Canterbury Drifts at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1119, New Zealand: Climatic modulation of southwest Pacific intermediate water flows since 3.9 Ma

Abstract Studies of topotypes of Truncorotalia crassaconica from the East Coast Basin of New Zealand and populations of Tr. crassaconica at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1123 and Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 284 in the southwest Pacific revealed two morphospecies. One of these is a late Pliocene species, Truncorotalia crassaconica s.s., that has low, slit-like apertures with thin, smooth apertural lips. The other is Globoconella pseudospinosa n. sp., an early Pliocene form with arched apertures and pustulose apertural lips. The short stratigraphic ranges of both species are potentially useful as biostratigraphic markers for the subdivision of Plio-Pleistocene stages in New Zealand and the temperate southwest Pacific. Populations of Gc. pseudospinosa, with mostly sinistrally coiled specimens, occur throughout the lectostratotype of the New Zealand Opoitian Stage at Mangapoike River in the East Coast Basin and are confined to the early Pliocene (Opoitian) at sites 1123 and 284, between 4.57 and 4.10 Ma. Small populations of Tr. crassaconica s.s., with mostly dextrally coiled specimens, occur in the late Pliocene (Waipipian Stage) between 3.53 and 2.98 Ma. Sporadic occurrences of relatively rare, mostly sinistrally coiled specimens of Tr. aff. crassaconica occur earlier at sites 1123 and 284 in the late Miocene to Pliocene between ca. 5.5 and 3.53 Ma. These specimens are distinguished in having open umbilici and almost straight umbilical sutures, similar to the late Miocene specimens of Truncorotalia crassaformis.

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Element/Calcium ratios in middle Eocene samples of <i>Oridorsalis umbonatus</i> from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1209

Climate of the Past Discussions ◽

10.5194/cpd-7-3795-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 3795-3821 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

C. F. Dawber ◽

A. K. Tripati

Keyword(s):

Benthic Foraminifera ◽

Bottom Water ◽

Middle Eocene ◽

Single Element ◽

Intermediate Water ◽

Ocean Drilling Program ◽

Saturation State ◽

Bottom Water Temperature ◽

Elemental Ratios ◽

Ocean Drilling

Abstract. Culturing studies and empirical-based calibrations suggest that elemental ratios in benthic foraminifera can be used as proxies to reconstruct past variations in bottom water temperature and saturation state (Δ[CO32−]). However the mechanism(s) linking elemental ratios to Δ[CO32−] are poorly constrained. We present middle Eocene records of Oridorsalis umbonatus Li/Ca, B/Ca, Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1209. We apply calibrations developed from core top samples to estimate middle Eocene variations in intermediate water Δ[CO32−]. The fidelity of bottom water Δ[CO32−] reconstructions based on single element ratios are assessed by comparing the X/Ca-based reconstructions to each other and to carbon cycle proxy records (benthic foraminifera δ13C, organic carbon content, foraminifera dissolution indices), and a seawater δ18O reconstruction for Site 1209. Discrepancies in the reconstructed Δ[CO32−] values for the middle Eocene based on these different metal ratios suggests that there are still gaps in our understanding of the parameters influencing X/Ca. The downcore record of O. umbonatus Mg/Ca does not exhibit any similarities with the Li/Ca, B/Ca and Sr/Ca records, suggesting that bottom water Δ[CO32−] is not the dominant influence on Mg/Ca ratios for this species. This hypothesis is supported by the coefficients of multiple linear regression models on new and published Mg/Ca data.

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