Marine diatoms in polar and sub-polar environments and their application to Late Pleistocene paleoclimate reconstruction

Abstract

Diatoms are one of the major phytoplankton groups in polar and sub-polar marine environments along with green algae and chrysophytes. Diatoms are composed of two components, a two-valve test made of amorphous silica and an organic cell encapsulated into the test. Mucilage covering the test and proteins embedded in the silica lattice of the test completes the organic pool of the diatoms. The preservation of these two components into deep-sea sediments allows for a large set of diatom-based proxies to infer past oceanographic and climatic changes in polar and sub-polar marine environments.Most diatom species in polar and sub-polar marine environments exhibit a narrow range of ecological preferences, especially in terms of sea-surface temperature and sea ice conditions. Preserved diatom assemblages in deep-sea sediments mirror the diatom assemblages in the phytoplankton. It is subsequently possible to extrapolate the relationships between diatom assemblages in surface sediments and modern parameters to down-core fossil assemblages to document past changes in sea-surface temperatures and sea ice conditions. Congruent analysis of biogenic silica and organic carbon and stable isotope ratios (O, Si in the silica matrix and C, N in the diatom-intrinsic organic matter) provides information on siliceous productivity, nutrient cycling and water mass circulation. Measurements of diatom biomarkers give complementary information on sea ice conditions and siliceous productivity.