Temperature Calibration of Elevated Mg/Ca in Planktic Foraminifera Shells From the Hypersaline Gulf of Aqaba

Abstract The Mg/Ca of marine calcareous Planktic Foraminifera (PF) shells is commonly used for sea surface temperature reconstructions. However, compared to open marine environments, hypersaline (>40) oligotrophic seas have been shown to accommodate PF with higher Mg/Ca and divergent temperature...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: N. Levy, A. Torfstein, R. Schiebel, N. Chernihovsky, K. P. Jochum, U. Weis, B. Stoll, G. H. Haug
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-07-01
Series:Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010742
Description
Summary:Abstract The Mg/Ca of marine calcareous Planktic Foraminifera (PF) shells is commonly used for sea surface temperature reconstructions. However, compared to open marine environments, hypersaline (>40) oligotrophic seas have been shown to accommodate PF with higher Mg/Ca and divergent temperature to Mg/Ca relationships. To investigate influencing factors of PF Mg uptake in hypersaline regions, we measured the Mg/Ca of two flux‐dominating PF species, Globigerinoides ruber albus and Turborotalita clarkei, derived from a monthly resolved time series of sediment traps in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea as well as the corresponding temperature, salinity, and pH values. The PF exhibit elevated Mg/Ca which cannot be explained by post‐deposition or interstitial sediment diagenetic processes. G. ruber albus displays Mg/Ca trends that strongly follow seasonal mixed layer temperature changes. Conversely, T. clarkei Mg/Ca trends do not follow temperature but rather show significant Mg/Ca enrichment following mixing of the surface water column. We present a framework for incorporating elevated Mg/Ca into global Mg/Ca‐T calibrations for G. ruber albus and present a new Mg/Ca‐T calibration suitable for hypersaline marine environments.
ISSN:1525-2027