Open AccessCombined coccolith, foraminiferal, and biomarker reconstruction of paleoceanographic conditions over the past 120 kyr in the northern North Atlantic (59°N, 23°W)
Author(s) -
Weaver P. P. E.,
Chapman M. R.,
Eglinton G.,
Zhao M.,
Rutledge D.,
Read G.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/1999pa900009
Subject(s) - coccolith , alkenone , oceanography , geology , foraminifera , sea surface temperature , coccolithophore , paleoceanography , sediment trap , climatology , phytoplankton , water column , carbonate , benthic zone , ecology , materials science , nutrient , metallurgy , biology
We present data for North Atlantic core Biogeochemical Ocean Flux Study (BOFS) 16K (59°N, 23°W, water depth 2370 m) including coccolith flora, ∂ 18 O, planktonic foraminiferal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) by FA20 and SIMMAX methods, and alkenone‐based U 37 K and U 37 K′ SSTs. A good correlation exists between the abundances of cold water coccolith species and foraminifera, and a broad correlation exists between coccolith and alkenone abundances except in the Holocene. Reworked Cretaceous coccoliths at the Last Glacial Maximum are coincident with warm deviations of the U 37 K′ signal. Assessment of various calibrations of U 37 K and U 37 K′ with paleotemperature shows the inappropriateness of a global correlation. We have produced a North Atlantic U 37 K′ calibration on the basis of North Atlantic data alone (U 37 K′ =0.026 T +0.186), which produces SST data for summer season at 0 m water depth, comparable to the warm season foraminiferal SSTs, except during the intervals 26–36, 58–65, and 100–120 ka when the alkenones indicate somewhat cooler surface waters.