Paleoceanographic reconstructions from planktonic foraminifera off the Iberian Margin: Temperature, salinity, and Heinrich events

Abstract

A quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera in a core from the Iberian Margin allows a reconstruction of the evolution of oceanographic parameters during the last glacial cycle with a resolution of ∼1000 years. A principal component analysis performed on 19 species allows the identification of 11 intervals characterized by increased abundances of the subpolar species. The youngest six of these intervals are correlated with the last 6 Heinrich events (HEs). The five cold events older than stage 4 are dated at 81, 90, 110, 129, and 140 ka, respectively. Paleotemperatures reconstructed using the modern analog technique indicate 4°C decreases during all even‐numbered isotopic stages and stage 3. During the HEs, temperature decreases reach ∼10°C and seawater δ18O anomalies reach ∼1‰. Temperature and salinity reconstructions indicate that the environment of the Iberian Margin has been under the combined influence of global factors such as the migration of the polar front and iceberg discharge and of regional factors such as the precipitation/evaporation regime on both oceanic and continental area.