Possible factors that control calcite dissolution in the western tropical Indian Ocean

Calcite dissolution in marine sediments is known to be driven by the degree of saturation state with respect to calcium carbonate, of overlying bottom waters. Three paleocarbonateion proxies, planktonic foraminifer size index, shell weight and calcite crystallinity applied to a set of core top samples reveal that calcite dissolution commences from 2250m onwards and intensifies at around 3900m water depth in the Western Tropical Indian Ocean 1. It was proposed earlier that carbonate dissolution can be caused due to acidification of pore water 2. It is shown that shell weights of the foraminifera species Pulleniatina obliquiloculata indicate that this intense dissolution observed at 3900m was caused due to undersaturation of CO3= in the bottom waters in the Indian Ocea

Coherent response of the Indian Monsoon Rainfall to Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability over the last 2000 years

Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall has a direct effect on the livelihoods of two billion people in the Indian-subcontinent. Yet, our understanding of the drivers of multi-decadal variability of the ISM is far from being complete. In this context, large-scale forcing of ISM rainfall variability with multi-decadal resolution over the last two millennia is investigated using new records of sea surface salinity (δ18Ow) and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Higher δ18Ow values during the Dark Age Cold Period (1550 to 1250 years BP) and the Little Ice Age (700 to 200 years BP) are suggestive of reduced ISM rainfall, whereas lower δ18Ow values during the Medieval Warm Period (1200 to 800 years BP) and the major portion of the Roman Warm Period (1950 to 1550 years BP) indicate a wetter ISM. This variability in ISM rainfall appears to be modulated by the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) via changes in large-scale thermal contrast between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean, a relationship that is also identifiable in the observational data of the last century. Therefore, we suggest that inter-hemispheric scale interactions between such extra tropical forcing mechanisms and global warming are likely to be influential in determining future trends in ISM rainfall

Coherent response of the Indian Monsoon Rainfall to Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability over the last 2000 years

Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall has a direct effect on the livelihoods of two billion people in the Indian-subcontinent. Yet, our understanding of the drivers of multi-decadal variability of the ISM is far from being complete. In this context, large-scale forcing of ISM rainfall variability with multi-decadal resolution over the last two millennia is investigated using new records of sea surface salinity (δ18Ow) and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Higher δ18Ow values during the Dark Age Cold Period (1550 to 1250 years BP) and the Little Ice Age (700 to 200 years BP) are suggestive of reduced ISM rainfall, whereas lower δ18Ow values during the Medieval Warm Period (1200 to 800 years BP) and the major portion of the Roman Warm Period (1950 to 1550 years BP) indicate a wetter ISM. This variability in ISM rainfall appears to be modulated by the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) via changes in large-scale thermal contrast between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean, a relationship that is also identifiable in the observational data of the last century. Therefore, we suggest that inter-hemispheric scale interactions between such extra tropical forcing mechanisms and global warming are likely to be influential in determining future trends in ISM rainfall

Stable isotope record of planktonic foraminifera of ODP Hole 117-723A

Oxygen and carbon isotopic analyses have been performed on the tests of Globigerina bulloides, Globigerinoides sacculifer, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata to study the Delta delta18O and Delta delta13C of shallow and deeper depth living planktic foraminifera species. High and low Delta delta18Oobl-bul and Delta delta13Csac-dut coincides respectively with the low and high flux of G. bulloides (established monsoon upwelling index). The tangible relationships between the flux of G. bulloides and oxygen and carbon isotope differences between the shallow and deeper depth habitat planktic foraminiferal species appear to suggest that Delta delta18O and Delta delta13C of surface and subsurface living foraminifera can be used as isotope indices of upwelling in the Arabian Sea

Influence of monsoon upwelling on the planktonic foraminifera off Oman during Late Quaternary

322-331Planktonic foraminifer abundances, fluxes, test sizes, and coiling properties are influenced in various ways by the south-west monsoon winds and associated upwelling in the western Arabian Sea. The influence of monsoon driven upwelling on the planktonic foraminifer species abundances, coiling directions of Globigerinoides bulloides and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma and size variations of selected planktonic foraminifer species and carbon isotopic composition of Globigerina bulloides is summarized here

Age determinations on ODP Hole 117-723A in the Arabian Sea

Planktonic foraminiferal abundances, fluxes, test sizes, and coiling properties are influenced in various ways by the southwest monsoon winds and associated upwelling in the western Arabian Sea. To determine the short-term changes in the southwest monsoon, we have carried out a high-resolution time-series analysis of three upwelling indices (total flux of planktonic foraminiferal tests and flux and relative abundance of the planktonic foraminiferal species Globigerina bulloides) from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 723A (Oman Margin, western Arabian Sea) spanning the last 19 kyr. In addition, we have determined the relationships between upwelling intensity and the relative abundance, fluxes, and shell concentrations of various planktonic foraminiferal species. Upwelling indices suggest that from 19 to 16 ka (22 to 18.2 cal kyr B.P.) the SW monsoon was relatively strong compared to the period 15.8 to 12.5 ka (17.8 to 13.8 cal kyr B.P.). The intensification of the SW monsoon took place at 12 ka (13.1 cal kyr B.P.) and reached a peak between 10 and 5 ka (10.6 and 4.8 cal kyr B.P.). The high-resolution data further demonstrate that the SW monsoon has started weakening from 5 ka (4.8 cal kyr B.P.) and the weakest phase was in place at 3.5 ka (3 cal kyr B.P.), which coincides with evidence of an arid climate in western Tibet. Fluxes and shell concentrations of many of the planktonic foraminiferal species increased between 12 and 5 ka in response to the intensification of the SW monsoon winds after the last glacial period. Globigerina bulloides shows a fivefold to tenfold increase in flux during this period of intense upwelling. The other species whose fluxes are influenced by this upwelling change are (in order from strongest to weakest response) Globigerinita glutinata, Globigerinoides ruber, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Globigerinella aequilateralis, Globigerina falconensis, and Globigerinoides sacculifer. The relative abundances of G. bulloides and G. ruber increased during intense upwelling, whereas the relative abundances of G. glutinata, N. dutertrei, G. falconensis, and G. sacculifer did not increase during this period, which might be due to differences in the productivity of various species in relation to upwelling change. Therefore the fluxes and shell concentrations provide better and more reliable information about the changes in the monsoon system in the Arabian Sea than relative abundance data

(Table 1) Age determination and calendar agesf ODP Hole 117-723A

Annual, summer, and winter sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the western Arabian Sea were reconstructed through the last 22 kyr using artificial neural networks (ANNs) based on quantitative analyses of planktic foraminifera. Down-core SST estimates reveal that annual, summer, and winter SSTs were 2, 1.2, and 2.6°C cooler, respectively, during the last glacial period than in the Holocene. A 2.5°C SST increase during Termination 1A (hereinafter referred as glacial to Holocene transition) in the western Arabian Sea. The study reveals a strong seasonal SST contrast between winter and summer from 18 to 14 calendar kyr owing to the combined effect of weak upwelling and strong cold northeasterly winds. Minor or no seasonal SST changes were noticed within the Holocene period, which is attributed to the intense upwelling during the summer monsoon. This causes a lowering of SST to values similar to those of the winter season in analogy with the present day. A 3°C rise in winter SSTs during the glacial to Holocene transition coincides with a strengthening of the monsoon, suggesting a link between winter SST and monsoon initiation from the beginning of the Holocene. Strikingly, annual, summer, and winter SSTs show a cooling trend from ~8 ka to the present day, implying tropical cooling in the late Holocene