Strontium isotope data from DSDP Sites 32-305 and 62-463 and ODP Sites 113-689 and 113-690

Fluctuations in oxygen (d18O) and carbon (d13C) isotope values of benthic foraminiferal calcite from the tropical Pacific and Southern Oceans indicate rapid reversals in the dominant mode and direction of the thermohaline circulation during a 1 m.y. interval (71-70 Ma) in the Maastrichtian. At the onset of this change, benthic foraminiferal d18O values increased and were highest in low-latitude Pacific Ocean waters, whereas benthic and planktic foraminiferal d13C values decreased and benthic values were lowest in the Southern Ocean. Subsequently, benthic foraminiferal d18O values in the Indo-Pacific decreased, and benthic and planktic d13C values increased globally. These isotopic patterns suggest that cool intermediate-depth waters, derived from high-latitude regions, penetrated temporarily to the tropics. The low benthic d13C values at the Southern Ocean sites, however, suggest that these cool waters may have been derived from high northern rather than high southern latitudes. Correlation with eustatic sea-level curves suggests that sea-level change was the most likely mechanism to change the circulation and/or source(s) of intermediate-depth waters. We thus propose that oceanic circulation during the latest Cretaceous was vigorous and that competing sources of intermediate- and deep-water formation, linked to changes in climate and sea level, may have alternated in importance.

Amino acid concentrations in interstitial waters from ODP Sites 113-689 and 113-690

Biogenic calcareous and siliceous sediments were drilled at ODP Sites 689 and 690 on the Maud Rise, Antarctic Ocean. We analyzed dissolved combined amino acids (DCAA) and dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) in interstitial waters in order to characterize the amino acids in dissolved organic matter. The DFAA was predominant over the DCAA in interstitial waters at Sites 689 and 690, which contradicted the previous results from interstitial water and seawater studies. The DCAA in the interstitial waters probably originated from calcareous biogenic debris with less amounts of siliceous debris. Although glutamic acid constituted 41% of the total concentration of DCAA, it accounted for only 1% of the total concentration of DFAA due to the adsorption and/or reaction with biogenic carbonate. Ornithine, a nonprotein amino acid, is a decomposed product of arginine and made up 17 mol% of the total DFAA and. The total hydrolyzable amino acids (=DCAA + DFAA) accounted for 5 to 28% of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, which implied that high molecular weight organic matter was a major contributor for the DOM (dissolved organic matter) in interstitial waters. Fairly positive correlation between the dissolved manganese and the total DCAA values suggested that the redox condition plays a significant role in controlling the total DCAA content. A small decrease in the sulfate concentration in the interstitial waters from both sites suggested fairly low microbial activity by sulfate-reducing bacteria.

Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene stratigraphy of ODP Sites 113-689 and 113-690

This contribution summarizes the biostratigraphy of planktonic foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, and benthic foraminifers, in combination with the magnetostratigraphy, carbon and oxygen isotope stratigraphy of benthic foraminifers, and CaCO3 stratigraphy for the Maestrichtian through Paleogene calcareous sequences recovered at Sites 689 and 690 on Maud Rise (at about 65°S, eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica). These data represent the southernmost calciumcarbonate record available for that interval, and thus extend the biostratigraphic and isotopic database to higher latitudes. Sites 689 and 690 form the southernmost anchor of a north-south transect through the Atlantic Ocean for Paleogene biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphy.

(Table 1) Ostracode assemblage parameters in sediments of ODP Hole 113-689

During the late Paleocene thermal maximum (ca. 55.50 Ma) mid-bathyal ostracodes at Maud Rise in the Southern Ocean (Ocean Drilling Program Site 689) underwent a sudden, dramatic turnover synchronous with a global extinction in deep-sea benthic foraminifers and with large-scale, short-lived negative excursions in the stable isotope record of foraminiferal calcite. A previously stable and long-lived ostracode assemblage, dominated by heavily calcified, chiefly epifaunal taxa, was replaced within ~10 k.y. by a taxonomically novel association of small, thin-walled opportunistic and generalist forms that persisted for ~25-40 k.y. Thereafter, ostracode faunas recovered and common bathyal forms returned, although species were smaller and/or less-heavily calcified than before the turnover. The complex fabric of change in ostracode shell morphology and assemblage composition and structure reflects both long-term and sudden perturbations in seawater chemistry at this site. Ostracode data are in agreement with the hypothesis that the latest Paleocene extinctions in the deep sea were caused by a change in the dominant source area of intermediate water mass from high altitudes to the subtropics. These data also suggest that warm saline waters persisted at Maud Rise for the next 100 k.y.

Calculation of paleoproductivity during the Eocene-Oligocene transition of ODP Site 113-689

High-resolution records of carbon and oxygen isotopes and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates for the Eocene-Oligocene section at Ocean Drilling Program Site 689 (Maud Rise, Weddell Sea; paleodepth about 1500 m) were used to infer variations in paleoproductivity in relation to changes in climate and ventilation of the deeper-water column. The benthic foraminiferal abundance and isotope records show short-term fluctuations at periodicities of 100 and 400 ka, implying orbitally driven climatic variations. Both records suggest that intermediate-depth water chemistry and primary productivity changed in response to climate. During the Eocene, productivity increased during cold periods and during cold-to-warm transitions, possibly as a result of increased upwelling of nutrient-rich waters. In the Oligocene, in contrast, productivity maxima occurred during intervals of low delta18O values (presumably warmer periods), when a proto-polar front moved to the south of the location of Site 689. This profound transition in climate-productivity patterns occurred around 37 Ma, coeval with rapid changes toward increasing variability of the oxygen and carbon isotope and benthic abundance records and toward larger-amplitude delta18O fluctuations. Therefore, we infer that, at this time, temperature fluctuations increased and a proto-polar front formed in conjunction with the first distinct pulsations in size of the Antarctic ice sheet. We speculate that this major change might have resulted from an initial opening of the Drake Passage at 37 Ma, at least for surface- and intermediate-water circulation.

Calcium carbonate concentrations of ODP Sites 113-689 and 113-690

An almost continuous Upper Cretaceous through Pleistocene biogenic sediment section was recovered from two sites on Maud Rise, a volcanic edifice in the Weddell Sea, off eastern Antarctica. Calcium carbonate values were determined for 1100 closely spaced samples using a Coulometrics CO2 Coulometer. Following a very brief decrease in the percentage of calcium carbonate immediately above the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, values remain high (~70%-80%), throughout most of the Paleocene, with variations primarily attributed to changes in the relative abundance of terrigenous and biogenic components. A small general decrease in calcium carbonate is observed from the upper Paleocene to lower middle Eocene. Eocene values continue to show small to moderate fluctuations. These fluctuations become more pronounced in the Oligocene as biosiliceous and carbonate sediments are mixed and interlayered. A distinct decrease in the calcium carbonate component is observed in the upper Oligocene through lower middle Miocene. Calcium carbonate becomes dominant again in the middle and lower upper Miocene, followed by almost exclusive biosiliceous sedimentation until the Pleistocene, where foraminifer-dominated calcareous ooze was recovered. Interpretation of this data will be carried out when a more finalized chronostratigraphy for the sequence has been produced.