Mg/Ca-ΔCO3porewater2−–temperature calibration for Globobulimina spp.: A sensitive paleothermometer for deep-sea temperature reconstruction


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Sabine.Kasten [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

Existing benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca-temperature calibrations are surrounded by substantial uncertainties mainly due to low temperature sensitivity of Mg/Ca in most benthic foraminifers and the effect of carbonate ion concentration on benthic foraminiferal Mg/Ca. Here we present Mg/Ca analysis of Rose Bengal stained and exceptionally well-preserved tests of the infaunal benthic foraminifer Globobulimina spp. from 39 eastern equatorial Atlantic core top samples. Mg/Ca in Globobulimina spp. varies between 2.5 mmol/mol and 9.1 mmol/mol corresponding to bottom water temperatures (BWT) between 1.8 °C and 19.1 °C and ΔCO3pore water2- between 33.7±4 and -34.3±4 μmol/kg in sediment depths between 1 and 10 cm. Mg/Ca and BWT are linearly correlated with a best fit of Mg/Ca [mmol/mol] = (0.36 ± 0.02) * BWT [°C] + 2.22 ± 0.19 (r2=0.92, p-value: 11*10-20, and n=39). Using total alkalinity and pH data of pore water samples from 64 Atlantic multi-corer sites, we obtained ΔCO3pore water2- data from the depth habitat range of Globobulimina spp. (≥1 cm ≤ 10 cm below sediment surface). We show that ΔCO3pore water2- is significantly lower than and linearly co-varies with the ΔCO2-3 of the overlying bottom water: ΔCO3pore water2-=(0.67±0.05)*ΔCO3bottom water2--(39.84±1.98); r2=0.75, p-value: 6*10-20, n=64. We found a Mg/Ca sensitivity of 0.009±0.0044 mmol/mol per μmol/kg ΔCO3pore water2- and Mg/Ca temperature sensitivity of 0.32±0.06 mmol/mol/°C after a correction for the ΔCO3pore water2- effect. This study provides a robust Mg/Ca-temperature calibration, highlights that ΔCO3pore water2- is spatially and most likely temporally variable, and contradicts the notion that infaunal foraminiferal Mg/Ca is relatively immune from ΔCO2-3 changes in the overlying bottom water. Furthermore, comparison of down core Mg/Ca data of Cibicides pachyderma and Globobulimina spp. demonstrates that the high temperature sensitivity of Mg/Ca in Globobulimina spp. presents a more robust paleothermometer to reconstruct past changes in the thermal state of the deep ocean.



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ISI/Scopus peer-reviewed
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39559
DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.01.009

Cite as
Weldeab, S. , Arce, A. and Kasten, S. (2016): Mg/Ca-ΔCO3porewater2−–temperature calibration for Globobulimina spp.: A sensitive paleothermometer for deep-sea temperature reconstruction , Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 438 , pp. 95-102 . doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.01.009


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