Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in the Storfjorden "sea ice factory"

Abstract. The rapid response of benthic foraminifera to environmental factors (e.g. organic matter quality and quantity, salinity, pH) and their high fossilisation potential make them promising bio-indicators for the intensity and recurrence of brine formation in Arctic seas. Such an approach, however, requires a thorough knowledge of their modern ecology in such extreme settings. To this aim, seven stations along a north–south transect across the Storfjorden (Svalbard archipelago) have been sampled using an interface multicorer. This fjord is an area of intense sea ice formation characterised by the production of brine-enriched shelf waters (BSW) as a result of a recurrent latent-heat polynya. Living (rose bengal-stained) foraminiferal assemblages were analysed together with geochemical and sedimentological parameters in the top 5 cm of the sediment. Three major biozones were distinguished. (i) The "inner fjord" zone, dominated by typical glacier proximal calcareous species, which opportunistically respond to fresh organic matter inputs. (ii) The "deep basins and sill" zone, characterised by glacier distal agglutinated fauna; these are either dominant because of the mostly refractory nature of organic matter and/or the brine persistence that hampers the growth of calcareous species and/or causes their dissolution. (iii) The "outer fjord" zone, characterised by typical North Atlantic species due to the intrusion of the North Atlantic water in the Storfjordrenna. The stressful conditions present in the deep basins and sill (i.e. acidic waters and low food quality) result in a high agglutinated ∕ calcareous ratio (A∕C). This supports the potential use of the A∕C ratio as a proxy for brine persistence and overflow in Storfjorden

Changements environnementaux liés à la dynamique de la glace dans les fjords de l’Arctique : nouvelles connaissances apportées par les foraminifères benthiques

Le changement climatique menace les régions polaires avec des conséquences majeures sur la dynamique des glaces et les écosystèmes associés. Les simulations de fonte glaciaire reposent sur des reconstitutions paléo environnementales, qui complètent les mesures directes sur la période actuelle pour réduire l'incertitude des prévisions. Des proxies basés sur l’écologie des foraminifères benthiques (FB) sont développés dans cette thèse pour suivre la dynamique des glaces de mer et le retrait des glaciers côtiers. Dans le Storfjorden, les FB montrent une réponse aux eaux enrichies en CO2 (saumures) libérées pendant les processus de formation de glace de mer. Le rapport entre les FB agglutinés et calcaires (A/C) est proposé comme proxy de la persistance sur les fonds de ces saumures qui provoquent la dissolution des tests calcaires des FB. Bien que le signal A/C soit affecté par des processus taphonomiques, il permet de souligner les différences entre les zones affectées par la persistance de saumures et celles sous influence intermittente. Dans le Kongsfjorden, des gradients environnementaux abrupts (e.g., salinité, turbidité de l'eau, flux organiques) sont provoqués par la dynamique des glaciers côtiers. En été, différents assemblages de FB s’installent en fonction de l’éloignement au front du glacier, avec une augmentation vers le large de la diversité taxonomique et fonctionnelle. Un indicateur combinant plusieurs mesures de diversité a été proposé comme proxy du recul des glaciers côtiers, et son efficacité a été testée sur une archive sédimentaire des 60 dernières années. Les deux proxies proposés ici sont donc applicables dans tout environnement arctique similaire.Climate change threatens polar regions with major consequences on ice-related dynamics and linked ecosystems. Predictions of future sea ice cover and glacier retreat rely on paleoenvironmental reconstructions (through proxies’ application) to extend the instrumental period and thus reduce models’ uncertainty. This PhD thesis aimed to develop and test ecological proxies for sea ice formation and glacier melting using benthic foraminifera. In the Storfjorden “sea ice factory”, foraminiferal responses to brine presence (i.e., CO2-enriched waters released during sea ice formation processes) were investigated. The ratio between Agglutinated and Calcareous (A/C) foraminifera was proposed as potential proxy for brine persistence, because of the brine-induced dissolution on calcareous foraminiferal shells. Although the A/C signal was affected by taphonomic processes, the differences between areas of brine persistence and those with intermittent influence was preserved, thus supporting the proxy. Likewise, foraminiferal responses to steep environmental gradients (e.g., water salinity and turbidity, organic fluxes) created by tidewater glacier dynamics in summer, were investigated in Kongsfjorden. The glacier induced disturbance resulted in the establishment of different foraminiferal assemblages and increased taxonomic and functional diversity with increased distance from the glacier front. A combination of diversity metrics was proposed as potential proxy for glacier retreat and its effectiveness was tested on a sedimentary archive covering the last 60 years. The two proxies proposed here are therefore applicable in any similar Arctic environments

STEP2016 living foraminifera in surface sediments of a N-S transect in the Storfjorden

Living benthic foraminiferal faunas of a N-S transtect in the Storfjorden (Svalbard)

Implication of size fraction on benthic foraminiferal-based paleo-reconstructions: A case study from the Bay of Biscay (NE Atlantic)

International audienceMany paleoenvironmental studies based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages use different protocols for sample analysis. A standardized protocol has been recently established for biomonitoring applications, but for paleostudies, the influence of size fraction on benthic foraminiferal composition and biodiversity is poorly documented. We studied fossil foraminiferal assemblages along two paleorecords (BOBGEO-CS05 and SU81–44) from the Bay of Biscay covering the last ~35 ka cal BP. We investigated diversity and community composition to compare the impact of each size fraction (63-150 μm, >150 μm, >63 μm) on environmental interpretations. Foraminiferal diversity was affected by the accumulation of small opportunistic species. In terms of faunal composition, both paleorecords displayed a different pattern depending on the size fraction selected. While in both cores, the 63-150 μm fraction blurred the signal of some rare indicator species, our results show that i) in BOBGEO-CS05, it yielded no extra ecological information compared to the large fraction whereas ii) in SU81–44, it contained small opportunistic species that were not present in the >150 μm, impacting therefore paleoenvironmental interpretations. According to these findings, we recommend: i) to focus on the large fraction for a thorough taxonomic determination and a detailed analysis of benthic assemblages, and ii) to analyse the small fraction separately after a taxonomical identification of major species and strategic selection of studied samples. Although the 125 μm size limit was not tackled in this study, we recommend to use it for the limit between the small and large fractions instead of 150 μm for harmonization with the previously published standardized protocol for living faunas

Early taphonomy of benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden ‘sea‐ice factory’: the agglutinated/calcareous ratio as a proxy for brine persistence

The recurrent latent-heat polynya characterizing Storfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) triggers seasonal formation of thin first-year sea ice. This leads to the production of dense, salty, and corrosive brines that cascade towards the sea floor and mix with shelf waters. The bottom topography of the fjord is responsible for the retention of these dense waters in two central deep basins throughout the year. Recent studies show that living benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden are particularly affected by the persistence of brines on the sea floor, with a strong dominance of agglutinated (A) species and high degrees of dissolution of calcareous(C) faunas. Therefore, the A/C ratio, calculated on living faunas, was proposed as a proxy for brine persistence. In the present study we analyse the fossil faunas, found below the taphonomically active zone, to investigate the residual signal of the A/C proxy after the intense early taphonomic processes and challenge its applicability in sedimentary archives. Our results show that despite the generally high taphonomic loss inside the fjord, a high proportion of agglutinated species is still visible in fossil faunas at the stations experiencing regular and/or persistent presence of brine-enriched shelf waters. These results support the application of the A/C ratio in historical records to reconstruct the persistence of brines and indirectly the first-year sea ice formation in Storfjorden. This can be further applied to other Arctic fjords with similar settings and characterized by the production of brines during the winter–early spring season

Benthic foraminifera as proxies of brine shelf waters (Svalbard, Norway)

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Seasonal and interannual variability of benthic foraminiferal faunas under the influence of a tidal glacier

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nfluence of modern environmental gradients on foraminiferal faunas in the inner Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

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