Planktonic foraminiferal spine versus shell carbonate Na incorporation in relation to salinity.

Mezger, Eveline M. , de Nooijer, Lennart J., Bertlich, Jacqueline, Bijma, Jelle , Nürnberg, Dirk and Reichart, Gert-Jan (2019) Planktonic foraminiferal spine versus shell carbonate Na incorporation in relation to salinity. Open Access Biogeosciences (BG), 16 (6). pp. 1147-1165. DOI 10.5194/bg-16-1147-2019.

[thumbnail of bg-16-1147-2019.pdf]
Preview
Text
bg-16-1147-2019.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Download (6MB) | Preview
[thumbnail of bg-16-1147-2019-supplement.pdf]
Preview
Text
bg-16-1147-2019-supplement.pdf - Supplemental Material
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Download (2MB) | Preview

Supplementary data:

Abstract

Sea surface salinity is one of the most important parameters to reconstruct in paleoclimatology, reflecting amongst others the hydrological cycle, paleo-density, ice volume, and regional and global circulation of water masses. Recent culture studies and a Red Sea field study revealed a significant positive relation between salinity and Na incorporation within benthic and planktonic foraminiferal shells. However, these studies reported varying partitioning of Na between and within the same species. The latter could be associated with ontogenetic variations, most likely spine loss. Varying Na concentrations were observed in different parts of foraminiferal shells, with especially spines and regions close to the primary organic sheet being enriched in Na. In this study, we unravel the Na composition of different components of the planktonic foraminiferal shell wall using Electron Probe Micro Analysis (EPMA) and solution-ICP-MS. A model is presented to interpret EPMA data for spines and spine bases to quantitatively assess differences in composition and contribution to whole shell Na/Ca signals. The same model can also be applied to other spatial inhomogeneities observed in foraminiferal shell chemistry, like elemental (e.g. Mg, Na, S) banding and/or hotspots. The relative contribution of shell calcite, organic linings, spines and spine bases to whole shell Na chemistry is considered quantitatively. This study shows that whereas the high Na areas may be susceptible to taphonomy, the Na chemistry of the shell itself seems relatively robust. Comparing both shell and spine Na/Ca values with salinity shows that shell chemistry records salinity, albeit with a very modest slope.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: salinity proxy, Na/Ca, planktonic foraminifera, spines, Trilobatus sacculifer
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-P-OZ Paleo-Oceanography
NIOZ
HGF-AWI
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Copernicus Publications (EGU)
Date Deposited: 13 Feb 2019 08:30
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2022 09:16
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/45790

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item