Benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope offsets over the last glacial-interglacial cycle

Type Article
Date 2010-12
Language English
Author(s) Hoogakker Babette1, Elderfield Henry1, Oliver Kevin2, Crowhurst Simon1
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Cambridge, Dept Earth Sci, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, England.
2 : Univ Southampton, Southampton Sch Ocean & Earth Sci, Southampton SO14 3ZH, Hants, England.
Source Paleoceanography (0883-8305) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2010-12 , Vol. 25 , N. 4 / PA4229 , P. 1-11
DOI 10.1029/2009PA001870
WOS© Times Cited 19
Abstract The oxygen isotope (delta(18)O) offset between contemporaneous benthic foraminiferal species is often assumed constant with time and geographic location. We present an inventory of benthic foraminiferal species delta(18)O offsets from the major ocean basins covering the last glacial-interglacial cycle, showing that of the twenty down-core records investigated, twelve show significant temporal changes in delta(18)O offsets that do not resemble stochastic variability. Some of the temporal changes may be related to kinetic fractionation effects causing deglacial/interglacial enrichment or glacial depletion in mainly infaunal species, but additional research is needed to confirm this. In addition to stratigraphic implications the finding of temporally varying offsets between coexisting benthic foraminiferal species could have implications for sea level, deepwater temperature, and regional deepwater delta(18)O estimates.
Full Text
File Pages Size Access
Publisher's official version 11 1 MB Open access
Top of the page