Neogene and Quaternary radiolarians from the Izu-Bonin Forearc in the western Pacific Ocean

Radiolarians were recovered from three of the five holes investigated during Leg 125. Relative abundances are estimated at Holes 782A and 784A, where preservation is poor to good. Rare, poorly preserved radiolarians are present in Hole 786A. Seven radiolarian zones are recognized in the latest early- middle Miocene to early Pleistocene of Holes 782A and 784A. These zones are approximately correlated to the zones of Sanfilippo and others published in 1985.

Radiolarian fauna of sediment core MD96-2089 off Lüderitz, Namibia

The study of radiolarian assemblages from Core MD 962086 provides new information on the variability in the upwelling intensity and origin of upwelled water masses over the past 350 ky in one of the major filamentous regions of the Benguela Upwelling System (BUS), located off Lüderitz, Namibia. The use of key radiolarian species to trace the source of upwelled waters, and the use of a radiolarian-based upwelling index (URI) to reconstruct the upwelling intensity represent the first use of radiolarians for paleoceanographic reconstructions in the BUS. These radiolarian-based proxies indicate strongest upwelling during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3, 5, and 8, which compares well with other studies. While during MIS 3 and 8, the radiolarian-based proxies indicate the influx of waters of Southern Ocean origin, they also point to the increased influence of tropical waters during the lower portion of MIS 5. During MIS 2, 4 and 6 the radiolarian assemblages indicate generally lower upwelling intensities, although this signal is complicated by the increased occurrence of organic carbon in the sediments during these intervals. During MIS 2 there appears to be less of an input of Southern Ocean waters to the BUS, although during the also glacial MIS 4 and 6, there is evidence for an increased influence of cold Antarctic waters. The comparison of the results from Core MD 962086 with other studies in the BUS area indicates a non-uniform pattern of upwelling intensity and advection of cold, southern waters into this system during MIS 2. Weaker upwelling signaled by the radiolarian-based proxy in MIS 4 is in contrast to other studies that indicate higher productivity during this time period. In general, the data show that there is a strong spatiotemporal complexity in upwelling intensity in the BUS and that the advection of water into it is not strongly tied to glacial-interglacial variations in climate.

Radiolarian assemblages of the late Neogene North Pacific

Radiolarian census and abundance data were collected from three deep-sea cores drilled by the Ocean Drilling Program Sites 884, 887 and 1151 to investigate patterns of ecologic changes in space and time during the last 16 million years for the mid-latitude to subarctic North Pacific. High concentrations of radiolarians occurred between 9.0 and 2.7 Ma. Radiolarian species richness was highest in the early middle Miocene at each site and gradually decreased up to about 7 Ma, coinciding with a well-established global cooling trend. A degree of overlap index calculated for radiolarian assemblages revealed 11 faunal change events, of which 8 corresponded to global cooling events and expansions of polar ice sheets. Three of the faunal change events were observed within the peak of radiolarian accumulation rate and were ascribed to changes in primary productivity in the North Pacific rather than global climatic changes. Our assemblage analyses revealed that north-south differentiation in radiolarian assemblages in the northwestern Pacific has existed since 16 Ma and became more distinct via major steps at 6.8 Ma and 2.7 Ma, coinciding with major glaciation events, and that east-west faunal contrasts in the subarctic region became obvious beginning at 11.7 Ma and changed to a different mode around 6.8 Ma. The observed east-west faunal differences possibly reflect east to west climate differences that were characterized by cooler temperatures in the east than the west during the late Miocene (11.7-6.8 Ma) and then by the opposite temperature trend (6.8 Ma-Recent). A severe glaciation at 2.7 Ma played a large role, particularly in temporal changes in radiolarian accumulation rate and assemblage composition.

Morphology of Cycladophora davisiana davisiana from the Atlantic Ocean

In recent years, temporal fluctuations in the abundance of C. d. davisiana have been used frequently as a highresolution stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental tool. The modern ecology and morphologic variation (temporal and geographic) of this radiolarian species is evaluated to ascertain its potential stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental significance. Statistics were obtained on the width and height of all C. d. davisiana segments from Pleistocene populations of differing ages from the Northern Hemisphere (Labrador Sea and Iceland-Faeroe Ridge) and Southern Hemisphere (Namibian shelf and Meteor Rise). Results reveal that segment height variations between and within populations are more conservative than segment width. The mean sizes of the thorax and first abdominal segment have distinguishable differences between C. d. davisiana found in the North and South Atlantic. All populations have no significant difference in first abdominal segment width, however, mean heights of this segment differ greatly between populations of the North and South Atlantic. Second abdominal segment sizes show no clear population grouping. Size differences in post-cephalic segment size of these populations would appear to be related to some isolation of gene pools and possibly unknown paleoenvironmental factors. Temporal changes in the postcephalic size of C. d. davisiana may be used to: (1) identify temporally equivalent peaks in abundance of the species in a given region, (2) possibly evaluate the degree of mixing of water'masses between regions, and (3) trace the initial spread of the species from its area of origin. Cleve's 1887 plankton samples, between Greenland and Spitzsbergen, were studied and used in conjunction with other data to make the following conclusions on the modern ecology of C. d. davisiana in the Arctic and Greenland-Norwegian Seas. (1) It is presently absent in surface water plankton samples, (2) it currently lives at depths below 500 m, where it is rare, (3) it does not live in the upper 200 m under Arctic ice but is rare at greater depths, (4) it is absent in the upper 200 m near permanent Greenland Sea ice where normal oceanic salinity prevails, and (5) it is most common in deep marginal fjord environments which may serve as a refuge for the species during interglacial periods. In the Atlantic Ocean, the abundance of C. d. davisiana does not exceed 1% of the assemblage between the Subtropical Convergence of each hemisphere. In the Norwegian and Labrador Seas the species may occasionally be in the range of 1-5% of the modern radiolarian assemblage and never more than 5% in the southern high latitudes. Apparently only in the modern Sea of Okhotsk, does the species presently occur in high abundance. We concur with Morley and Hays (1983) that increased abundances are likely caused by the development of a strong low-salinity surface layer associated with seasonal sea ice melting and a strong temperature minimum above warmer and higher salinity intermediate waters. Similar conditions were frequent during the Pleistocene in the high latitudes and its modern scarcity outside the Sea of Okhotsk must be related to the absence of the presently unique conditions in the latter region.

(Appendix A) Radiolarian abundance in ODP Hole 202-1241A

A quantitative radiolarian study at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1241 in the eastern tropical Pacific enables us to reconstruct paleoceanographic changes that occurred since the latest middle Miocene. Today, this site is located just under the Eastern Pacific Warm Pool (EPWP). Based on the abundance variations of radiolarian characteristic species which are indicators of upwelling and thermocline changes, it is suggested that three notable changes occurred at 10.6, 9.8, and 4.2 Ma in the region. Four distinct periods of oceanographic conditions bounded by these notable changes were characterized on the basis of the following: (1) stratified seawater (12.0 to 10.6 Ma); (2) a shallowing of the thermocline and an increasing of upwelling (10.6 to 9.8 Ma); (3) significant inflow of warm water to the eastern tropical Pacific caused by an intensified Northern Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC), resulting in the formation of EPWP (9.8 to 4.2 Ma); and (4) the reduction of the EPWP and the NECC, and an increase in upwelling (4.2 to 0 Ma). The timing of these paleoceanographic events indicated the strong relations with the opening and closing of the Indonesian and Central American (Panama) Seaways. The reduction of the EPWP (this study) and the deepening of the thermocline in western Pacific at about 4.2 Ma (Cannariato and Ravelo, 1997; Chaisson and Ravelo, 2000) indicated a change from a state resembling El Niño in the late Miocene and the early Pliocene time to a state resembling La Niña by the late Pliocene

(Table T3) Distribution of radiolarian taxa in sediments of ODP Leg 180 sites

Cores from the 11 sites drilled during Leg 180 showed radiolarian assemblages that appear only in the Quaternary sediments. The most diverse and well-preserved assemblages were found in hemipelagic sediments from Holes 1108A, 1110A, and 1115B.

(Table T1) Radiolaria abundance of ODP Hole 175-1082A

A primary objective of Leg 175 was to investigate the upwelling history of the Benguela Current. Upwelling along the coast is found over the shelf in several well-established cells, as well as along the shelf-slope break, and extends over the 1000-m isobath. Streaming filaments along the coast also carry upwelled water off shore (Shannon, 1985). The upwelled nutrient-rich waters are sourced from the South Atlantic central water mass, which is a mixture of subtropical and subantarctic water masses. Below the central water mass lies Antarctic intermediate water (Shannon and Hunter, 1988, doi:10.2989/025776188784480735; Stramma and Peterson, 1989, doi:10.1175/1520-0485(1989)019<1440:GTITBC>2.0.CO;2). The upwelling system supports a robust marine community (Shannon and Pillar, 1986) where radiolarians are abundant (Bishop et al., 1978, doi:10.1016/0146-6291(78)90010-3). The endemic nature of radiolarians makes them useful in reconstructing the paleocirculation patterns. The biogeographic distribution of many species is limited by water-mass distribution. In a given geographic region, species may also have discrete depth habitats. However, their depth of occurrence can change worldwide because the depths of water masses vary with latitude (Boltovskoy, 1999). Consequently, species found at shallow depths at high latitudes (cold-water fauna) are observed deeper in the water column at lower latitudes. The low-latitude submergence of cold-water species broadens their distribution, resulting in species distributions that can cover multiple geographic regions (Kling, 1976, doi:10.1016/0011-7471(76)90880-9; Casey, doi:10.1016/0031-0182(89)90017-5; 1971; Boltovskoy, 1987, doi:10.1016/0377-8398(87)90014-4). Since radiolarian distribution is closely related to water-mass distribution and controlled by climatic conditions rather than geographic regions, similar assemblages characterize the equatorial, subtropical, transition, subpolar, and polar regions of ocean basins (Petrushevskaya, 1971a; Casey, 1989, doi:10.1016/0031-0182(89)90017-5; Boltovskoy, 1999). Numerous radiolarian species found in water masses in the Angola and Benguela Current systems have also been observed in plankton net samples, sediment traps, and surface-sediment studies in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, where they exhibited particular water-mass affinities (Abelmann, 1992a, doi:10.1007/BF00243107; Abelmann 1992b, doi:10.1007/BF00243108; Abelmann and Gowing, 1997, doi:10.1016/S0377-8398(96)00021-7). This report presents data on the radiolarian fauna recovered from Site 1082 sediments in the form of a survey of species reflecting the latitudinal migration of the Angola-Benguela Front and upwelling. The data constitute a time series of relative radiolarian abundances at very high resolution (every 20 cm) of the upper 12 m of Hole 1082A.