Individual foraminiferal analysis: a promising tool for high-resolution temperature and pH reconstruction
Individual foraminiferal analysis: a promising tool for high-resolution temperature and pH reconstruction
Compared with traditional bulk foraminiferal analysis methods, in situ analysis of individual foraminiferal tests (individual foraminiferal analysis or IFA) offers several advantages over traditional bulk methods, including enhanced temporal resolution where fossiliferous sample material is limited as well as potentially resolving seasonal-scale climate variability in deep time. Despite these advantages, applications of element-to-calcium (El/Ca) ratios and δ11B in benthic foraminifera using IFA remain limited, and the biogeochemical drivers of intra-test and inter-test geochemical variability are poorly constrained. In this study, we systematically evaluate El/Ca ratios and δ11B in individual benthic foraminifera. By analysing Holocene epifaunal benthic foraminiferal species Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi from a deep ocean core site (ODP Site 999), we conclude that intra- and inter-test variabilities are regulated by ontogenetic effects resulting in inter-test variabilities of ± 0.14 mmol/mol Mg/Ca, ± 14 μmol/mol B/Ca, and ± 0.18 ‰ δ11B. Application of the IFA method to epifaunal benthic foraminifera species Cibicides lobatulus from a box core in the English Channel, UK reveals ~0.1 pH units acidification and ~1 °C warming since the mid-19th century. By demonstrating that individual-level variability in reconstructed temperature and pH tracks seasonal trends in the available contemporaneous water-column instrumental measurements at the same site, we provide a ground-truthing to our multi-proxy IFA methodology, and also demonstrate the potential for benthic IFA to provide seasonal-scale reconstructions of ocean climate over hundreds to millions of years.
Caribbean Sea, El/Ca, Individual foraminifera analysis, MC-ICP-MS/MS, Western English Channel, benthic foraminifera, laser ablation, δ11B, Benthic foraminifera, Laser ablation
Yang, Zifei
31229326-4add-4a17-b6c2-21dbffaa9580
Standish, Christopher D.
0b996271-da5d-4c4f-9e05-a2ec90e8561d
Brown, Rachel
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Rafter, Patrick A.
33a1d8e6-de5c-4668-947d-674037c0da09
Hart, Malcolm B.
1ed16a38-3047-4ed5-b8a4-8f426c3d2023
Babila, Tali L.
8f676780-0c5e-4d2d-b1a5-dbb7c781a880
Foster, Gavin L.
fbaa7255-7267-4443-a55e-e2a791213022
28 March 2026
Yang, Zifei
31229326-4add-4a17-b6c2-21dbffaa9580
Standish, Christopher D.
0b996271-da5d-4c4f-9e05-a2ec90e8561d
Brown, Rachel
6a00909e-6ed5-4b82-8532-71909045784b
Rafter, Patrick A.
33a1d8e6-de5c-4668-947d-674037c0da09
Hart, Malcolm B.
1ed16a38-3047-4ed5-b8a4-8f426c3d2023
Babila, Tali L.
8f676780-0c5e-4d2d-b1a5-dbb7c781a880
Foster, Gavin L.
fbaa7255-7267-4443-a55e-e2a791213022
Yang, Zifei, Standish, Christopher D., Brown, Rachel, Rafter, Patrick A., Hart, Malcolm B., Babila, Tali L. and Foster, Gavin L.
(2026)
Individual foraminiferal analysis: a promising tool for high-resolution temperature and pH reconstruction.
Chemical Geology, 710, [123395].
(doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2026.123395).
Abstract
Compared with traditional bulk foraminiferal analysis methods, in situ analysis of individual foraminiferal tests (individual foraminiferal analysis or IFA) offers several advantages over traditional bulk methods, including enhanced temporal resolution where fossiliferous sample material is limited as well as potentially resolving seasonal-scale climate variability in deep time. Despite these advantages, applications of element-to-calcium (El/Ca) ratios and δ11B in benthic foraminifera using IFA remain limited, and the biogeochemical drivers of intra-test and inter-test geochemical variability are poorly constrained. In this study, we systematically evaluate El/Ca ratios and δ11B in individual benthic foraminifera. By analysing Holocene epifaunal benthic foraminiferal species Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi from a deep ocean core site (ODP Site 999), we conclude that intra- and inter-test variabilities are regulated by ontogenetic effects resulting in inter-test variabilities of ± 0.14 mmol/mol Mg/Ca, ± 14 μmol/mol B/Ca, and ± 0.18 ‰ δ11B. Application of the IFA method to epifaunal benthic foraminifera species Cibicides lobatulus from a box core in the English Channel, UK reveals ~0.1 pH units acidification and ~1 °C warming since the mid-19th century. By demonstrating that individual-level variability in reconstructed temperature and pH tracks seasonal trends in the available contemporaneous water-column instrumental measurements at the same site, we provide a ground-truthing to our multi-proxy IFA methodology, and also demonstrate the potential for benthic IFA to provide seasonal-scale reconstructions of ocean climate over hundreds to millions of years.
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Accepted/In Press date: 24 March 2026
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 March 2026
Published date: 28 March 2026
Keywords:
Caribbean Sea, El/Ca, Individual foraminifera analysis, MC-ICP-MS/MS, Western English Channel, benthic foraminifera, laser ablation, δ11B, Benthic foraminifera, Laser ablation
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 511374
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/511374
ISSN: 0009-2541
PURE UUID: d6f59f17-69e8-41f4-a8e8-01341d739a99
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Date deposited: 13 May 2026 16:41
Last modified: 14 May 2026 02:09
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Author:
Zifei Yang
Author:
Rachel Brown
Author:
Patrick A. Rafter
Author:
Malcolm B. Hart
Author:
Tali L. Babila
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