Near collapse of the meridional SST gradient in the eastern equatorial Pacific during Heinrich Stadial 1

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 28 (2013): 663–674, doi:10.1002/2013PA002499.Sea surface temperatures (SST) and inorganic continental input over the last 25,000 years (25 ka) are reconstructed in the far eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) based on three cores stretching from the equatorial front (~0.01°N, ME0005-24JC) into the cold tongue region (~3.6°S; TR163-31P and V19-30). We revisit previously published alkenone-derived SST records for these sites and present a revised chronology for V19-30. Inorganic continental input is quantified at all three sites based on 230Th-normalized fluxes of the long-lived continental isotope thorium-232 and interpreted to be largely dust. Our data show a very weak meridional (cross-equatorial) SST gradient during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, 18–15 ka B.P.) and high dust input along with peak export production at and north of the equator. These findings are corroborated by an Earth system model experiment for HS1 that simulates intensified northeasterly trade winds in the EEP, stronger equatorial upwelling, and surface cooling. Furthermore, the related southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during HS1 is also indicative of drier conditions in the typical source regions for dust.This work was supported by grants from the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada and the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA. A. Timmermann and T. Friedrich were supported by NSF grant 1010869.2014-05-2

Extensive hydrogen supersaturations in the western South Atlantic Ocean suggest substantial underestimation of nitrogen fixation

The nitrogen cycle is fundamental to Earth's biogeochemistry. Yet major uncertainties of quantification remain, particularly regarding the global oceanic nitrogen fixation rate. Hydrogen is produced during nitrogen fixation and will become supersaturated in surface waters if there is net release from diazotrophs. Ocean surveys of hydrogen supersaturation thus have the potential to illustrate the spatial and temporal distribution of nitrogen fixation, and to guide the far more onerous but quantitative methods for measuring it. Here we present the first transect of high resolution measurements of hydrogen supersaturations in surface waters along a meridional 10,000 km cruise track through the Atlantic. We compare measured saturations with published measurements of nitrogen fixation rates and also with model-derived values. If the primary source of excess hydrogen is nitrogen fixation and has a hydrogen release ratio similar to Trichodesmium, our hydrogen measurements would point to similar rates of fixation in the North and South Atlantic, roughly consistent with modelled fixation rates but not with measured rates, which are lower in the south. Possible explanations would include any substantial nitrogen fixation by newly discovered diazotrophs, particularly any having a hydrogen release ratio similar to or exceeding that of Trichodesmium; under-sampling of nitrogen fixation south of the equator related to excessive focus on Trichodesmium; and methodological shortcomings of nitrogen fixation techniques that cause a bias towards colonial diazotrophs relative to unicellular forms. Alternatively our data are affected by an unknown hydrogen source that is greater in the southern half of the cruise track than the northern

Export Production in the Subarctic North Pacific over the Last 800 kyrs: No Evidence for Iron Fertilization?

The subarctic North Pacific is a high nitrate-low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where phytoplankton growth rates, especially those of diatoms, are enhanced when micronutrient Fe is added. Accordingly, it has been suggested that glacial Fe-laden dust might have increased primary production in this region. This paper reviews published palaeoceanographic records of export production over the last 800 kyrs from the open North Pacific (north of ∼35°N). We find different patterns of export production change over time in the various domains of the North Pacific (NW and NE subarctic gyres, the marginal seas and the transition zone). However, there is no compelling evidence for an overall increase in productivity during glacials in the subarctic region, challenging the paradigm that dust-born Fe fertilization of this region has contributed to the glacial draw down of atmospheric CO 2 . Potential reasons for the lack of increased glacial export production include the possibility that Fe-fertilization rapidly drives the ecosystem towards limitation by another nutrient. This effect would have been exacerbated by an even more stable mixed layer compared to today.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41539/1/10872_2004_Article_5383267.pd

230 Th normalization: new insights on an essential tool for quantifying sedimentary fluxes in the modern and quaternary ocean

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Costa, K. M., Hayes, C. T., Anderson, R. F., Pavia, F. J., Bausch, A., Deng, F., Dutay, J., Geibert, W., Heinze, C., Henderson, G., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Hoffmann, S., Jaccard, S. L., Jacobel, A. W., Kienast, S. S., Kipp, L., Lerner, P., Lippold, J., Lund, D., Marcantonio, F., McGee, D., McManus, J. F., Mekik, F., Middleton, J. L., Missiaen, L., Not, C., Pichat, S., Robinson, L. F., Rowland, G. H., Roy-Barman, M., Alessandro, Torfstein, A., Winckler, G., & Zhou, Y. 230 Th normalization: new insights on an essential tool for quantifying sedimentary fluxes in the modern and quaternary ocean. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 35(2), (2020): e2019PA003820, doi:10.1029/2019PA003820.230Th normalization is a valuable paleoceanographic tool for reconstructing high‐resolution sediment fluxes during the late Pleistocene (last ~500,000 years). As its application has expanded to ever more diverse marine environments, the nuances of 230Th systematics, with regard to particle type, particle size, lateral advective/diffusive redistribution, and other processes, have emerged. We synthesized over 1000 sedimentary records of 230Th from across the global ocean at two time slices, the late Holocene (0–5,000 years ago, or 0–5 ka) and the Last Glacial Maximum (18.5–23.5 ka), and investigated the spatial structure of 230Th‐normalized mass fluxes. On a global scale, sedimentary mass fluxes were significantly higher during the Last Glacial Maximum (1.79–2.17 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence) relative to the Holocene (1.48–1.68 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence). We then examined the potential confounding influences of boundary scavenging, nepheloid layers, hydrothermal scavenging, size‐dependent sediment fractionation, and carbonate dissolution on the efficacy of 230Th as a constant flux proxy. Anomalous 230Th behavior is sometimes observed proximal to hydrothermal ridges and in continental margins where high particle fluxes and steep continental slopes can lead to the combined effects of boundary scavenging and nepheloid interference. Notwithstanding these limitations, we found that 230Th normalization is a robust tool for determining sediment mass accumulation rates in the majority of pelagic marine settings (>1,000 m water depth).We thank Zanna Chase and one anonymous reviewer for valuable feedback. K. M. C. was supported by a Postdoctoral Scholarship at WHOI. L. M. acknowledges funding from the Australian Research Council grant DP180100048. The contribution of C. T. H., J. F. M., and R. F. A. were supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation (US‐NSF). G. H. R. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant NE/L002434/1). S. L. J. acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants PP002P2_144811 and PP00P2_172915). This study was supported by the Past Global Changes (PAGES) project, which in turn received support from the Swiss Academy of Sciences and the US‐NSF. This work grew out of a 2018 workshop in Aix‐Marseille, France, funded by PAGES, GEOTRACES, SCOR, US‐NSF, Aix‐Marseille Université, and John Cantle Scientific. All data are publicly available as supporting information to this document and on the National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/study/28791

A review of nitrogen isotopic alteration in marine sediments

Key Points: Use of sedimentary nitrogen isotopes is examined; On average, sediment 15N/14N increases approx. 2 per mil during early burial; Isotopic alteration scales with water depth Abstract: Nitrogen isotopes are an important tool for evaluating past biogeochemical cycling from the paleoceanographic record. However, bulk sedimentary nitrogen isotope ratios, which can be determined routinely and at minimal cost, may be altered during burial and early sedimentary diagenesis, particularly outside of continental margin settings. The causes and detailed mechanisms of isotopic alteration are still under investigation. Case studies of the Mediterranean and South China Seas underscore the complexities of investigating isotopic alteration. In an effort to evaluate the evidence for alteration of the sedimentary N isotopic signal and try to quantify the net effect, we have compiled and compared data demonstrating alteration from the published literature. A >100 point comparison of sediment trap and surface sedimentary nitrogen isotope values demonstrates that, at sites located off of the continental margins, an increase in sediment 15N/14N occurs during early burial, likely at the seafloor. The extent of isotopic alteration appears to be a function of water depth. Depth-related differences in oxygen exposure time at the seafloor are likely the dominant control on the extent of N isotopic alteration. Moreover, the compiled data suggest that the degree of alteration is likely to be uniform through time at most sites so that bulk sedimentary isotope records likely provide a good means for evaluating relative changes in the global N cycle

Timescales of lateral sediment transport in the Panama Basin as revealed by radiocarbon ages of alkenones, total organic carbon and foraminifera

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 290 (2010): 340-350, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.030.Paired radiocarbon measurements on haptophyte biomarkers (alkenones) and on cooccurring tests of planktic foraminifera (Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Globogerinoides sacculifer) from late glacial to Holocene sediments at core locations ME0005-24JC, Y69- 71P, and MC16 from the south-western and central Panama Basin indicate no significant addition of pre-aged alkenones by lateral advection. The strong temporal correspondence between alkenones, foraminifera and total organic carbon (TOC) also implies negligible contributions of aged terrigenous material. Considering controversial evidence for sediment redistribution in previous studies of these sites, our data imply that the laterally supplied material cannot stem from remobilization of substantially aged sediments. Transport, if any, requires syn-depositional nepheloid layer transport and redistribution of low-density or fine-grained components within decades of particle formation. Such rapid and local transport minimizes the potential for temporal decoupling of proxies residing in different grain size fractions and thus facilitates comparison of various proxies for paleoceanographic reconstructions in this study area. Anomalously old foraminiferal tests from a glacial depth interval of core Y69-71P may result from episodic spillover of fast bottom currents across the Carnegie Ridge transporting foraminiferal sands towards the north.This study was funded by the Helmholtz Young Investigators Group „Applications of molecular 14C analysis for the study of sedimentation processes and carbon cycling in marine sediments”. G.M. acknowledges financial support from WHOI postdoctoral scholarship program. T.I.E. was supported by NSF grant OCE-0526268. A.C.M. was supported by NSF grant ATM0602395

Comment on "Do geochemical estimates of sediment focusing pass the sediment test in the equatorial Pacific?" by M. Lyle et al.

Accurately estimating the vertical flux of material reaching the seafloor from the overlying surface waters is essential for the paleoceanographic reconstruction of a wide variety of oceanic processes. Two approaches are currently being used. One consists of estimating mass accumulation rates (MAR) between dated horizons as the product of linear sedimentation rates, sediment dry bulk densities, and concentrations. One pitfall with this approach is that sediments can be redistributed on the seafloor by bottom currents, and their accumulation may not necessarily reflect the true vertical rain rate originating from the overlying water column. To address this problem, the method of ²³⁰Th normalization was developed [Bacon, 1984]. This method is based on the assumption that the rapid scavenging of ²³⁰Th produced in the water column by decay of dissolved uranium results in its flux to the seafloor always being close to its known rate of production. To the extent that this assumption is correct, scavenged ²³⁰Th can be used as a reference to estimate the settling flux of other sedimentary constituents and to correct for sediment redistribution on the seafloor [Henderson and Anderson, 2003; Francois et al., 2004]

\u3csup\u3e230\u3c/sup\u3eTh Normalization: New Insights on an Essential Tool for Quantifying Sedimentary Fluxes in the Modern and Quaternary Ocean

230Th normalization is a valuable paleoceanographic tool for reconstructing high‐resolution sediment fluxes during the late Pleistocene (last ~500,000 years). As its application has expanded to ever more diverse marine environments, the nuances of 230Th systematics, with regard to particle type, particle size, lateral advective/diffusive redistribution, and other processes, have emerged. We synthesized over 1000 sedimentary records of 230Th from across the global ocean at two time slices, the late Holocene (0–5,000 years ago, or 0–5 ka) and the Last Glacial Maximum (18.5–23.5 ka), and investigated the spatial structure of 230Th‐normalized mass fluxes. On a global scale, sedimentary mass fluxes were significantly higher during the Last Glacial Maximum (1.79–2.17 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence) relative to the Holocene (1.48–1.68 g/cm2kyr, 95% confidence). We then examined the potential confounding influences of boundary scavenging, nepheloid layers, hydrothermal scavenging, size‐dependent sediment fractionation, and carbonate dissolution on the efficacy of 230Th as a constant flux proxy. Anomalous 230Th behavior is sometimes observed proximal to hydrothermal ridges and in continental margins where high particle fluxes and steep continental slopes can lead to the combined effects of boundary scavenging and nepheloid interference. Notwithstanding these limitations, we found that 230Th normalization is a robust tool for determining sediment mass accumulation rates in the majority of pelagic marine settings (\u3e1,000 m water depth)

Palaeoceanography of the mid-latitude North East Pacific : during the late Pleistocene

Past climatic and oceanographic changes in the California Current region off western North America were investigated with the overall goal of contributing to a better understanding of natural ocean variability in the Pacific Ocean on glacial-interglacial and millennial-time scales. This was carried out by constructing downcore sedimentary records of past primary production (C[sub org], biogenic opal, Ba/Al ratio), the concentrations of redox sensitive metals (Mn, Re, Ag, Cd, Mo, U) and the stable isotopic composition of nitrogen (¹⁴N/¹⁵N) in two sediment cores from the continental margin off Oregon (at 2730 and 3111 m water depth). These data were then compared with previously published core records to build a synoptic picture of surface, subsurface and deep water conditions in the NE Pacific over the last 120 kyrs. Isotopically enriched nitrate currently produced by denitrification in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) is exported northward along the continental margin via the California Undercurrent (CUC). Thus, the nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) of subsurface nitrate is higher than the global deep water average (-4.5-5 %o) and it decreases progressively from Mexico (18 %o) to Vancouver Island (6 %o) along the entire margin. Off Oregon, the similarity between the isotopic composition of subsurface (150 -600 m) nitrate (7.1 %o), annual sediment trap material (7.0-7.4 %o on average) and surface sediments (6.5-8%o) implies that biological nitrate uptake is complete on an annual basis and that the surface sediments record the isotopic composition of subsurface nitrate without significant diagenetic bias. Together with similar findings from other sites along the margin, these results imply that the sedimentary δ¹⁵N signal can be used as a tracer for the advection of isotopically enriched nitrate from the ETNP along the entire NW American margin from at least 2 0 ° to 45°N. Downcore δ¹⁵N results off Oregon reveal a glacial-interglacial pattern that is remarkably similar in timing and amplitude to other records from the NW American margin. High values (7-10 % o ) during the Holocene, Stage 5 and some periods of Stage 3 at the Oregon sites are interpreted to reflect relatively strong denitrification in the ETNP and a strong CUC. High sedimentary concentrations of palaeoproduction indicators imply that coastal upwelling and northerly winds off Oregon were active at the same time. This is in marked contrast to lower δ¹⁵N values (4-6 % o ) and reduced concentrations of palaeoproduction tracers during cold Stages 2 and 4. While palaeoproduction proxies and δ¹⁵N vary approximately in phase in core records originating from outside the modern denitrification zone, δ¹⁵N clearly leads palaeoproduction proxies in cores from within the ETNP after the last glacial maximum (LGM) and at the Stage 4/3 and 6/5 boundaries by several kyrs. This lead strongly implies that primary production in the ETNP cannot be the sole control on denitrification in this region. Circulation changes in the equatorial Pacific are offered as an alternative explanation. Stronger trade winds during cold periods of the climate system (such as the LGM, Heinrich events and Dansgaard-Oeschger stadials) would force a stronger equatorial undercurrent (EUC) and increase oxygen advection into the ETNP, thereby reducing denitrification rates. During warm periods, oxygen advection by the EUC is low, denitrification rates in the ETNP are high and the CUC transports isotopically heavy nitrate towards the north, thereby synchronizing the sedimentary δ¹⁵N signal along the continental margin of NW America. The proposed mechanism provides an atmospheric link between denitrification intensity in the eastern Pacific, horizontal advection of isotopically heavy nitrate into the mid latitude N-Pacific and northern hemisphere climate change. Furthermore, using sedimentary δ¹⁵N as a quasi synchronous tracer along the margin, a latitudinal gradient in the onset of primary production (as recorded by %organic carbon in the same core records) after the LGM is evident. Thus, primary production and, by inference, upwelling favourable, northerly winds appear to have developed in a time transgressive fashion with those in the north (~40°N) starting several kyrs before those in the south (~20°N). At 2730 m water depth off Oregon, the downcore authigenic enrichments of Re (up 60 times relative to crust), Ag and Cd (2-7 x) together with the absence of solid phase Mn imply that suboxic sediment conditions were maintained at shallow depth throughout the last 70 kyrs at this site. Similar to intermediate water depths, suboxic conditions at this deep site were most intense (i.e. the redox boundary was at its shallowest position) during the Holocene, a period possibly correlative with the Boiling-Allerad, and Stage 3 when organic matter flux was high. Although Mo and U in the same core are not significantly enriched over crustal reference values, their concentrations nevertheless correlate positively with production proxies, which possibly implies small amounts of authigenic Mo and TJ formation. No correlation was found between variations in the sedimentary concentrations of redox sensitive metals and the carbon isotopic composition (δ¹⁵C) of the benthic foraminifera C. wuellerstorfi, which was previously interpreted to reflect short-term changes in deep water ventilation [Mix et al., 1999; Lund and Mix 1998]. While this does not contradict the δ¹⁵C evidence that such ventilation changes might have occurred, it implies that they have not had an overriding control on the redox conditions of the sediment at this site. Overall, the Cahfornia Current region was vastly different from today under glacial climate conditions. Surface primary production and carbon export to the sediment were significantly reduced, as was the lateral advection of isotopically heavy nitrate from the ETNP by the California Undercurrent.Science, Faculty ofEarth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department ofGraduat