Robinson Laura F.

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Robinson
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Laura F.
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Subject: Porifera ×

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  • Preprint
    Silicon isotopes in Antarctic sponges : an interlaboratory comparison
    ( 2010-06-08) Hendry, Katharine R. ; Leng, Melanie J. ; Robinson, Laura F. ; Sloane, Hilary J. ; Blusztajn, Jerzy S. ; Rickaby, Rosalind E. M. ; Georg, R. Bastian ; Halliday, Alex N.
    Cycling of deep-water silicon (Si) within the Southern Ocean, and its transport into other ocean basins, may be an important player in the uptake of atmospheric carbon, and global climate. Recent work has shown that the Si isotope (denoted by δ29Si or δ30Si) composition of deep-sea sponges reflects the availability of dissolved Si during growth, and is a potential proxy for past deep and intermediate water silicic acid concentrations. As with any geochemical tool, it is essential to ensure analytical precision and accuracy, and consistency between methodologies and laboratories. Analytical bias may exist between laboratories, and sponge material may have matrix effects leading to offsets between samples and standards. Here, we report an interlaboratory evaluation of Si isotopes in Antarctic and subAntarctic sponges. We review independent methods for measuring Si isotopes in sponge spicules. Our results show that separate subsamples of non-homogenised sponges measured by three methods yield isotopic values within analytical error for over 80% of specimens. The relationship between δ29Si and δ30Si in sponges is consistent with kinetic fractionation during biomineralisation. Sponge Si isotope analyses show potential as palaeoceaongraphic archives, and we suggest Southern Ocean sponge material would form a useful additional reference standard for future spicule analyses.
  • Preprint
    Erratum to “Deep ocean nutrients during the Last Glacial Maximum deduced from sponge silicon isotopic compositions” [Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 292 (2010) 290–300]
    ( 2010-12) Hendry, Katharine R. ; Georg, R. Bastian ; Rickaby, Rosalind E. M. ; Robinson, Laura F. ; Halliday, Alex N.
    The relative importance of biological and physical processes within the Southern Ocean for the storage of carbon and atmospheric pCO2 on glacial-interglacial timescales remains uncertain. Understanding the impact of surface biological production on carbon export in the past relies on the reconstruction of the nutrient supply from upwelling deep-waters. In particular, the upwelling of silicic acid (Si(OH)4) is tightly coupled to carbon export in the Southern Ocean via diatom productivity. Here, we address how changes in deep-water Si(OH)4 concentrations can be reconstructed using the silicon isotopic composition of deep-sea sponges. We report δ30Si of modern deep-sea sponge spicules and show that they reflect seawater Si(OH)4 concentration. The fractionation factor of sponge δ30Si compared to seawater δ30Si shows a positive relationship with Si(OH)4, which may be a growth rate effect. Application of this proxy in two down-core records from the Scotia Sea reveals that Si(OH)4 concentrations in the deep Southern Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) were no different than today. Our result does not support a coupling of carbon and nutrient build up in an isolated deep-ocean reservoir during the LGM. Our data, combined with records of stable isotopes from diatoms, are only consistent with enhanced LGM Southern Ocean nutrient utilization if there was also a concurrent reduction in diatom silicification or a shift from siliceous to organic-walled phytoplankton.
  • Preprint
    Deep ocean nutrients during the Last Glacial Maximum deduced from sponge silicon isotopic compositions
    ( 2010-02) Hendry, Katharine R. ; Georg, R. Bastian ; Rickaby, Rosalind E. M. ; Robinson, Laura F. ; Halliday, Alex N.
    The relative importance of biological and physical processes within the Southern Ocean for the storage of carbon and atmospheric pCO2 on glacial-interglacial timescales remains uncertain. Understanding the impact of surface biological production on carbon export in the past relies on the reconstruction of the nutrient supply from upwelling deep-waters. In particular, the upwelling of silicic acid (Si(OH)4) is tightly coupled to carbon export in the Southern Ocean via diatom productivity. Here, we address how changes in deep-water Si(OH)4 concentrations can be reconstructed using the silicon isotopic composition of deep-sea sponges. We report δ30Si of modern deep-sea sponge spicules and show that they reflect seawater Si(OH)4 concentration. The fractionation factor of sponge δ30Si compared to seawater δ30Si shows a positive relationship with Si(OH)4, which may be a growth rate effect. Application of this proxy in two down-core records from the Scotia Sea reveals that Si(OH)4 concentrations in the deep Southern Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) were no different than today. Our result does not support a coupling of carbon and nutrient build up in an isolated deep-ocean reservoir during the LGM. Our data, combined with records of stable isotopes from diatoms, are only consistent with enhanced LGM Southern Ocean nutrient utilization if there was also a concur rent reduction in diatom silicification or a shift from siliceous to organic walled phytoplankton.