoon and an increase in winter monsoon strength. Changes in d18Ow that are smaller than the d18O signal due to global ice volume reflect decreased evaporation and increased winter monsoon mixing. SSTs throughout the Arabian Sea were still cooler than present by an average of 1.4°C in the 8 ka time slice. These cool SSTs, along with lower d18Ow throughout the basin, are attributed to stronger than modern summer and winter monsoons and increased runoff and precipitation. The results of this study underscore the importance of taking a spatial approach to the reconstruction of processes such as monsoon upwelling.

Age determinations, dinoflagellate cyst and subpolar foraminifera measurements from sediment core HH11-134-BC, from the west Spitsbergen slope

Three marine sediment cores distributed along the Norwegian (MD95-2011), Barents Sea (JM09-KA11-GC), and Svalbard (HH11-134-BC) continental margins have been investigated in order to reconstruct changes in the poleward flow of Atlantic waters (AW) and in the nature of upper surface water masses within the eastern Nordic Seas over the last 3000 yr. These reconstructions are based on a limited set of coccolith proxies: the abundance ratio between Emiliania huxleyi and Coccolithus pelagicus, an index of Atlantic vs. Polar/Arctic surface water masses; and Gephyrocapsa muellerae, a drifted coccolith species from the temperate North Atlantic, whose abundance changes are related to variations in the strength of the North Atlantic Current. The entire investigated area, from 66 to 77° N, was affected by an overall increase in AW flow from 3000 cal yr BP (before present) to the present. The long-term modulation of westerlies' strength and location, which are essentially driven by the dominant mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), is thought to explain the observed dynamics of poleward AW flow. The same mechanism also reconciles the recorded opposite zonal shifts in the location of the Arctic front between the area off western Norway and the western Barents Sea-eastern Fram Strait region. The Little Ice Age (LIA) was governed by deteriorating conditions, with Arctic/Polar waters dominating in the surface off western Svalbard and western Barents Sea, possibly associated with both severe sea ice conditions and a strongly reduced AW strength. A sudden short pulse of resumed high WSC (West Spitsbergen Current) flow interrupted this cold spell in eastern Fram Strait from 330 to 410 cal yr BP. Our dataset not only confirms the high amplitude warming of surface waters at the turn of the 19th century off western Svalbard, it also shows that such a warming was primarily induced by an excess flow of AW which stands as unprecedented over the last 3000 yr.

AMS radiocarbon dates and pollen analysis from Zugspitzplatt

On the strongly karstified and almost unvegetated surface of the Zugspitzplatt, at an altitude of about 2290 m in the Wettersteingebirge, there is a doline within which over a period of several thousand years a bed of fine loess-like sediment, almost 1m thick, has accumulated. Notwithstanding the situation of this locality far above the present tree-line, this infill contains quantities of pollen and spores sufficient for pollen analysis without use of any enrichment techniques. Despite poor pollen preservation, it was possible to date the basal layers of this profile on the basis of their pollen assemblages. AMS dating (7415 ± 30 BP) has confirmed that the oldest sediments were laid down during the early Atlantic period, the time of the thermal optimum of the Holocene. At least since that time this site has never been overridden by a glacier. The moraine associated with the Löbben Oscillation between 3400 and 3100 BP - here represented by the so-called Platt Stillstand (Plattstand) - did not quite reach the doline. A diagram shows known Holocene glacial limits. The composition of the pollen assemblages from the two oldest levels with high pollen concentrations strongly suggests that the distance between the doline and the forest was much less during the Atlantic than at present.

Microcharcoal concentration and elongation, and age model of sediment core MD96-2098

Although grassland and savanna occupy only a quarter of the world's vegetation, burning in these ecosystems accounts for roughly half the global carbon emissions from fire. However, the processes that govern changes in grassland burning are poorly understood, particularly on time scales beyond satellite records. We analyzed microcharcoal, sediments, and geochemistry in a high-resolution marine sediment core off Namibia to identify the processes that have controlled biomass burning in southern African grassland ecosystems under large, multimillennial-scale climate changes. Six fire cycles occurred during the past 170,000 y in southern Africa that correspond both in timing and magnitude to the precessional forcing of north-south shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Contrary to the conventional expectation that fire increases with higher temperatures and increased drought, we found that wetter and cooler climates cause increased burning in the study region, owing to a shift in rainfall amount and seasonality (and thus vegetation flammability). We also show that charcoal morphology (i.e., the particle's length-to-width ratio) can be used to reconstruct changes in fire activity as well as biome shifts over time. Our results provide essential context for understanding current and future grassland-fire dynamics and their associated carbon emissions.

Age-depth relation, radiocarbon ages and tephra geochemistry of core 5022-2CP from Laguna Potrok Aike, southern Patagonia

The 106 m long composite profile from site 2 of ICDP expedition 5022 (PASADO) at Laguna Potrok Aike documents a distinct change in sedimentation patterns from pelagic sediments at the top to dominating mass movement deposits at its base. The main lithological units correspond to the Holocene, to the Lateglacial and to the last glacial period and can be interpreted as the result of distinct environmental variations. Overflow conditions might have been achieved during the last glacial period, while signs of desiccation are absent in the studied sediment record. Altogether, 58 radiocarbon dates were used to establish a consistent age-depth model by applying the mixed-effect regression procedure which results in a basal age of 51.2 cal. ka BP. Radiocarbon dates show a considerable increase in scatter with depth which is related to the high amount of reworking. Validation of the obtained chronology was achieved with geomagnetic relative paleointensity data and tephra correlation.