• Login
    About WHOAS
    View Item 
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    •   WHOAS Home
    • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Academic Programs
    • WHOI Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of WHOASCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywordsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesKeywords

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    The influence of differential production and dissolution on the stable isotope composition of planktonic foraminifera

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Erez_Thesis (3.887Mb)
    Date
    1978-11
    Author
    Erez, Jonathan  Concept link
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1614
    Location
    Central North Atlantic
    DOI
    10.1575/1912/1614
    Keyword
     Foraminifera; Corals; Fossil; Marine plankton 
    Abstract
    Planktonic foraminifera from plankton tows, sediment traps and sediments from the central North Atlantic were studied in order to understand how they acquire their oxygen and carbon isotope compositions. Shallow dwelling planktonic foraminifera (mostly spinose species), collected in plankton tows in the photic zone, show light isotopic compositions possibly in slight negative deviation from oxygen isotopic equilibrium. Radioactive tracer experiments using 14C and 45Ca were conducted on shallow dwelling benthonic foraminifera and hermatypic corals. They show that photosynthesis of symbiotic algae within these organisms increases the amount of metabolic C02 incorporated into the skeleton which consequently becomes isotopically lighter. Because shallow dwelling planktonic foraminifera contain symbiotic algae it is suggested that their light isotopic compositions are also caused by photosynthetically enhanced incorporation of metabolic C02 in the skeleton. Planktonic foraminifera collected in sediment traps and sediments show heavier oxygen isotope compositions that are in equilibrium for CaC03 deposited in the photic zone. At the same time the weight/individual for these foraminifera is almost doubled compared to those from plankton tows. I suggest that these apparent equilibrium compositions are achieved by a combination of light, perhaps non-equilibrium skeletons deposited in the photic zone and isotopically heavier calcite deposited below the photic zone. The latter being isotopically heavy because temperatures are lower, metabolic activity is reduced, and photosynthesis by the symbiotic algae stops. Dissolution of planktonic foraminifera on the ocean floor removes first the light-weight thin shelled individuals of a species population. Because these individuals are isotopically lighter, the isotopic composition of the surviving population is heavier. The scheme described above is applied to explain the effect of dissolution on the glacial-interglaical amplitude of the Pleistocene isotopic record in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. The timing of dissolution cycles in the two oceans is out of phase. Dissolution during the glacial in the Atlantic and during the interglacial in the Pacific makes the isotopic composition heavier. Preservation in the Atlantic during interglacials and in the Pacific during the glacials makes the isotopic composition lighter. The net effect is amplification of glacial-interglacial amplitude in the Atlantic and reduction of the amplitude in the Pacific.
    Description
    Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution November, 1978
    Collections
    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    • WHOI Theses
    Suggested Citation
    Thesis: Erez, Jonathan, "The influence of differential production and dissolution on the stable isotope composition of planktonic foraminifera", 1978-11, DOI:10.1575/1912/1614, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1614
     

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Thumbnail

      Paleoenvironmental change in the middle Okinawa Trough since the last deglaciation : evidence from the sedimentation rate and planktonic foraminiferal record 

      Xiang, Rong; Sun, Youbin; Li, Tiegang; Oppo, Delia W.; Chen, Muhong; Zheng, Fan (2006-08-25)
      Well-dated, high-resolution records of planktonic foraminifera and oxygen isotopes from two sediment cores, A7 and E017, in the middle Okinawa Trough reveal strong and rapid millennial-scale climate changes since ~18 to ...
    • Thumbnail

      Review and revision of Cenozoic tropical planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and calibration to the geomagnetic polarity and astronomical time scale 

      Wade, Bridget S.; Pearson, Paul N.; Berggren, William A.; Palike, Heiko (2010-09)
      Planktonic foraminifera are widely utilized for the biostratigraphy of Cretaceous and Cenozoic marine sediments and are a fundamental component of Cenozoic chronostratigraphy. The recent enhancements in deep sea drilling ...
    • Thumbnail

      Seasonality and stable isotopes in planktonic foraminifera off Cape Cod, Massachusetts 

      Keigwin, Lloyd D.; Bice, Marley; Copley, Nancy J. (American Geophysical Union, 2005-07-18)
      Monthly samples of stratified plankton tows taken from the slope waters off Cape Cod nearly 25 years ago are used to describe the seasonal succession of planktonic foraminifera and their oxygen isotope ratios. The 15°C ...
    All Items in WHOAS are protected by original copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. WHOAS also supports the use of the Creative Commons licenses for original content.
    A service of the MBLWHOI Library | About WHOAS
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Privacy Policy
    Core Trust Logo