Fossil Foraminifera as Proxies for Paleoclimate and Oceanography Changes in the Antarctic Ross Sea (IODP Expedition 374)

Presenter

Michael D. Leyfer

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

R. Mark Leckie, Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 1, 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A49, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 3 (A41-A60) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Contemporary sea level rise is a direct consequence of glacial melting in the Arctic and Antarctic. Understanding the paleoenvironments of these regions can inform our expectations for the behavior by which the ice sheets at our poles retreat and collapse during times of extreme warmth. Investigations into Antarctic microfossils are powerful proxies of oceanographic changes and for climate reconstructions. This study explores fossil foraminifera from Site U1522 in the Ross Sea, one of six drill sites cored during Expedition 374 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). The sand-sized foraminifera fossils of Site U1522 were previously explored in a study by Seidenstein et al. in which preliminary investigations revealed few foraminifera specimens. However, Site U1522 is characterized by its high sedimentation rates, which may be responsible for diluting specimens contained within the ocean floor stratigraphy. This study employed a floating technique to boost foraminiferal extraction: by floating sediment samples in liquid sodium polytungstate, a heavy liquid that promotes buoyancy of the air-filled fossilized foraminiferal tests, a higher extraction rate is possible. Identification of various foraminiferal genera can reveal changes in water masses, conditions of ice cover (ice shelf or sea ice), or the presence of warmer water incursions that may have influenced past ice sheet collapse. Such consequences of global climate change can be observed in today's polar systems and tested by paleoclimate studies.

Keywords

Foraminifera, Paleoclimate, Global warming, Climate change, Glacial melting

Research Area

Geology and Earth Sciences

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