Global changes in deep-sea benthic foraminiferal distribution over the last to complete glacial cycles

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5725058

Woodruff, F ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Geological Sciences

Deep ocean circulation and benthic foraminiferal distribution have changed markedly over the last 150,000 years. As benthic foraminifera reflect deep-sea conditions, their distribution patterns aid the understanding of the changes which occurred in the deep ocean during the last two glacial cycles. Deep ocean piston cores from numerous colleagues and core labs were studied along a U-shaped transect from the north Atlantic, E and W equatorial Atlantic, south Atlantic, subantarctic, E and W equatorial Pacific to the NW Pacific. The identified four time-slices, two interglacial stages (1 and 5e) and two glacial stages (2 and 6), using the isotope stratigraphy of other authors as well as their own data. The authors monitored eighty species in the greater than 106 micron sieve size fraction in samples with 300 or more specimens. Most species of deep-sea benthic foraminifera are found in the Atlantic, Pacific as well as the subantarctic ocean during all four periods, however their abundances vary considerably. Many species are more common in one particular ocean. Some species are nearly mutually exclusive. Glacial-interglacial distributional changes occur in all oceans but are most numerous in the north Atlantic where they presumably reflect fluctuations in North Atlantic Deep Water. Some subsurface-dwelling species thought to reflect high food availability show major global glacial vs interglacial abundance changes and are particularly abundant during glacial periods. Uvigerina hispido-costata, which is abundant in the Atlantic and subantarctic oceans during glacial periods, is generally rare or absent in the Pacific during all periods.

• OSTI ID: 5725058
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 24:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
ANIMALS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CLIMATIC CHANGE
DISTRIBUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FORAMINIFERA
GEOLOGY
GLACIERS
GLOBAL ASPECTS
INVERTEBRATES
MICROORGANISMS
OCEANIC CIRCULATION
OCEANOGRAPHY
PACIFIC OCEAN
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
PALEONTOLOGY
PROTOZOA
SARCODINA
SEAS
STRATIGRAPHY
SURFACE WATERS