Orbital and Suborbital‐Scale Variations of Productivity and Sea Surface Conditions in the Gulf of Alaska During the Past 54,000 Years: Impact of Iron Fertilization by Icebergs and Meltwater

As a high-nutrient and low-chlorophyll region, the modern Gulf of Alaska (GoA) is strongly impacted by the limitation of iron. Paleostudies along the Alaskan slope have mainly focused on reconstructing environmental conditions over the past 18 ka. Based on micropaleontological, biogeochemical, and sedimentological parameters, we explore a sediment record covering the past 54 ka at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1419 to understand the impact of orbital- and suborbital-scale climate variability on productivity and sea-surface conditions. Close to the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS), Site U1419 is ideally located to elucidate how the evolution of a large ice mass and glacial processes affected orbital- and suborbital-scale changes in nutrients (e.g., iron) supply. Meltwater discharge from the northern CIS impacted sea surface dynamics of GoA coastal waters. The corresponding increases in bulk biogenic concentrations during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and MIS 2 (54–17 ka) suggests a direct impact from iron fertilization. The lack of a consistent relationship between productivity and SST suggests that cooling of surface waters was not the dominant control on primary producers. The inundation of the subaerially exposed continental shelf during the last deglacial (17–10 ka) warming could have served as a major micronutrient source, accounting for a deglacial peak in production. Low productivity after the last deglaciation suggests reduced iron availability, which we link to reduced meltwater inputs from smaller ice masses onshore. Our multiproxy approach reveals a more comprehensive picture of late Quaternary productivity variations compared to earlier studies along the Alaskan margin. The impact of tidewater glaciers and meltwater discharge on past marine productivity and nutrient budget dynamics of high-latitude coastal regions is discussed

IODP Expedition 361 – Southern African Climates and Agulhas LGM Density Profile

IODP Expedition 361 drilled six sites (U1474 – U1479) on the southeast African margin and the Indian-Atlantic ocean gateway from 30 January to 31 March 2016. The sites, situated in the Mozambique Channel, Natal Valley, Agulhas Plateau, and Cape Basin, were targeted to reconstruct the history of the Greater Agulhas Current System over the past ~5 Ma. More specifically, the main objectives of Expedition 361 were: (i) to establish the sensitivity of the Agulhas Current to climate change during the Plio-Pleistocene in association with transient to long-term changes of high-latitude climates, tropical heat budgets, and the monsoon system; (ii) to determine the dynamics of the Indian-Atlantic gateway circulation in association with changing wind fields and migrating ocean fronts; (iii) to examine the connection of the Agulhas leakage and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; (iv) to address the influence of the Agulhas Current on African terrestrial climates, notably rainfall patterns and river runoff, and potential links to hominid evolution. Additionally, the expedition set out to fulfill the needs of the Ancillary Project Letter, consisting of high-resolution interstitial water samples aiming at constraining the temperature and salinity profiles of the ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum. In total, 5175 m of core was recovered (average recovery 102 %) from a region poorly represented in the database of drill sites for scientific purposes. Physical property records derived from core-logging of the recovered sequences allowed complete spliced stratigraphic sections to be generated that span the interval of 0 to between ~0.13 and 7 Ma. A high-resolution program of interstitial water samples was carried out at Sites U1474, U1475, U1476, and U1478. The expedition made major strides toward fulfilling the scientific objectives despite of ~11 days of lost operational time due to weather conditions, a medical evacuation, and delays in attaining the necessary permissions to operate in Mozambique exclusive economic zone waters. Site U1474 (3034 meters below sea level [mbsl]), located in the northernmost Natal Valley, consists of eight holes ranging in penetration depth from 3.1 to 254.1 m drilling depth below seafloor (dsf). A total of 910.8 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of foraminifer-bearing clay with nannofossils. Based on the shipboard bio- and magnetistratigraphic datums, the sedimentary sequence extends back to the late Miocene (~6.2 Ma). This record represents the only site situated beneath the main flow of the fully constituted Agulhas Current and therefore provides the opportunity for high-resolution climate reconstructions of Agulhas Current warm-water transports and upstream variability that may allow the identification of connections between Agulhas leakage and its headwater variability. It also holds significant potential to investigate the connections between southern African terrestrial climates and southeast Indian Ocean heat budgets and the links to the cultural evolution of early modern humans. Site U1475 (2669 mbsl), located on the southwestern flank of the Agulhas Plateau, consists of six holes ranging in penetration depth from 1.5 to 277.0 m dsf. A total of 1015.9 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of nannofossil ooze. Shipboard bio- and magnetistratigraphic data suggest that the sedimentary sequence extends back to the late Miocene (~7 Ma). This record provides the opportunity for high-resolution climate reconstructions of the Agulhas Return Current and connections with the Sub-Tropical Front, productivity, and deep-water circulation. Site U1476 (2165 mbsl), located at the northern entrance of the Mozambique Channel, consists of five holes ranging in penetration depth from 5.7 to 234.8 m dsf. A total of 873.8 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of foraminifer-rich nannofossil ooze. The sedimentary sequence extends back to the late Miocene (~6.9 Ma), as inferred from the shiboard bio- and magnetostratigraphic data. The site boasts excellent biostratigraphy and notably cyclic physical properties. It therefore provides the opportunity for high-resolution reconstructions of tropical faunal assemblages, which will allow identification of connections be¬tween Agulhas leakage and its headwater variability. It also holds significant potential to investigate the connections between southern African terrestrial climates and southeast Indian Ocean heat budgets and thermocline and deep-water variability with likely links to the development of the Indonesian Throughflow as well as aridification of east Africa. Because of the excellent preservation of foraminifers, this an ideal site for a long record of surface-ocean pH from boron isotopes. Site U1477 (429 mbsl), located in the western Mozambique Channel east of the Zambezi River delta, consists of three holes ranging in penetration depth from 119.4 to 181.2 m dsf. A total of 490.0 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of sandy clay with foraminifers and nannofossils. Based on correlations to a nearby 14C dated cores and two biostratigrahic markers, the sedimentary sequence extends back to the Late Pleistocene (~0.13 Ma). The extreme accumulation rate (~1 m/ky) at this site provides the opportunity for exceptionally high resolution reconstructions of terrestrial climate and thermocline characteristics during the last glacial cycle. Site U1478 (488 mbsl), located in the western Mozambique Channel east of the Limpopo River delta, consists of four holes ranging in penetration depth from 216.0 to 248.4 m dsf. A total of 922.1 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of sand or clayey/sandy silt with foraminifers and nannofossils. The shipboard age-model suggests that the sedimentary sequence extends back to the Pliocene (~4 Ma). This record provides the opportunity for high-resolution climate reconstructions of faunal, biogeochemical, and terrigenous tracers that are characteristic of the upper reaches of the Agulhas Current warm-water transports that will allow connections between Agul¬has leakage and its headwater variability. The site also holds significant potential to investigate the connections between southern African terrestrial climates and southeast Indian Ocean heat budgets, and examine the relationship between such climate variability and early human evolution. Site U1479 (2615 mbsl), located in Cape Basin, consists of nine holes ranging in penetration depth from 1.0 to 300.7 m dsf. A total of 963.1 m of sediment was recovered, predominantly consisting of nannofossil ooze with or without foraminifers. According to the shipboard bio- and magnetostratigraphy-based age model, the sedimentary sequence extends back to the late Miocene (~7 Ma). This record represents the only site situated in the immediate Agulhas leakage pathway. It will therefore provide the opportunity for high-resolution climate reconstructions of the leakage and temporal comparisons with deep-water circulation

Data report: X-ray fluorescence core scanning of IODP Site U1474 sediments, Natal Valley, southwest Indian Ocean, Expedition 361

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning was conducted on core sections from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1474, located in the Natal Valley off the coast of South Africa. The data were collected at 2 mm resolution along the 255 m length of the splice, but this setting resulted in noisy data. This problem was addressed by applying a 10 point running sum on the XRF data prior to converting peak area to element intensities. This effectively integrates 10 measurements into 1, representing an average over 2 cm resolution, and significantly improves noise in the data. With 25 calibration samples, whose element concentrations were derived using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, the XRF measurements were converted to concentrations using a univariate log-ratio calibration method. The resulting concentrations of terrigenously derived major elements (Al, Si, K, Ti, and Fe) are anticorrelated with Ca concentrations, indicating the main control on sediment chemistry is the variable proportion of terrigenous to in situ produced carbonate material

Orbitally-controlled variations of physical properties and sediment provenance in Indian-Atlantic Ocean gateway over the last 7 Ma

In 2016 the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 361 (“SAFARI”) recovered complete high-resolution Plio-/Pleistocene sediment sections at six drilling locations on the southeast African margin and at the oceanic connection between the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans. Site U1475 is located on the southern flank of the Agulhas Plateau, proximal to the entrance of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) to the Southern Ocean and South Indian Ocean. The site was drilled into a sediment drift in 2669 m water depth and comprises a complete carbonate rich (74 – 85%) stratigraphic section of the last ~7 Ma. The contourite deposits hold detailed information on past changes in the bottom water flow history in the Indian-Atlantic ocean gateway. Here we present results from the integration of physical properties, seismic reflection data, and major element records. The whole spliced sediment record (292 meters) of Site U1475 was measured using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanner to derive multi-centennial resolution records of major element intensities. Based on these measurements it is possible to derive biogenic (e.g. %CaCO3) and siliciclastic (e.g. TiO2, K2O) mineral phases. Elemental log-ratios, such as Ca/Ti and K/Fe, reflect variations in biogenic (CaCO3) vs. terrigenous supply and variability of the terrigenous provenance, respectively. While long-term changes in physical properties and elemental ratios can be linked to the seismic reflection patterns associated with deep water circulation changes, short-term cyclicities reflect Plio-Pleistocene climate variations at Milanlovitch-frequencies. Evolutionary spectra show that the orbital control on sediment composition was variable over time. During the last 4 Ma energy is concentrated at the 41ka band of obliquity and at lower frequencies. In contrast, the orbital precession cycle (19-23ka) is very prominent in a peculiar high sedimentation rate interval in the early Pliocene (~4 to 5 Ma) that is bounded by seismic reflectors and characterized by the development of sediment waves

Strong glacial-interglacial variability in upper ocean hydrodynamics, biogeochemistry, and productivity in the southern Indian Ocean

In the southern Indian Ocean, the position of the subtropical front - the boundary between colder, fresher waters to the south and warmer, saltier waters to the north - has a strong influence on the upper ocean hydrodynamics and biogeochemistry. Here we analyse a sedimentary record from the Agulhas Plateau, located close to the modern position of the subtropical front and use alkenones and coccolith assemblages to reconstruct oceanographic conditions over the past 300,000 years. We identify a strong glacial-interglacial variability in sea surface temperature and productivity associated with subtropical front migration over the Agulhas Plateau, as well as shorter-term high frequency variability aligned with variations in high latitude insolation. Alkenone and coccolith abundances, in combination with diatom and organic carbon records indicate high glacial export productivity. We conclude that the biological pump was more efficient and strengthened during glacial periods, which could partly account for the reported reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Migration of the Subtropical Front during glacial and interglacial periods resulted in variability in the strength of the biological pump in the Southern Ocean sector of the Indian Ocean, according to sedimentary records from the Agulhas Plateau.This work used samples and data provided by the IODP. We are thankful for the support from the crew of the R/V JOIDES Resolution and IODP staff. This work is funded through the Universidad de Salamanca Postdoctoral Contract supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades Grant RTI2018-099489-B-I00 and the German Science Foundation (DFG) Research Center/Cluster of Excellence ‘The Ocean in the Earth System' (MARUM; Grant No. 49926684). We acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation of the US under Award No. 1737218 (M.A.B), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska Curie Grant Agreement No. 799531 (M.S.P.), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grant CTM2017-89711-C2-1-P, co-funded by the European Union through FEDER funds (F.J.J.E.

Triumph and tribulation for shallow water fauna during the Paleocene–Eocene transition; insights from the United Arab Emirates

This is the final version. Available on open access from Borntraeger Science Publishers via the DOI in this recordThe Paleocene–Eocene transition was a time of short-term rapid climatic and biotic change, superimposed on a long-term warming trend. The response of shallow tropical carbonate systems to past rapid warming is important to understand in the context of ongoing and future anthropogenic global warming. Larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) were abundant and important components of shallow water ecosystems throughout the early Paleogene and are sensitive to environmental change, making them ideal organisms to track shallow marine biodiversity. Furthermore, through the use of integrated bio- and chemostratigraphy it is possible to correlate the shallow (<100 m) and deep water realms to create a regional stratigraphic framework for the time period. Here we present a new LBF biostratigraphic and high-resolution carbonate carbon isotopic record spanning the Paleocene– Eocene transition from the onshore sub-surface of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Results show a turnover event in the LBF assemblage during the early Eocene, wherein there are a number of first and last occurrences of species. However, assemblages remain generally stable coincident with the large negative carbon isotope excursion interpreted to be the onset of the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM). Turnover in the LBF assemblage in the early Eocene likely occurred due to the crossing of a long-term climatic and oceanographic threshold. The impacts of this long-term climatic change on the overall biotic assemblage at this site are significant, with LBF outcompeting a previously diverse community of corals, gastropods, and bivalves to become the dominant carbonate producers through the Paleocene–Eocene transition. Despite this, modern studies suggest that LBF are not immune to impacts of anthropogenic climate change, perhaps due to the significantly higher rates of change in the modern compared to the Paleocene–Eocene transition.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)European Research Council (ERC

The last 1 million years of the extinct genus Discoaster: Plio–Pleistocene environment and productivity at Site U1476 (Mozambique Channel)

A detailed paleoenvironment reconstruction from the Mozambique Channel, western Indian Ocean, based on the calcareous nannoplankton assemblages was conducted for the interval between 2.85 and 1.85 Myr. This study covers the period during which the successive extinction of the last five species of discoasters occurred. New productivity data obtained from the abundances of the Discoaster species (Discoaster brouweri, D. triradiatus, D. pentaradiatus, D. surculus, and D. tamalis) and other indicative calcareous nannoplankton taxa showed abundance variations, which were at paced with the 100, 41, and 23 kyr astronomical periodicities. A shift in the productivity and water-column stratification proxies occurred at ~2.4 Ma, after the onset of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation. Here we propose that the variability recorded at International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1476 reflects the interplay between forcing associated with warm tropical Pacific and cold southern ocean influences. The former is shown by consistent occurrence of warm water taxa (Calcidiscus leptoporus, Oolithotus spp., Rhabdosphaera clavigera, Syracosphaera spp., Umbellosphaera spp.), typical of Indonesian Throughflow surface waters. On the other hand, the occurrence of Coccolithus pelagicus indicates the influence of cold, nutrient-rich sub-Antarctic surface waters. A more mixed water column initiated at ~2.4 Ma, and a consequent productivity increase led to the gradual reduction of the Discoaster species, until their extinction at 1.91 Ma. This period was characterized by the low values of the Florisphaera profunda index and high abundances of upper photic zone flora, indicative of nutrient-rich surface water conditions. High productivity at the location during this period could have also been amplified by localized upwelling events driven by the Mozambique Channel eddies