Ceara Rise Research Articles

Regional Benthic δ18O Stacks for the “41‐Kyr World”—An Atlantic‐Pacific Divergence Between 1.8 and 1.9 Ma

AbstractBenthic δ18O stacks are the benchmarks by which paleoceanographic data are stratigraphically aligned and compared. However, a recent study found that between 1.8 and 1.9 million years ago (Ma) several Ceara Rise records differed substantially from the widely used LR04 global stack. Here, we use new Bayesian stacking software to construct regional stacks and demonstrate a geographical divergence in benthic δ18O features from 1.8 to 1.9 Ma. The pattern of isotopic stage features observed in the Ceara Rise is widespread throughout the Atlantic and differs notably from Pacific records. We propose that this regional difference in isotopic stages may be the result of relatively strong precession forcing and weaker obliquity forcing between 1.8 and 1.9 Ma. In accordance with the Antiphase Hypothesis, our results highlight a period of apparent sensitivity to regional precession forcing that is masked during most of the 41‐Kyr world due to the amplitude modulation of obliquity forcing.

Nature and origin of variations in pelagic carbonate production in the tropical ocean since the mid-Miocene (ODP Site 927)

Abstract. Marine plankton is an important component of the global carbon cycle. Whereas the production and seafloor export of organic carbon produced by the plankton, the biological pump, has received much attention, the long-term variability in plankton calcification, controlling the carbonate counter pump, remains less well understood. However, it has been shown that changes in pelagic calcification (biological compensation) could affect the ocean's buffering capacity and thus regulate global carbon budget on geological timescales. Here we use Neogene pelagic sediments deposited on the Ceara Rise in the tropical Atlantic to characterize the variability in pelagic carbonate production with a focus on warm climates. A re-evaluation of published records of carbonate accumulation at the Ceara Rise reveals a systematic increase in sedimentation rates since the late Miocene, but the carbonate accumulation rate does not show a clear trend. Instead, we observe substantial orbital timescale variability in carbonate accumulation, combined with a trend towards less carbonate on average at sites located below 4 km, likely due to the effect of carbonate dissolution. To evaluate long-term changes against possible orbital-scale variability, we generated new high-resolution records of carbonate accumulation rate at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 927 across two Quaternary interglacials (MIS 5 and MIS 9), the Pliocene warm period (MIS KM5) and the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO). We observe that the highest carbonate accumulation rates occurred during the Pliocene but that each of the studied intervals was characterized by large-magnitude orbital variability. Prominent variations in carbonate accumulation prior to the Quaternary preservation cycles appear to follow Earth obliquity and eccentricity. These results imply that pelagic carbonate accumulation in the tropical ocean, buffered from large temperature changes, varied on orbital timescales. The magnitude of the orbital-scale variability was similar or even higher than the long-term mean differences among the studied intervals. Since preservation can be excluded as a driver of these changes prior to the Quaternary, the observed variations must reflect changes in the export flux of pelagic biogenic carbonate. We conclude that the overall carbonate production by pelagic calcifiers responded to local changes in light, temperature, and nutrients delivered by upwelling, which followed long orbital cycles, as well as to long-term shifts in climate and/or ocean chemistry. The inferred changes on both timescales were sufficiently large such that when extrapolated on a global scale, they could have played a role in the regulation of the carbon cycle and global climate evolution during the transition from the Miocene warm climates into the Quaternary icehouse.

Quaternary equatorial Atlantic deep-sea ostracodes: evidence for a distinct tropical fauna in the deep sea

AbstractLow-latitude, deep-sea faunas remain poorly understood and described. Here, we systematically describe Quaternary deep-sea ostracodes from the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 925 (Ceara Rise; 4°12.2'N, 43°29.3′W; 3040 m water depth) in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Twenty-six genera and 52 species were examined and illustrated with high-resolution scanning electron microscopy images. Six new species are described herein:Pseudocythere spinae,Hemiparacytheridea zarikiani,Pedicythere canis,Xylocythere denticulata,Paracytherois obtusa, andPoseidonamicus sculptus. The results show that deep-sea ostracodes have a tropical faunal element that is distinctive from higher latitude ostracodes, and that is globally distributed in low latitudes. This tropical faunal component is possibly a Tethyan legacy of a fauna that was widely distributed in tropical and extratropical latitudes in deep waters during greenhouse conditions in the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic. Global cooling thereafter shrank its distribution, limiting it to tropical latitudes, perhaps with the relatively warm uppermost bathyal area acting as the source or refuge of this faunal component. Because similar present-day biogeographic patterns (i.e., presence and wide distribution of tropical deep-sea fauna) are known in other deep-sea benthic groups, this scenario might be applicable to the deep-sea benthos more broadly.UUID:http://zoobank.org/552d4cb2-c0db-463a-ae3f-b2efcc0985df.

Systematic taxonomy of middle Miocene Sphaeroidinellopsis (planktonic foraminifera)

The taxonomy and phylogeny of the Miocene to Recent genus Sphaeroidinellopsis have been documented in previous studies, but the evolution of this lineage remains unclear. Some authors have debated this genus in the past, choosing a variety of parameters to discriminate the morphospecies. Here we present new scanning electron microscope analyses of specimens from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 925 (Ceara Rise, western equatorial Atlantic) and ODP Site 959 (Deep Ivorian Basin, eastern equatorial Atlantic). Our study reveals transitional individuals Sphaeroidinellopsis disjuncta–Sphaeroidinellopsis kochi, a speciation event never described previously. These transitional specimens are characterized by extreme morphological features such as elongated and sac-like final chambers, requiring amendments to the current classification and taxonomy of these morphospecies. In this paper, an alternative hypothesis is presented and discussed, to assess these new observations within the evolutionary mosaic of Sphaeroidinellopsis.

The response of calcareous nannoplankton to sea surface variability at Ceara Rise during the early Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles

The Ceara Rise lies just beyond the edge of the Amazon River Fan and sediments from this site may record the complex interplay of different climatic systems and processes, including past changes in southern America monsoon activity, Intertropical Convergence Zone setting, different Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) strength and phytoplankton blooming triggered by AmazonRiver plumes. Here we investigate early Pleistocene calcareous nannoplankton at Ceara Rise, between about 1150 and 850 kiloyears ago. Our investigation shows abrupt variations in water column dynamics across glacial/interglacial cycles or, even better, linked with different AMOC modes. Dominant placoliths indicate a shallow nutricline that alternate with dominant Florisphaera profunda, pointing to a deep nutricline, respectively during a vigorous flow and slowdown/shutdown of AMOC. The southward displacement of the ITCZ, higher zonal trade wind intensity, more intense and prolonged North Brazilian Current retroflection and the arrival of the nutrientdepleted Glacial North Atlantic Intermediate Water possibly explain thermocline deepening and increased water column stratification during cold phases, with an Antarctic deep water signature on the Ceara Rise seafloor.

Quantifying and comparing rates of dissolution and assemblage turnover among planktonic foraminifera; a case study from the Upper Quaternary in ODPHole 926A, Ceara Rise, western tropical Atlantic Ocean

Planktonic foraminiferal morphotypes differ in their susceptibilities to post mortem dissolution. Tropical morphotypes are readily assigned to groups that are dissolution-resistant (primarily non-spinose, r) and dissolution-susceptible (primarily spinose walled, s). Morphotypes in the uppermost Quaternary (marine isotope stages MIS 7-2) at Ceara Rise ODP Hole 926A were assigned to these r and s groups, and the stratigraphic distributions of both the morphotypes and the groups examined. Total recovery was co-dominated by s morphotypes (Globigerinoides ruber Morphotype B, Trilobatus sacculifer s.s.) with lesser, but nevertheless abundant, r morphotypes (Menardella menardiisinistral, Truncorotalia excelsadextral). Dissolution intensity, quantified using the dissolution index Res (%) = 100r / (r + s), showed an overall decrease over time, values of Res(%) being negatively correlated with sample depth below the seafloor. It differed more or less markedly between adjacent samples. These fluctuations were greater towards the bottom of the studied section. Between-sample assemblage turnover was quantified using an assemblage turnover index ATIs (SIGMA p i2 - p i1 , in which pi1 and pi2 are the proportional abundances of the ith morphotype in consecutive samples). Values of ATIs for the total assemblage (ATI tot), when assigned to glacial and interglacial MISs, suggested that the mean value of glacial ATItot did not differ significantly from the mean interglacial ATI tot. More variable and greater dissolution in the lower part of the section is reflected in the significant positive correlation between the sample depth and values of ATItot. Assemblage turnover indices were calculated for the dissolution-resistant r and dissolution-susceptible s groups, the latter being calculated in two ways. For ATI sus1, Trilobatus sacculifer was split into several distinguishable morphotypes based on test form. For ATI sus2, these morphotypes were grouped as T. sacculifer s.s. The correlations between sample depth and the ATIres andATIsus2 were not significant. The values of ATIsus2 and ATI res were positively correlated, though mean ATIsus2 was less than mean ATI res. This implies that, despite dissolution, the s group was more stable overall than the r group. Proportional abundances of the s group members T. sacculifer s.s. and G. ruber gr. (including G. ruber Morphotype B) increased through the section, being positively correlated with each other but negatively correlated with depth below the seafloor. In contrast, percentages of the total recovery as M. menardii and T. excelsa were negatively correlated. Menardella menardii was proportionally abundant throughout the interval below mid MIS 5, and T. excelsa was abundant above that depth. Ceara Rise currently lays beneath the North Equatorial Counter Current, which flows seasonally and induces annual phytoplankton blooms. Dextrally coiled T. truncatulinoides, which is also the main coiling direction of our T. excelsa, characterize environments with periodic phytoplankton blooms, while M. menardii prefers stable environments.We speculate that the replacement of M. menardii by T. excelsa might reflect a change in the seasonality of phytodetrital production at ODP Site 926.

Revisiting the Ceara Rise, equatorial Atlantic Ocean: isotope stratigraphy of ODP Leg 154 from 0 to 5 Ma

Abstract. Isotope stratigraphy has become the method of choice for investigating both past ocean temperatures and global ice volume. Lisiecki and Raymo (2005) published a stacked record of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records versus age (LR04 stack). In this study LR04 is compared to high-resolution records collected at all of the sites drilled during ODP Leg 154 on the Ceara Rise, in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Newly developed software is used to check data splices of the Ceara Rise sites and better align out-of-splice data with in-splice data. Core images recovered from core table photos are depth and age scaled and greatly assist in the data analysis. The entire splices of ODP sites 925, 926, 927, 928 and 929 were reviewed. Most changes were minor although several were large enough to affect age models based on orbital tuning. A Ceara Rise composite record of benthic δ18O is out of sync with LR04 between 1.80 and 1.90 Ma, where LR04 exhibits two maxima but Ceara Rise data contain only one. The interval between 4.0 and 4.5 Ma in the Ceara Rise compilation is decidedly different from LR04, reflecting both the low amplitude of the signal over this interval and the limited amount of data available for the LR04 stack. A regional difference in benthic δ18O of 0.2 ‰ relative to LR04 was found. Independent tuning of Site 926 images and physical property data to the Laskar et al. (2004) orbital solution and integration of available benthic stable isotope data from the Ceara Rise provides a new regional reference section for the equatorial Atlantic covering the last 5 million years.

Reconstruction of east–west deep water exchange in the low latitude Atlantic Ocean over the past 25,000 years

Radiogenic neodymium isotopes have been used as a water mass mixing proxy to investigate past changes in ocean circulation. Here we present a new depth transect of deglacial neodymium isotope records measured on uncleaned planktic foraminifera from five cores spanning from 3300 to 4900 m on the Mauritanian margin, in the tropical eastern Atlantic as well as an additional record from 4000 m on the Ceara Rise in the equatorial western Atlantic. Despite being located under the Saharan dust plume, the eastern Atlantic records differ from the composition of detrital inputs through time and exhibit similar values to the western Atlantic foraminiferal Nd across the deglaciation. Therefore we interpret the foraminiferal values as recording deep water Nd isotope changes. All six cores shift to less radiogenic values across the deglaciation, indicating that they were bathed by a lower proportion of North Atlantic Deep Water during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) relative to the Holocene. The eastern Atlantic records also show that a neodymium isotope gradient was present during the LGM and during the deglaciation, with more radiogenic values observed at the deepest sites. A homogeneous water mass observed below 3750 m in the deepest eastern Atlantic during the LGM is attributed to the mixing of deep water by rough topography as it passes from the western Atlantic through the fracture zones in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This implies that during the LGM the low latitude deep eastern Atlantic was ventilated from the western Atlantic via advection through fracture zones in the same manner as occurs in the modern ocean. Comparison with carbon isotopes indicates there was more respired carbon in the deep eastern than deep western Atlantic during the LGM, as is also seen in the modern Atlantic Ocean.

Influence of the Amazon River on the Nd isotope composition of deep water in the western equatorial Atlantic during the Oligocene–Miocene transition

Dissolved and particulate neodymium (Nd) are mainly supplied to the oceans via rivers, dust, and release from marine sediments along continental margins. This process, together with the short oceanic residence time of Nd, gives rise to pronounced spatial gradients in oceanic 143Nd/144Nd ratios (εNd). However, we do not yet have a good understanding of the extent to which the influence of riverine point-source Nd supply can be distinguished from changes in mixing between different water masses in the marine geological record. This gap in knowledge is important to fill because there is growing awareness that major global climate transitions may be associated not only with changes in large-scale ocean water mass mixing, but also with important changes in continental hydroclimate and weathering. Here we present εNd data for fossilised fish teeth, planktonic foraminifera, and the Fe–Mn oxyhydroxide and detrital fractions of sediments recovered from Ocean Drilling Project (ODP) Site 926 on Ceara Rise, situated approximately 800 km from the mouth of the River Amazon. Our records span the Mi-1 glaciation event during the Oligocene–Miocene transition (OMT; ∼23 Ma). We compare our εNd records with data for ambient deep Atlantic northern and southern component waters to assess the influence of particulate input from the Amazon River on Nd in ancient deep waters at this site. εNd values for all of our fish teeth, foraminifera, and Fe–Mn oxyhydroxide samples are extremely unradiogenic (εNd≈−15); much lower than the εNd for deep waters of modern or Oligocene–Miocene age from the North Atlantic (εNd≈−10) and South Atlantic (εNd≈−8). This finding suggests that partial dissolution of detrital particulate material from the Amazon (εNd≈−18) strongly influences the εNd values of deep waters at Ceara Rise across the OMT. We conclude that terrestrially derived inputs of Nd can affect εNd values of deep water many hundreds of kilometres from source. Our results both underscore the need for care in reconstructing changes in large-scale oceanic water-mass mixing using sites proximal to major rivers, and highlight the potential of these marine archives for tracing changes in continental hydroclimate and weathering.

Evolutionary prospection in the Neogene planktic foraminifer Globorotalia menardii and related forms from ODP Hole 925B (Ceara Rise, western tropical Atlantic): evidence for gradual evolution superimposed by long distance dispersal?

Evolutionary prospection is the study of morphological evolution and speciation in calcareous plankton from selected time-slices and key sites in the world oceans. In this context, the Neogene menardiform globorotalids serve as study objects for morphological speciation in planktic foraminifera. A downcore investigation of test morphology of the lineage of G. menardii-limbata-multicamerata during the past 8 million years was carried out in the western tropical Atlantic ODP Hole 925B. A total of 4669 specimens were measured and analyzed from 38 stratigraphic levels and compared to previous studies from DSDP Sites 502 and 503. Collection of digital images and morphometric measurements from digitized outlines were achieved using a microfossil orientation and imaging robot called AMOR and software, which was especially developed for this purpose. Most attention was given to the evolution of spiral height versus axial length of tests in keel view, but other parameters were investigated as well. The variability of morphological parameters in G. menardii, G. limbata, and G. multicamerata through time are visualized by volume density diagrams. At Hole 925B results show gradual test size increase in G. menardii until about 3.2 Ma. The combination of taxonomic determination in the light microscope with morphometric investigations shows strong morphological overlap and evolutionary continuity from ancestral to extant G. menardii (4–6 chambers in the final whorl) to the descendent but extinct G. limbata (seven chambers in the final whorl) and to G. multicamerata (≥8 chambers in the final whorl). In the morphospace defined by spiral height (δX) and axial length (δY) Globorotalia limbata and G. multicamerata strongly overlap with G. menardii. Distinction of G. limbata from G. menardii is only possible by slight differences in the number of chambers of the final whorl, nuances in spiral convexity, upper keel angles, radii of osculating circles, or by differences in reflectance of their tests. Globorotalia multicamerata can be distinguished from the other two forms by more than eight chambers in the final whorl. It appeared as two stratigraphically separate clusters during the Pliocene. Between 2.88 and 2.3 Ma G. menardii was severely restricted in size and abundance. Thereafter, it showed a rapid and prominent expansion of the upper test size extremes between 2.3 and 1.95 Ma persisting until present. The size-frequency distributions at Hole 925B are surprisingly similar to trends of menardiform globorotalids from Caribbean DSDP Site 502. There, the observations were explained as an adaptation to changes in the upper water column due to the emergence of the Isthmus of Panama. In light of more recent paleontological and geological investigations about the completion of the permanent land connection between North and South America since about 3 Ma the present study gives reason to suspect the sudden test size increase of G. menardii to reflect immigration of extra-large G. menardii from the Indian Ocean or the Pacific. It is hypothesized that during the Late Pliocene dispersal of large G. menardii into the southern to tropical Atlantic occurred during an intermittent episode of intense Agulhas Current leakage around the Cape of Good Hope and from there via warm eddy transport to the tropical Atlantic (Agulhas dispersal hypothesis).

Bottom sediments and near-bottom currents in the Southwestern Atlantic

On the basis of the author’s data on the composition of sediments and seismic cross sections, together with literature data, the bottom topography was described and the main structural features of the top 10–100 m thick sedimentary sequence in the Southwestern Atlantic (Brazil Basin) were identified. The presence of a heavy northward flow of Antarctic bottom water (AABW) and its active erosive activity were confirmed. The AABW caused the erosion or redeposition of red pelagic clays and hemipelagic clays, which accumulated in the Brazil Basin in the Holocene and Pleistocene; the clays contain abundant redeposited Pleistocene diatoms and Neogene and Paleogene discoasters. In most of the sediment cores of the Brazil Basin, the red pelagic clays are of Pleistocene age. Contourites and sandy microlayers have been found in the sediments at the foot of the continental slope of South America; this is the effect of the Deep Western Boundary Current on the ocean floor. The AABW transfers Antarctic diatom species along the continental slope of South America to 10°-5° S. The presence of the Equatorial Midocean Channel with a relative depth of 149 m in the western pelagic equatorial part of the Atlantic was confirmed, and new channels, such as Vavilov and Akademik Ioffe, have been found. The AABW flows northward along the Equatorial Mid-Ocean Channel. Apparently, the Akademik Ioffe Channel is not a proper midocean channel. At 20° S (at a depth of 5000 m), Pleistocene diatomic (Ethmodiscus rex) ooze containing up to 74% amorphous SiO2 was detected. On the Amazon-Mid-Atlantic Ridge profile, the AABW flows into the Guyana Basin through only one valley of the Nara Plain, with a depth of 4620 m. Near the Ceara Rise and on the Amazon Fan, no geologic traces of the AABW flow into the Guyana Basin were found. Near the Rio Grande Rise, the AABW might have appeared in the Eocene. The formation of the Vema Channel, which separates the Rio Grande Rise from South America, also began at that time. The AABW flows were the heaviest before the largest glaciations (particularly at isotopic stages 7/6 and 3/2).

Truncorotalia crassaformis from its type locality: Comparison with Caribbean plankton and Pliocene relatives

Abstract Truncorotalia crassaformis has been identified in Pliocene–Holocene assemblages globally but there has been little analysis of specimens from its type locality at Lomita Quarry, California. This has led to confusion about some diagnostic criteria, particularly the presence of a peripheral keel. To better understand variation specimens are studied from the type locality (Pleistocene, c. 400–600 ka), supplemented by material from a plankton trap in Cariaco Basin and from ODP 925, Ceara Rise (Pliocene, c. 4.3 Ma). The damaged holotype has a weak topographic ridge (keel) at the periphery of early chambers of the outer whorl. Several well-preserved specimens have a keel on all chambers of the whorl. Encrustation obscures the periphery on some and masks shell shape. Several outliers in a morphometric analysis of axial shape have distinctive discoidal outlines but ventroconical (cone-like) forms are common. Lomita Marl was deposited on a sheltered, shallow shelf in Chron 1. Foraminifera reworked from the unconformably underlying Repetto Siltstone are present. Specimens resembling the holotype are very rare and often damaged. Morphological disparity is high. It is unlikely that an autochthonous population was sampled. The weak peripheral keel present on some living specimens from Cariaco Basin is built incrementally by a thin featureless calcitic veneer deposited between the morphogenesis of each chamber. The process progressively obscures pores in the primary wall. Its earliest stages have been misidentified as a poreless zone. Ventroconical form is weak in the Ceara Rise Pliocene specimens and is distinguishable from the Cariaco sample. There is only a veneer at the periphery. Although the study does not provide a population-based diagnosis of T. crassaformis it indicates that the name should not be applied to early Pliocene forms.

Exploring the dissolution effect on the intrashell Mg/Ca variability of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber

AbstractThe Mg/Ca ratio of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber is widely used for reconstructing past sea surface temperatures. The shell Mg/Ca ratio is also lowered by dissolution, which results in lower sea surface temperature estimates in partially dissolved shells. Here we use an electron microprobe image mapping technique to map the intrashell variability of the Mg/Ca ratio in G. ruber (white) sensu stricto shells to explore changes in the intrashell Mg/Ca ratio associated with dissolution. We examine shells from shallow and deep cores (Ceara Rise, western tropical Atlantic) from the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum that represent a preservational gradient. Image map results show that the Mg/Ca ratio is highly variable both within a single shell and among samples obtained from the same sediment interval. Our results show that intrashell Mg/Ca variability is retained in samples that have undergone dissolution. Quantitative analysis of the data from Mg/Ca mapping suggests that preferential loss of high‐Mg/Ca calcite alone cannot account for the difference in intrashell Mg/Ca variability of shells from shallow and deep cores in both time periods. Rather, the data imply that, in G. ruber analyzed in this study, there is a loss of high Mg/Ca ratios accompanied by a more uniform lowering of Mg/Ca over the range of intershell Mg/Ca variability of shells subjected to dissolution at the 1 µm resolution of the microprobe analysis in this study.

Influence of the Amazon River development and constriction of the Central American Seaway on Middle/Late Miocene oceanic conditions at the Ceara Rise

Sediment samples from ODP 154 Site 926A (Ceara Rise, western equatorial Atlantic Ocean) spanning the Neogene from 12.8 to 9.2Ma were investigated on their calcareous dinoflagellate contents to better understand the oceanographic changes in relation to the closure of the Central American Seaway and the development of the Amazon River. Intervals with increased cyst accumulation rates and dissolution sensitive species occur from 12.4Ma onward. They correspond to periods of enhanced North Atlantic Deep Water production indicating the presence of this water mass at the research site during these intervals. This suggests that pulses of North Atlantic Deep waters sporadically flew into the South Atlantic related to uplift phases of the Panama Sill.At about 11.2Ma the first appearance of Leonella granifera indicates river influence at the sample site. This first indication of river influence in the western equatorial Atlantic can be linked to the developing Amazon River. The cyst association changes at about 11.2Ma from almost monospecific to highly diverse and the permanent presence and increased abundance of L. granifera suggest that river waters were able to reach the study site by now, probably as a result of the southward flowing North Brazil Current. After 10.5Ma the cyst association indicates a decrease in Amazon influence at Site 926A. This change can be correlated to a reducing inflow of Pacific waters through the Central American Seaway leading to a reverse of the North Brazil Current to its modern northwards flow pattern.

The final Miocene carbonate crash in the Atlantic: Assessing carbonate accumulation, preservation and production

Abstract In many palaeoceanographic studies low carbonate contents in Neogene deep-sea sediments are interpreted as dissolution events related to prominent shifts in intermediate and deep-water circulation. In the middle to late Miocene such carbonate crash events were a widespread phenomenon throughout the world's ocean basins. However, low carbonate contents may also derive from terrigenous dilution and carbonate production changes in surface waters as shown for late Miocene records of the South Atlantic ( Diester-Haass et al., 2004 , Westerhold et al., 2005 ). In order to contribute to solve this question we investigated the youngest of the Miocene crash events (10.5 Ma to 9.0 Ma) at a prominent key location of global deep water circulation, i.e. the Equatorial Atlantic Ceara Rise depth transect (ODP Sites 926, 927 and 928). By analysing different carbonate preservation proxies like carbonate content, silt grain size parameters, sand content, fragmentation index and mass accumulation rates we were able to quantify dissolution, dilution and production, and to assess previous conflicting interpretations. Critical evaluation of the different dissolution proxies and comparison to former studies revealed that silt preservation proxies do not entirely reproduce the depth dependant dissolution in the Miocene sediments, as indicated by foraminifer fragmentation. In the investigated late Miocene time slice three minima of carbonate accumulation were detected. The predominant control on these events changed from dissolution of carbonate to lowered production. The last event at 9.6 Ma is accompanied by an increased preservation but reduced carbonate accumulation. During this time the first prominent pulses of Northern Component Water (NCW) occurred, sourced most probably from the Labrador Sea. This may be understood as a first short term precursor of long time persistent and much stronger NCW production that is characteristic for younger periods and marks the turnover to the modern type of basin-to-basin fractionation between the Atlantic and Pacific. Furthermore, preservation trends of Caribbean and Ceara Rise records were in phase in contrast to former hypotheses that suggested antithetical preservation during carbonate crash events. The similarity of the preservation records in the studied ocean basins in conjunction with the inconsistency in timing of the CC-events and proposed NCW estimates indicates that changes in the carbon cycle other than dissolution controlled the CC events prior to ~ 9.9 Ma.

A global evaluation of temperature and carbonate ion control on Mg/Ca ratios of ostracoda genus Krithe

Improving estimates of past ocean temperatures is paramount to our understanding of ocean circulation and its role in climate change. Magnesium/calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios of carapaces of the benthic ostracod genus Krithe were determined from new, globally distributed core top samples from the Norwegian Sea, Cape Hatteras shelf, Gulf of Mexico, Sulawesi Margin (Indonesia), New Zealand shelf, Ceara Rise, and the North Atlantic. A linear regression of the Krithe Mg/Ca ratios and bottom water temperature (BWT) reveals a significant correlation for locations where temperature during carapace calcification was above ∼3°C, which can be described by the equation Mg/Ca = (0.972 ± 0.152) * BWT + (7.948 ± 1.103) consistent with previous North Atlantic calibrations. Deviations from the global calibration line below ∼3°C follow the same pattern observed for benthic foraminifera, suggesting that the incorporation of magnesium into ostracodal calcite may be secondarily controlled by changes in carbonate ion concentration. Therefore, we propose a linear regression that describes the relationship between magnesium incorporation, temperature, and carbonate saturation for low temperatures (<3°C); Mg/Ca = (0.972 ± 0.152) * BWT + (0.100 ± 0.030) * Δ[CO32−]) + (4.440 ± 1.103) (1 SE = ± 0.3°C). While the standard error of the calibration is small, it requires an accurate knowledge of past Δ[CO32−] concentration, which necessitates additional proxy data. Applying the calibration to glacial samples from the deep North Atlantic Ocean we show that estimates of bottom water temperatures generated from the new Δ[CO32−]‐ corrected equations are more consistent with results from oxygen isotopes and pore water studies.

Seeing red in cyclic stratigraphy: Spectral noise estimation for astrochronology

Fundamental to the development of astronomical time scales is the recognition of oscillatory variability within stratigraphic data and its evaluation relative to a null “noise” hypothesis. In this study, Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate the suitability of two commonly used noise hypotheses (the “conventional” and “robust” AR1 approaches), and the results highlight important limitations in both for cyclostratigraphic application. Perhaps most problematic, the robust AR1 method can result in inflated confidence level estimates and excessive clumping of false positives within the low frequency portion of the spectrum, especially when the underlying noise process has a high lag‐1 autocorrelation. Given typical cyclostratigraphic records, this technique will often impose “significant” eccentricity band variability, even in the case of pure AR1 noise. An alternative spectral noise estimation method is proposed to overcome these problems, which simultaneously allows for departures from the AR1 assumption, and obtains high statistical power—that is, the ability to accurately identify astronomical signals when they are present in the data. We apply the method to un‐tunedδ18O data from Miocene sediments of the Ceara Rise, indicating statistically significant spectral power at frequencies that are consistent with the published orbital interpretation of Weedon et al. (1997). Furthermore, evaluation of the frequency arrangement of the significant spatial bedding periods, using the average spectral misfit method for astrochronologic testing, reveals that the null hypothesis of no orbital influence can be rejected with a high degree of confidence (the 99.8% confidence level).

Carbonate budget mass estimates for Neogene discoasters from the Equatorial Atlantic (Ceara Rise: ODP Site 927)

Abstract. Mass estimates for Late Miocene and Pliocene (8.6–3.25 Ma) Discoaster species and Sphenolithus are determined using samples of the equatorial Atlantic (Ceara Rise: ODP Site 927). Based on morphometric measurements, 3D computer models were created for 11 Discoaster species and their volumes calculated. From these, shape factors (ks) were derived to allow calculation of mass for different-sized discoasters and Sphenolithus abies. The mass estimates were then used to calculate the contribution of nannofossils to the total nannofossil carbonate. The discoaster contribution ranges from 10% to 40%, with a decreasing trend through the investigated interval. However, our estimates of total nannofossil carbonate from size-corrected abundance data are consistently 30–50% lower than estimates from grain-size measurement; this suggests that data based on mass estimates need to be interpreted with caution.

Geochemical assessment of the palaeoecology, ontogeny, morphotypic variability and palaeoceanographic utility of “Dentoglobigerina” venezuelana

To better understand the links between the carbon cycle and changes in past climate over tectonic timescales we need new geochemical proxy records of secular change in silicate weathering rates. A number of proxies are under development, but some of the most promising (e.g. palaeoseawater records of Li and Nd isotope change) can only be employed on such large samples of mono-specific foraminifera that application to the deep sea sediment core archive becomes highly problematic. “Dentoglobigerina” venezuelana presents a potentially attractive target for circumventing this problem because it is a typically large (> 355 μm diameter), abundant and cosmopolitan planktic foraminifer that ranges from the early Oligocene to early Pliocene. Yet considerable taxonomic and ecological uncertainties associated with this taxon must first be addressed. Here, we assess the taxonomy, palaeoecology, and ontogeny of “D.” venezuelana using stable isotope (oxygen and carbon) and Mg/Ca data measured in tests of late Oligocene to early Miocene age from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 925, on Ceara Rise, in the western equatorial Atlantic. To help constrain the depth habitat of “D.” venezuelana relative to other species we report the stable isotope composition of selected planktic foraminifera species within Globigerina , Globigerinoides , Paragloborotalia and Catapsydrax . We define three morphotypes of “D.” venezuelana based on the morphology of the final chamber and aperture architecture. We determine the trace element and stable isotope composition of each morphotype for different size fractions, to test the validity of pooling these morphotypes for the purposes of generating geochemical proxy datasets and to assess any ontogenetic variations in depth habitat. Our data indicate that “D.” venezuelana maintains a lower thermocline depth habitat at Ceara Rise between 24 and 21 Ma. Comparing our results to published datasets we conclude that this lower thermocline depth ecology for the Oligo-Miocene is part of an Eocene-to-Pliocene evolution of depth habitat from surface to sub-thermocline for “D.” venezuelana . Our size fraction data advocate the absence of photosymbionts in “D.” venezuelana and suggest that juveniles calcify higher in the water column, descending into slightly deeper water during the later stages of its life cycle. Our morphotype data show that δ 18 O and δ 13 C variation between morphotypes is no greater than within-morphotype variability. This finding will permit future pooling of morphotypes in the generation of the “sample hungry” palaeoceanographic records. ► A broad taxonomic concept can be applied to “ D.” venezuelana for proxy records. ► “D.” venezuelana maintained a lower thermocline depth habitat from 24 to 21 Ma. ► “D.” venezuelana descended through the water column during its life cycle. ► Possible instability of the tropical Atlantic thermocline during the early Miocene.

Evidence for a prolonged retroflection of the North Brazil Current during glacial stages

The importance of the role played by the tropics in driving and propagating climate change between hemispheres has long been the focus of attention in a bid to evaluate ocean–atmosphere interactions on glacial–interglacial timescales. The Amazon Fan and Ceara Rise in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean lie directly in the flowpath of the North Brazil Current (NBC) which, as a conduit for the cross-equatorial transport of heat and salinity, is a key component for the heat budget of the North Atlantic. Mg/Ca palaeothermometry and stable oxygen isotope analysis of planktonic foraminifera sampled from 15 sites across the Amazon Fan and Ceara Rise reveal variations in oceanic surface currents and of the dispersal of freshwater from the River Amazon over five timeslices (modern; early Holocene; Younger Dryas; Late Glacial and Marine Isotope Stage 3). Sea surface temperature reconstructions reveal progressive climatic amelioration over the last ~ 30 ka, indicating a temperature increase of ~ 3.2 ± 1.1 °C since the Late Glacial. In conjunction with this warming, values of Δδ 18O, a proxy for water column stratification indicates increased vertical mixing of the glacial ocean. The spatial distribution of values of δ 18w (the isotopic composition of ambient seawater) is used to infer surface current variations and demonstrates an oceanward shift in the river outflow plume in cold climates representing a prolongation or possibly permanent continuation in the duration of the seasonal retroflection of the NBC causing the curtailment of cross-equatorial transport. A prolongation of this retroflection could have resulted from a mean southward migration of the southern boundary of the ITCZ.