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Production pattern of alkenones in the Mediterranean Sea
Author(s) -
Ternois Yann,
Sicre MarieAlexandrine,
Boireau Anne,
Marty JeanClaude,
Miquel JuanCarlos
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/96gl02910
Subject(s) - alkenone , oceanography , photic zone , bloom , geology , spring bloom , mediterranean climate , mediterranean sea , sediment trap , water column , spring (device) , sediment , structural basin , sea surface temperature , climatology , environmental science , phytoplankton , geography , paleontology , ecology , mechanical engineering , nutrient , engineering , biology , archaeology
Time‐series of downward alkenone fluxes have been investigated at 200 m depth over a one year sediment trap experiment, in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Alkenone flux maxima occurred in autumn and to a lesser extent in May, during the spring bloom. Temperature estimates calculated from the U K′ 37 index revealed that alkenone producers preferentially develop in subsurface waters (at about 50 m) in spring, whereas the autumn alkenone production occurred upper in the water column (around 30 m). Examination of the core‐top U K′ 37 index values at various sites of the Northwestern Mediterranean basin, suggested that the spring bloom period do not significantly imprint the temperatures recorded in the sediments. The sedimentary temperature estimates would rather reflect annually integrated SST, with a major influence of the autumnal post‐bloom development of the coccolithophores in the euphotic zone.