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Reconstructing the seafloor environment during sapropel formation using benthic foraminiferal trace metals, stable isotopes, and sediment composition

Reconstructing the seafloor environment during sapropel formation using benthic foraminiferal trace metals, stable isotopes, and sediment composition
Reconstructing the seafloor environment during sapropel formation using benthic foraminiferal trace metals, stable isotopes, and sediment composition
The evolution of productivity, redox conditions, temperature, and ventilation during the deposition of an Aegean sapropel (S1) is independently constrained using bulk sediment composition and high-resolution single specimen benthic foraminiferal trace metal and stable isotope data. The occurrence of benthic foraminifer, Hoeglundina elegans (H. elegans), through a shallow water (260 m) sapropel, permits for the first time a comparison between dissolved and particulate concentrations of Ba and Mn and the construction of a Mg/Ca–based temperature record through sapropel S1. The simultaneous increase in sedimentary Ba and incorporated Ba in foraminiferal test carbonate, (Ba/Ca)H. elegans, points to a close coupling between Ba cycling and export productivity. During sapropel deposition, sedimentary Mn content ((Mn/Al)sed) is reduced, corresponding to enhanced Mn2+ mobilization from sedimentary Mn oxides under suboxic conditions. The consequently elevated dissolved Mn2+ concentrations are reflected in enhanced (Mn/Ca)H. elegans levels. The magnitude and duration of the sapropel interruption and other short-term cooling events are constrained using Mg/Ca thermometry. Based on integrating productivity and ventilation records with the temperature record, we propose a two-mode hysteresis model for sapropel formation.
0883-8305
PA4225
Ní Fhlaithearta, S.
727b5112-604a-4adc-9b0a-d0475a56406b
Reichart, G.-J.
dd155475-f861-47d6-9a00-d1a927bb4d08
Jorissen, F.J.
5e9da85b-8b77-465e-8816-0ed4acf2da63
Fontanier, C.
8cd62729-bb6f-4b48-a244-6d9ec43a46dd
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Thomson, J.
3395054f-e507-4841-9758-a06ed37f7d6b
De Lange, G.J.
f3a5a890-cb53-44e6-b3b0-77f53bc04dac
Ní Fhlaithearta, S.
727b5112-604a-4adc-9b0a-d0475a56406b
Reichart, G.-J.
dd155475-f861-47d6-9a00-d1a927bb4d08
Jorissen, F.J.
5e9da85b-8b77-465e-8816-0ed4acf2da63
Fontanier, C.
8cd62729-bb6f-4b48-a244-6d9ec43a46dd
Rohling, E.J.
a2a27ef2-fcce-4c71-907b-e692b5ecc685
Thomson, J.
3395054f-e507-4841-9758-a06ed37f7d6b
De Lange, G.J.
f3a5a890-cb53-44e6-b3b0-77f53bc04dac

Ní Fhlaithearta, S., Reichart, G.-J., Jorissen, F.J., Fontanier, C., Rohling, E.J., Thomson, J. and De Lange, G.J. (2010) Reconstructing the seafloor environment during sapropel formation using benthic foraminiferal trace metals, stable isotopes, and sediment composition. Paleoceanography, 25 (4), PA4225. (doi:10.1029/2009PA001869).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The evolution of productivity, redox conditions, temperature, and ventilation during the deposition of an Aegean sapropel (S1) is independently constrained using bulk sediment composition and high-resolution single specimen benthic foraminiferal trace metal and stable isotope data. The occurrence of benthic foraminifer, Hoeglundina elegans (H. elegans), through a shallow water (260 m) sapropel, permits for the first time a comparison between dissolved and particulate concentrations of Ba and Mn and the construction of a Mg/Ca–based temperature record through sapropel S1. The simultaneous increase in sedimentary Ba and incorporated Ba in foraminiferal test carbonate, (Ba/Ca)H. elegans, points to a close coupling between Ba cycling and export productivity. During sapropel deposition, sedimentary Mn content ((Mn/Al)sed) is reduced, corresponding to enhanced Mn2+ mobilization from sedimentary Mn oxides under suboxic conditions. The consequently elevated dissolved Mn2+ concentrations are reflected in enhanced (Mn/Ca)H. elegans levels. The magnitude and duration of the sapropel interruption and other short-term cooling events are constrained using Mg/Ca thermometry. Based on integrating productivity and ventilation records with the temperature record, we propose a two-mode hysteresis model for sapropel formation.

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Published date: 2010
Organisations: National Oceanography Centre

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Local EPrints ID: 174255
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/174255
ISSN: 0883-8305
PURE UUID: 10e3fc19-6d19-4e5f-8f19-bcda054a9bff
ORCID for E.J. Rohling: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5349-2158

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Date deposited: 11 Feb 2011 13:34
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:37

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Contributors

Author: S. Ní Fhlaithearta
Author: G.-J. Reichart
Author: F.J. Jorissen
Author: C. Fontanier
Author: E.J. Rohling ORCID iD
Author: J. Thomson
Author: G.J. De Lange

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