Foraminifer and Ostracod Occurrence in a Cool-Water Carbonate Factory of the Cape Adare (Ross Sea, Antarctica): A Key Lecture for the Climatic and Oceanographic Variations in the Last 30,000 Years

Foraminifers and ostracods were studied in a gravity-core recovered near Cape Adare (Ross Sea, Antarctica) with the aim of identifying the climatic and oceanographic variations during the last 30 ka. The sedimentary sequence represents conditions of a cool-water carbonate factory, which evidences that during the Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS2) the area was ice-free and very productive. The overall preservation of delicate skeletal remains such as bryozoans and molluscs indicated moderate bottom currents. This carbonate factory was interrupted by some terrigenous levels, representing conditions of instability/retreat of the ice shelves southward. The younger levels were referred to the meltwater pulse (MWP)-1A and 1B events. The Holocene sequence comprised more terrigenous sediments, reflecting high bottom-currents similar to the present-day conditions. Very abundant and well preserved foraminifers and ostracods, representative of shelf-upper slope paleoenvironments, were recovered. Epistominella exigua, among the foraminifers, suggested the influence of the Circumpolar Deep Water during some periods of the late Quaternary. Heavy-test taxa, such as Cibicides refulgens, indicated strengthening bottom hydrodynamics. As for the ostracods, peaks in the presence of Australicythere devexa, Bairdoppilata simplex and Pseudocythere aff. caudata together with significant values of Polycope spp. allowed us to identify environments rich in nutrients with the influence of cold and deep water upwelling phenomena.

Detecting the onset and effects of major northern hemisphere glaciation in the abyssal tropical Atlantic Ocean

The cooling trend of the Neogene resulted in the diachronous development of glacial conditions, southern high latitudes glaciating before northern. This cooling culminated in the early Pleistocene (2.54 Ma) onset of major glaciation, during which large areas of high latitude land and sea in both hemispheres were periodically blanketed with ice. However, this onset and its impact at low latitude abyssal depths are elusive. This paper examines the abyssal benthic foraminiferal commun ity in the Atlantic Ocean near the Northern Equatorial Countercurrent, in ODP Hole 926A (Ceara Rise), off the River Amazon. Using an assemblage turnover index (ATI), a related conditioned-on-boundary index (CoBI) and SHE analysis, we show how a change in mean assemblage turnover coincides with the early Pleistocene onset of northern hemisphere major glaciation. The community comprises primarily phytodetritivores (Alabaminenella weddellensis, Epistominella exigua and Globocassidulina subglobosa), the proportional abundances of which differ before and after 2.54 Ma. Coupled with changes in the abundances of Nuttallides umbonifera, Bulimina spp. and Uvigerina spp., alterations in the abundances of the phytodetritivores after 2.54 Ma show that the adjustment in biotic turnover at depth resulted from enhanced organic carbon flux from sea surface water. This was probably related to forced southward repositioning of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) by the growth of the northern hemisphere ice caps. This was coupled with an increase in bottom current velocity, as shown by a change in the abundance of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi.

Live (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal faunas from the northern Arabian Sea: faunal succession within and below the OMZ

Live (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera from the Murray Ridge, within and below the northern Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), were studied in order to determine the relationship between faunal composition, bottom water oxygenation (BWO), pore water chemistry and organic matter (organic carbon and phytopigment) distribution. A series of multicores were recovered from a ten-station oxygen (BWO: 2–78 μM) and bathymetric (885–3010 m depth) transect during the winter monsoon in January 2009. Foraminifera were investigated from three different size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–150 μm and >150 μm). The larger foraminifera (>125 μm) were strongly dominated by agglutinated species (e.g. Reophax spp.). In contrast, in the 63–125 μm fraction, calcareous taxa were more abundant, especially in the core of the OMZ. On the basis of a principal components analysis, three foraminiferal groups were identified and correlated to the environmental parameters by canonical correspondence analysis. The faunas from the shallowest stations, in the core of the OMZ (BWO: 2 μM), were composed of "low oxygen" species, typical of the Arabian Sea OMZ (e.g. Rotaliatinopsis semiinvoluta, Praeglobobulimina sp., Bulimina exilis, Uvigerina peregrina type parva). These taxa are adapted to the very low BWO conditions and to high phytodetritus supplies. The transitional group, typical for the lower part of the OMZ (BWO: 5–16 μM), is composed of species that are tolerant as well to low-oxygen concentrations, but may be less critical with respect to organic supplies (e.g. Globocassidulina subglobosa, Ehrenbergina trigona). Below the OMZ (BWO: 26–78 μM), where food availability is more limited and becomes increasingly restricted to surficial sediments, cosmopolitan calcareous taxa were present, such as Bulimina aculeata, Melonis barleeanus, Uvigerina peregrina and Epistominella exigua. Miliolids were uniquely observed in this last zone, reflecting the higher BWO and/or lower organic input. At these deeper sites, the faunas exhibit a clear succession of superficial, intermediate and deep infaunal microhabitats, which can be linked to the deeper oxygen and nitrate penetration into the sediment.

Live foraminiferal faunas (Rose Bengal stained) from the northern Arabian Sea: links with bottom-water oxygenation

Live (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera from the Murray Ridge, within and below the northern Arabian Sea Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ), were studied in order to determine the relationship between faunal composition, bottom-water oxygenation (BWO), pore-water chemistry and organic matter (organic carbon and phytopigment) distribution. A series of multicores were recovered from a ten-station oxygen (BWO: 2–78 μM) and bathymetric (885–3010 m depth) transect during the winter monsoon in January 2009. Foraminifera were investigated from three different size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–150 μm and > 150 μm). The larger foraminifera (> 125 μm) were strongly dominated by agglutinated species (e.g. Reophax spp.). In contrast, in the 63–125 μm fraction, calcareous taxa were more abundant, especially in the core of the OMZ, suggesting an opportunistic behaviour. On the basis of a Principal Component Analysis, three foraminiferal groups were identified, reflecting the environmental parameters along the study transect. The faunas from the shallowest stations, in the core of the OMZ (BWO: 2 μM), were composed of "low oxygen" species, typical of the Arabian Sea OMZ (e.g., Rotaliatinopsis semiinvoluta, Praeglobobulimina spp. , Bulimina exilis, Uvigerina peregrina typeparva). These taxa are adapted to the very low BWO conditions and to high phytodetritus supplies. The transitional group, typical for the lower part of the OMZ (BWO: 5–16 μM), is composed of more cosmopolitan taxa tolerant to low-oxygen concentrations (Globocassidulina subglobosa, Ehrenbergina trigona). Below the OMZ (BWO: 26–78 μM), where food availability is more limited and becomes increasingly restricted to surficial sediments, more cosmopolitan calcareous taxa were present, such as Bulimina aculeata, Melonis barleeanus, Uvigerina peregrina and Epistominella exigua. Miliolids were uniquely observed in this last group, reflecting the higher BWO. At these deeper sites, the faunas exhibit a clear depth succession of superficial, intermediate and deep-infaunal microhabitats, because of the deeper oxygen and nitrate penetration into the sediment.

Global genetic homogeneity in the deep-sea foraminiferan Epistominella exigua (Rotaliida: Pseudoparrellidae)

Epistominella exigua is one of the most common deep-sea foraminiferal morphospecies and has a world-wide distribution. A recent molecular study revealed high genetic similarity between Arctic, Atlantic and Antarctic populations of this species. Here, we show that the small-subunit (SSU) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences of an E. exigua population from Pacific are almost identical to those reported previously from the other three oceans. This result confirms the genetic homogeneity of E. exigua, which contrasts with the prevalence of highly differentiated populations in planktonic and shallow-water benthic foraminiferans. We discuss special features of diversifications mechanisms in the deep sea that may be responsible for the lack of genetic differentiation and global distribution of some meiofauna species.

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Labrador Sea sediments: relations with deep-water mass changes since deglaciation

Surface sediment samples from the Labrador Sea and the Irminger and Iceland basins have been analysed for their benthic foraminiferal content to define the relationship between benthic foraminiferal assemblages and bottom-water characteristics. On the shelf (301–530 m) and the upper slope (1364 and 1980 m) the distribution of assemblages is complex and appears related to diversified microhabitats. In the deep-sea domain (> 2600 m) three main assemblages have been identified: the first, dominated by Epistominella exigua, is related to the North East Atlantic Deep Water (NEADW); the second, characterized by the co-dominance of Cibicides wuellerstorfi and E. exigua, seems to characterize the North West Atlantic Bottom Water (NWABW); the third, marked by the occurrence of Nuttalides umbonifera, is recorded at depths greater than 3500 m and is associated with the northern extent of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW).Microfaunal and isotopic analyses of two cores from the Greenland slope (90-013-011, 2800 m) and rise (90-013-013, 3300 m) provide insight into the changes in the deep-water mass characteristics of the Labrador Sea over the past 15 000 years. Prior to 8500 BP, sparse assemblages dominated by either Pullenia quinqueloba, Uvigerina peregrina, or Melonis pompiloides suggest changing environmental conditions. In particular, a peak of U. peregrina recorded just before the Younger Dryas event in the deepest core is associated with the northward advance of a relatively warm, oxygen-poor bottom-water mass from the Atlantic. After 8500 BP, the increasing proportion of E. exigua suggests the formation of a bottom-water mass similar to the modern NEADW. Finally, higher percentages of C. wuellerstorfi in late Holocene sediments (after 5500 BP) are associated with increased NWABW and indicate the development of modern bottom water.