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Mg/Ca ratio paleothermometry in foraminifera is an important tool for the reconstruction and interpretation of past environments. However, existing Mg/Ca:temperature relationships for planktic species inhabiting middle- and high-latitude environments are limited by a lack of information about the development and impact of low-Mg/Ca ratio “crusts” and the influence of the carbonate system on Mg/Ca ratios in these groups. To address this, we cultured individual specimens of Neogloboquadrina incompta and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma in seawater across a range of temperature (6°–12°C) and pH (7.4–8.2). We found by laser ablation inductively couple mass spectrometry analyses of shells that culture-grown crust calcite in N. incompta had a lower Mg/Ca ratio than ontogenetic calcite formed at the same temperature, suggesting that temperature is not responsible for the low-Mg/Ca ratio of neogloboquadrinid crusts. The Mg/Ca:temperature relationship for ontogenetic calcite in N. incompta was consistent with the previously published culture-based relationship, and no significant relationship was found between Mg/Ca ratios and pH in this species. However, the Mg/Ca ratio in laboratory-cultured N. pachyderma was much higher than that reported in previous core top and sediment trap samples, due to lack of crust formation in culture. Application of our ontogenetic calcite-specific Mg/Ca:temperature relationships to fossil N. pachyderma and N. incompta from five intervals in cores from the Santa Barbara Basin and the Bering Sea shows that excluding crust calcite in fossil specimens may improve Mg/Ca-based temperature estimates.

The North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea are prominent sinks of atmospheric CO_2 today, but their roles in the past remain poorly constrained. In this study, we attempt to use B/Ca and δ^(11)B ratios in the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral variety) to reconstruct subsurface water pH and pCO_2 changes in the polar North Atlantic during the last deglaciation. Comparison of core-top results with nearby hydrographic data shows that B/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) is mainly controlled by seawater B(OH)_4−/HCO_3− with a roughly constant partition coefficient (K_D = [B/Ca]_(CaCO_3) / [B(OH)_4−/HCO_3− (seawater)) of 1.48 ± 0.15 × 10^(−3) (2σ), and δ^(11)B in this species is offset below δ^(11)B of the borate in seawater by 3.38 ± 0.71‰ (2σ). These values represent our best estimates with the sparse available hydrographic data close to our core-tops. More culturing and sediment trap work is needed to improve our understanding of boron incorporation into N. pachyderma (s). Application of a constant K_D of 1.48 × 10^(−3) to high resolution N. pachyderma (s) B/Ca records from two adjacent cores off Iceland shows that subsurface pCO_2 at the habitat depth of N. pachyderma (s) (~50 m) generally followed the atmospheric CO_2 trend but with negative offsets of ~10–50 ppmv during 19–10 ka. These B/Ca-based reconstructions are supported by independent estimates from low-resolution δ^(11)B measurements in the same cores. We also calibrate and apply Cd/Ca in N. pachyderma (s) to reconstruct nutrient levels for the same down cores. Like today's North Atlantic, past subsurface pCO_2 variability off Iceland was significantly correlated with nutrient changes that might be linked to surface nutrient utilization and mixing within the upper water column. Because surface pCO_2 (at 0 m water depth) is always lower than at deeper depths and if the application of a constant KD is valid, our results suggest that the polar North Atlantic has remained a CO_2 sink during the calcification seasons of N. pachyderma (s) over the last deglaciation.

[1] Past water column stratification can be assessed through comparison of theδ18O of different planktonic foraminiferal species. The underlying assumption is that different species form their shellssimultaneously, but at different depths in the water column. We evaluate thisassumption using a sediment trap time-series of Neogloboquadrinapachyderma(s) and Globigerina bulloides from the NWNorth Atlantic. We determined fluxes, δ18O and δ13C of shells from two size fractionsto assess size-related effects on shell chemistry and to better constrain the underlying causes of isotopic differences between foraminifera in deep-sea sediments. Our data indicate that in the subpolar North Atlantic differences in the seasonality of the shell flux, and not in depth habitat or test size, determine the interspecies Δδ18O. N. pachyderma(s) preferentially forms from early spring to late summer, whereas the flux ofG. bulloides peaks later in the season and is sustained until autumn.Likewise, seasonality influences large and small specimens differently, with large shells settling earlier in the season. [2] The similarity of the seasonal δ18O patterns between the two species indicatesthat theycalcify in an overlapping depth zone close to the surface. However, their δ13C patterns are markedly different (>1 ‰). Bothspecies have a seasonally variable offset from δ13CDIC that appears to be governed primarily by temperature, with larger offsets associated with higher temperatures. The variable offset from δ13CDIC implies that seasonality of the flux affects the fossil δ13C signal, which has implications for reconstruction of the past oceanic carbon cycle.

Theories explaining the origin of the abrupt, massive discharges of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) into the glacial North Atlantic (the Heinrich layers (HLs)) generally point to the Laurentide ice sheet as the sole source of these events, until it was found that the IRDs also originated from Icelandic and European ice sheets [Bond and Lotti, 1995; Snoeckx er al., 1999; Grousset et al., 2000]. This apparent contradiction must be reconciled as it raises fundamental questions about the mechanism(s) of HL origin. We have analyzed two similar to 12 cm thick HLs in an ultrahigh-resolution mode (1-2 century intervals) in a mid-Atlantic ridge piston core. The delta O-18 record (N. pachyderma left coiling) reveals strong excursions induced by the melting of the icebergs; these excursions are associated with a strong decrease in the amount of planktic foraminifers and with a 30 degreesC cooling of the surface waters. Counts of coarse detrital grains reveal that IRD are deposited according to a typical sequence (I) volcanic glass, (2) quartz and feldspars, (3) detrital carbonate, that implies a chronology in the melting of the differentpan-Atlantic ice sheets. Sr and Nd isotopic composition confirm that in both Heinrich layers H1 and H2, "precursor" IRD came from first Europe/Iceland, followed then by Laurentide-derived IRD. An internal cyclicity can be identified: during H1 and H2, about four to six major, abrupt discharges occurred roughly on a century timescale. The delta C-13 and delta N-15 records reveal that dominant inputs of continent-derived organic matter are associated with IRD within the HLs, hiding the plankton productivity signal.

Hitherto unknown abundance peaks of left coiling (l.c.) Neogloboquadrina pachyderma from a Gulf of Lions piston core indicate that abrupt cold spells associated with Atlantic Heinrich events affected the Mediterranean. N. pachyderma (l.c.) is typical of (sub) polar waters in the open ocean. The southern edge of its glacial North Atlantic bioprovince reached south Portugal. Only trace abundances of N. pachyderma (l.c.) are known from Quaternary Mediterranean sediments, suggesting that no significant “invasions” occured via the Strait of Gibraltar. The Gulf of Lions abundance peaks therefore seem to reflect area-specific thriving of a normally rare but indigenous taxon in the western Mediterranean through local favorable habitat development. The general planktonic foraminiferal record suggests that the basic hydrographic regime in the Gulf of Lions, with wintertime deep convective overturn, was relatively stable over the past 60 kyr. Under these conditions, high abundances of N. pachyderma (l.c.) would essentially imply temperature reductions of the order of 5°–8° relative to the present.

The abundance and chemistry of the planktonic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral coiling) have long been used as tools for monitoring polar surface ocean changes and for correlating these changes to atmospheric and thermohaline circulation fluctuations. However, due to its remote habitat, very little is known about how modern N. pachyderma (s.) respond to changing environmental conditions in the polar seas. Modern samples of N. pachyderma (s.) from the Northeast Water Polynya provide a means for studying how environmental conditions affect the vertical distribution and chemistry of this species. Highest abundances of N. pachyderma (s.) were associated with the chlorophyll maximum in the surface 20–80 m, where they are exploiting their primary food source. Evidence suggests that the addition of a calcite crust modifies the calcite tests of some N. pachyderma (s.) between 50 and 200 m, increasing shell density and modifying shell chemistry. The shell mass of encrusted forms is 3–4 times greater than the nonencrusted forms between 50 and 200 m. The oxygen isotope composition of N. pachyderma (s.) shells increase by 1.5‰ in response to local water column gradients. The δ13C values of N. pachyderma (s.) are basically invariant with depth in this region, are consistently 1.0‰ depleted in comparison with the δ13C for equilibrium calcite, and remain basically constant during the shell-thickening process. Mass balance calculations suggest that encrustation occurs at all depths, but abundance counts suggest that the process occurs mostly at the depth of the main pycnocline. Sediment fluxes of N. pachyderma (s.) occur during a 2-week bloom event and decrease to almost zero below complete ice cover. The decoupling of the processes controlling abundances and shell chemistry explain the discrepancies between transfer function and isotopically derived paleotemperature estimates of surface conditions, in some oceanic settings. The ability of δ18O to record surface ocean conditions will depend on vertical water column gradients, as evidenced by the differences in core-top calibrations between the North and South Atlantic.

Continental margin sediments off Nova Scotia accumulate at high rates (up to 360 cm kyr−1) and contain a history of millennial-scale environmental changes which are dominated by the proximity of the Laurentide ice sheet during the latest Quaternary. Using stable isotope ratios of oxygen, accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating, micropaleontology, and sedimentology, we document these changes in six piston cores ranging in water depth from ∼450 to ∼4300 m. We find that maximum δ18O in N. pachyderma occurred about 15 ka and preceded the maximum abundance of this species in these cores by ∼1000 years. Between 13 and 14 ka we find a second peak in abundance of N. pachyderma, minimum δ18O, and two pulses of ice rafting. The sediment lithology supports terrestrial studies which indicate that there was a general withdrawal of ice beyond the upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic red beds by 14 ka in southeastern Canada, so the ice rafting events between 13 and 14 ka probably reflect ice stream activity in the St. Lawrence valley. The Younger Dry as event is recognized as a peak in abundance of N. pachyderma and ice rafting (dated as ∼11.3 ka), but meltwater discharge to the Gulf of St. Lawrence was either too small or occurred over too long a time to leave a distinct δ18O minimum off Nova Scotia. At 7.1 ka, in the middle of Holocene warming, we find a third peak in abundance of N. pachyderma and another δ18O minimum but no ice rafting. We interpret these data as evidence of a late-occurring meltwater event which, if correct, could have originated in the Great Lakes, in the Labrador-Ungava region, or in both. The final millennial-scale phenomenon off Nova Scotia is the onset of “Neoglaciation,” marked by increased ice rafting and increased % N. pachyderma beginning about 5 kyr ago.

A core from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 43.5°N and ∼3 km water depth shows distinct evidence of the deglacial events known as Heinrich event 1 (probably the marine equivalent of Oldest Dryas cooling in Europe) and the Younger Dryas. The Heinrich event, dated at three levels to between 14.3 and 15.0 ka, is marked by a minimum in foraminifera per gram, by maxima in rates of sedimentation, ice rafted debris per gram, and relative abundance of N. pachyderma (s.), and by a δ18O minimum in planktonic foraminifera. The Younger Dryas event is marked by peak abundance of N. pachyderma (s.) and a planktonic δ18O maximum. Benthic foraminiferal δ13C reaches minimum values during both the Heinrich event and the Younger Dryas. Our data indicate pronounced changes in surface water properties were coupled with reduced production of North Atlantic Deep Water at each of these times.

[1] The oxygen isotope value (δ18O) of planktonic foraminifer shells is one of the most commonly used proxies to reconstruct the paleoenvironment. Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) (N. pachyderma (sin.)) is a dominant foraminifer in subpolar and polar region that is used extensively for high-latitude paleoreconstruction. The present study examined seasonal variation in δ18O of N. pachyderma (sin.) using sediment trap samples collected over 3.5 years in the northwestern North Pacific Ocean. The vital offset value was about −1‰, which agrees with previous plankton tow studies. Large shell individuals (180–250 μm) secrete their shells in a shallower and warmer environment than small ones (125–180 μm), and the difference in δ18O between shell size showed seasonal variation. Although large individuals calcify at a slower rate with slightly heavier δ18O than small individuals, differences between size classes mainly reflect different habitation in the water column and are related to seasonal changes in stratification. During summer, large individuals would calcify mainly at 25–35 m depth, while small individuals calcify near the pycnocline at ∼45 m. During winter, both size classes calcify at or slightly above the weak pycnocline at 45–65 m. Thus, the shell δ18O could record the oceanographic environment around pycnocline depth, and size-specific differences in δ18O reflect water column stratification. The annual flux-weighted δ18O corresponded to non-flux-weighted mean δ18O value due to the equal contribution of two flux peaks and differences between size classes also related to the stratification. It suggests that fossil δ18O data could represent the annual mean environment around pycnocline and past stratification.

[1] We present an almost 3 year long time series of shell fluxes and oxygen isotopes of left-coiling Neogloboquadrina pachyderma and Turborotalita quinqueloba from sediment traps moored in the deep central Irminger Sea. We determined their response to the seasonal change from a deeply mixed water column with occasional deep convection in winter to a thermally stratified water column with a surface mixed layer (SML) of around 50 m in summer. Both species display very low fluxes during winter with a remnant summer population holding out until replaced by a vital population that seeds the subsequent blooms. This annual population overturning is marked by a 0.7‰ increase in δ18O in both species. The shell flux of N. pachyderma peaks during the spring bloom and in late summer, when stratification is close to its minimum and maximum, respectively. Both export periods contribute about equally and account for >95% of the total annual flux. Shell fluxes of T. quinqueloba show only a single broad pulse in summer, thus following the seasonal stratification cycle. The δ18O of N. pachyderma reflects temperatures just below the base of the seasonal SML without offset from isotopic equilibrium. The δ18O pattern of T. quinqueloba shows a nearly identical amplitude and correlates highly with the δ18O of N. pachyderma. Therefore T. quinqueloba also reflects temperature near the base of the SML but with a positive offset from isotopic equilibrium. These offsets contrast with observations elsewhere and suggest a variable offset from equilibrium calcification for both species. In the Irminger Sea the species consistently show a contrast in their flux timings. Their flux-weighted Δδ18O will thus dominantly be determined by seasonal temperature differences at the base of the SML rather than by differences in their depth habitat. Consequently, their sedimentary Δδ18O may be used to infer the seasonal contrast in temperature at the base of the SML.

Stable isotopic analyses (δ18O and δ13Crpar; on four species of planktonic foraminifera collected from high-resolution time series sediment trap sampling indicate that rapid and significant seasonal variability occurred in response to rapid changes in both the hydrographic environment and the isotopic composition of ambient seawater. Specimens were collected at a depth of 500 m for 28 consecutive 1-week periods in the San Pedro Basin, within the Southern California Bight, a region seasonally influenced by upwelling. Hydrographic monitoring of the study area revealed a 6-week period (late April to mid-June) during which pulses of upwelling occurred, causing significant increases in the oxygen isotopic composition of surrounding waters, while decreasing the carbon isotopic composition. Analyses of Globigerina bulloides, Orbulina universa, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (right-coiling) indicate that during the upwelling period these species live, respectively, at the surface, in the surface mixed layer, within the thermocline, and below the thermocline. Globigerina bulloides ascends from well below the thermocline to the surface at the onset of upwelling and increases production to its maximum simultaneously as its morphology changes to less-calcified, open forms. Both N. dutertrei and N. pachyderma follow isothermal ranges, migrating to shallower waters during upwelling and subsequently descending after upwelling ceases. Neogloboquadrina dutertrei appears to inhabit the region associated with both the thermocline base and chlorophyll maximum when it is most abundant, following upwelling. Orbulina universa increases its depth habitat as solar irradiance increases, but this species decreases in abundance during upwelling. The δ18O signal of O. universa appears to be a useful indicator of seasonal temperature variations above the thermocline, whereas the δ18O of G. bulloides documents near-surface temperatures during upwelling. The δ13C signal of both N. dutertrei and N. pachyderma appears to record the δ13C of equilibrium calcite for the regions of the thermocline and just below the thermocline, respectively. Due to the relative preservation potentials of the four species analyzed, only N. dutertrei and N. pachyderma are likely to be preserved in the sedimentary record in regions of oxygenated bottom waters. Thus an actual record of hydrographic conditions during upwelling, as would be found in tests of G. bulloides, is not preserved; instead, conditions before (N. pachyderma) and just after (N. dutertrei) are more likely recorded.

[1] Down-core samples of the planktonic foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral from the Mendeleyev Ridge in the western Arctic Ocean have been analyzed for Ba/Ca and δ18O. The apparent distribution coefficient for N. pachyderma sin. is estimated at DBa = 0.22 ± 0.02. A meltwater event is identified at around 11.8 14C kyr BP and is coincident with elevated Ba/Ca ratios. The barium enrichment is believed to be the result of enhanced weathering and erosion following glaciation. Additionally, barium may have desorbed from shelf sediments as sea level rose. Changes in Ba/Ca correlate with the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the evolution of the Mackenzie River drainage basin. Therefore maximum Ba/Ca in Arctic surface waters at 11.8 ka may be indicative of an increase in the export of freshwater from the Arctic to the North Atlantic, potentially contributing to the onset of the Younger Dryas. This work suggests that Ba/Ca in planktonic foraminifera may be a useful indicator of the timing and processes associated with deglaciation.

[1] We present data on the temporal distribution of planktonic foraminifer genotypes (small subunit (SSU) ribosomal (r) RNA gene) and morphospecies (sediment traps) collected during 1999 in the Santa Barbara Channel. The sampling was undertaken with special emphasis on paleoceanographically important morphospecies, predominantly Globigerina bulloides. We found the same genotype of G. bulloides (type IId) in all the changing hydrographic regimes associated with this region throughout the annual cycle with the exception of January, when we recorded the additional presence of the high-latitude G. bulloides type IIa. We identified three new genotypes: Neogloboquadrina dutertrei type Ic, N. pachyderma dextral type II, and Turborotalita quinqueloba type IId. Our data suggest that G. bulloides type IId and possibly even the new genotypes listed above may be associated specifically with the complex hydrography or other environmental features characteristic of this area. Since G. bulloides type IId occurs throughout the year and its peak fluxes are related to different hydrographic regimes, we argue that the physical properties of the water column are not the major factor influencing the distribution and growth of this genotype. In sediment trap samples we found a skewed coiling ratio for G. bulloides (most likely representing type IId), which is related neither to sea surface temperature nor to genotypic difference. This study illustrates the necessity to map both the spatial and temporal distribution of the genetic types, especially in areas of paleoceanographic interest, where geochemical and paleontological proxies are being calibrated.

[1] The Holocene history of the Japan Sea was reconstructed using foraminiferal assemblages and stable isotope records from two piston cores recovered from west of the Tsugaru Strait, with the overall goal to resolve a controversy regarding flow in and out of the Japan Sea during the Holocene. In the northern core the planktonic foraminifer N. pachyderma changed from left-coiling to right-coiling at 8.3 ka. However, in the southern core the left-coiling form remained dominant until 4.8 ka. Some indices of the stable isotopic records also changed at 8.3 and 4.8 ka. These results suggest that the Tsushima Current started to inflow into the Japan Sea at 8.3 ka, but a branch of the Oyashio Current continued to inflow until 4.8 ka. We attribute the coexistence of the two currents between 8.3 and 4.8 ka to the opposite direction flows between the shallow and the deep portions of the Tsugaru Strait driven by baroclinic components.