A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates

We investigate whether a relationship exists between organic matter production at the sea surface, recorded by nannofossil carbonate Sr/Ca, and its consumption on the seafloor, measured by benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates (BFAR). A mid-Pliocene (3.67-3.90 Ma) section of Ocean Drilling Progra...

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Main Authors: Waite, A, Gibbs, S, Diester-Haass, L, Rickaby, R, Billups, K
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2008
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author Waite, A
Gibbs, S
Diester-Haass, L
Rickaby, R
Billups, K
author_facet Waite, A
Gibbs, S
Diester-Haass, L
Rickaby, R
Billups, K
author_sort Waite, A
collection OXFORD
description We investigate whether a relationship exists between organic matter production at the sea surface, recorded by nannofossil carbonate Sr/Ca, and its consumption on the seafloor, measured by benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates (BFAR). A mid-Pliocene (3.67-3.90 Ma) section of Ocean Drilling Program Site 926 in the northwestern tropical Atlantic was sampled, where previous work established that the calcareous nannoplankton assemblages vary with insolation linked changes in surface water productivity. Our results reveal that coarse fraction nannofossil Sr/Ca varies with changes in assemblage composition and may be predominantly controlled by the geochemistry of the warm water oligotrophic genus Discoaster. BFAR also have a positive relationship with Sr/Ca and Discoaster abundances, implying times of relatively low surface water nutrients coincide with enhanced BFAR. This result is in opposition to what one would expect given the assumption of a direct relationship between primary and export production. We speculate that the BFAR are stimulated by enhanced organic carbon export associated with ballasting by nannofossil assemblages dominated volumetrically by large, robust taxa such as Discoaster species. These results highlight the complexity of interpretations of bulk nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios, as well as BFAR data, with respect to paleoproductivity. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
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spelling oxford-uuid:7dd0feb8-2e1a-4c24-ac73-985b070009122022-03-26T21:06:03ZA top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation ratesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7dd0feb8-2e1a-4c24-ac73-985b07000912EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Waite, AGibbs, SDiester-Haass, LRickaby, RBillups, KWe investigate whether a relationship exists between organic matter production at the sea surface, recorded by nannofossil carbonate Sr/Ca, and its consumption on the seafloor, measured by benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates (BFAR). A mid-Pliocene (3.67-3.90 Ma) section of Ocean Drilling Program Site 926 in the northwestern tropical Atlantic was sampled, where previous work established that the calcareous nannoplankton assemblages vary with insolation linked changes in surface water productivity. Our results reveal that coarse fraction nannofossil Sr/Ca varies with changes in assemblage composition and may be predominantly controlled by the geochemistry of the warm water oligotrophic genus Discoaster. BFAR also have a positive relationship with Sr/Ca and Discoaster abundances, implying times of relatively low surface water nutrients coincide with enhanced BFAR. This result is in opposition to what one would expect given the assumption of a direct relationship between primary and export production. We speculate that the BFAR are stimulated by enhanced organic carbon export associated with ballasting by nannofossil assemblages dominated volumetrically by large, robust taxa such as Discoaster species. These results highlight the complexity of interpretations of bulk nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios, as well as BFAR data, with respect to paleoproductivity. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
spellingShingle Waite, A
Gibbs, S
Diester-Haass, L
Rickaby, R
Billups, K
A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title_full A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title_fullStr A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title_full_unstemmed A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title_short A top-down and bottom-up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies: Calcareous nannofossil Sr/Ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
title_sort top down and bottom up comparison of paleoproductivity proxies calcareous nannofossil sr ca ratios and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates
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