Open AccessGlobal calibration of Gephyrocapsa coccolith abundance in Holocene sediments for paleotemperature assessment
Author(s) -
Bollmann Jörg,
Henderiks Jorijntje,
Brabec Bernhard
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/2001pa000742
Subject(s) - coccolith , coccolithophore , holocene , oceanography , foraminifera , geology , sea surface temperature , sediment , relative species abundance , quaternary , paleoceanography , proxy (statistics) , paleontology , carbonate , abundance (ecology) , ecology , phytoplankton , chemistry , machine learning , nutrient , computer science , biology , benthic zone , organic chemistry
A global sea surface temperature calibration based on the relative abundance of different morphotypes within the coccolithophore genus Gephyrocapsa in Holocene deep‐sea sediments is presented. There is evidence suggesting that absolute sea surface temperature for a given location can be calculated from the relative abundance of Gephyrocapsa morphotypes in sediment samples, with a standard error comparable to temperature estimates derived from other temperature proxies such as planktic foraminifera transfer functions. A total of 110 Holocene sediment samples were selected from the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans covering a mean sea surface temperature gradient from 13.6° to 29.3°C. Standard multiple linear regression analyses were applied to this data set, linking the relative abundance of Gephyrocapsa morphotypes to sea surface temperature. The best model revealed an r 2 of 0.83 with a standard residual error of 1.78°C for the estimation of mean sea surface temperature. This new proxy provides a unique opportunity for the reconstruction of paleotemperatures with a very small amount of sample material due to the minute size of coccoliths, permitting examination of thinly laminated sediments (e.g., a pinhead of material from laminated sediments for the reconstruction of annual sea surface temperature variations). Such fine‐scale resolution is currently not possible with any other proxy. Application of this new paleotemperature proxy may allow new paleoenvironmental interpretations in the late Quaternary period and discrepancies between the different currently used paleotemperature proxies might be resolved.