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ABSTRACT The trace element composition of planktic foraminifera shells is influenced by both environmental and biological factors (‘vital effects’). As trace elements in individual foraminifera shells are increasingly used as paleoceanographic tools, understanding how trace element ratios vary between individuals, among species, and in response to high frequency environmental variability is of critical importance. Here, we present a three-year plankton tow record (2010–2012) of individual shell trace element (Mg, Sr, Ba, and Mn) to Ca ratios in the planktic species Globigerina ruber (pink), Orbulina universa, and Globorotalia menardii collected throughout the upper 100 m of Cariaco Basin. Plankton tows were paired with in situ measurements of water column chemistry and hydrography. The Mg/Ca ratio reflects different calcification temperatures in all three species when calculated using species-specific temperature relationships from single-species averages of Mg/Ca. However, individual shell Mg/Ca often results in unrealistic temperate estimates. The Sr/Ca ratios are relatively constant among the four species. Ratios of Mn/Ca and Ba/Ca are highest in G. menardii and are not reflective of elemental concentrations in open waters. The Mn/Ca ratio is elevated in all species during upwelling conditions, and a similar trend is demonstrated in Neogloboquadrina incompta shells from the California margin collected during upwelling periods. Together this suggests that elevated shell Mn/Ca may act as a tracer for upwelling of deeper water masses. Our results emphasize the large degree of trace element variability present among and within species living within a limited depth habitat and the roles of biology, calcification environment, and physical mixing in mediating how trace element geochemistry reflects environmental variability in the surface ocean. 

The removal of exchangeable oxygen from diatom opal prior to δ¹⁸O_diatomanalysis is a crucial first step before analyzing frustule oxygen isotopes for paleoceanographic applications. We present the results of experiments that quantify the temperature‐dependent reactivity of biogenic silica with water under laboratory conditions. We demonstrate that controlled exchange between rinse water and diatom opal at room temperature results in predictable alteration of δ¹⁸O_diatom, after vacuum dehydroxylation. Diatom samples equilibrated with an¹⁸O‐enriched δ¹⁸O_{equil. water}solution of +94.4‰ at ~21 °C for 70 hr prior to dehydroxylation yield δ¹⁸O_diatomdata that can be directly interpreted with existing empirical δ¹⁸O_diatomversus temperature relationships. We compare sediment trap‐based δ¹⁸O_diatomtemperature data with modern δ¹⁸O_foramtemperatures. Finally, we present an ~220 year record of δ¹⁸O_diatomdata from an eastern Pacific Guaymas Basin boxcore, analyzed using the microfluorination technique, that indicates diatom chlorophyll maximum (Chl_max) temperatures have shifted from a period during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that was 8 °C cooler during the fall bloom relative to mean annual alkenonesea surface temperature, to the late twentieth century when we observe no difference between alkenone sea surface temperature and diatom Chl_max. These data suggest a twentieth century seasonal shift in the timing of fall upwelling and Guaymas Basin stratification breakdown that could be due to reduced upwelling efficiency and/or increased summer mixed layer thermal stratification.

 

Sedimentary δ¹⁵N (δ¹⁵N_sed) has been widely applied as a proxy for water column denitrification. When combined with additional productivity proxies, it provides insights into the driving forces behind long‐term changes in water column oxygenation. High‐resolution (~2 years) δ¹⁵N_sedand productivity proxy records (total organic carbon [TOC], Si/Ti, and Ca/Ti) from Santa Barbara Basin, California, were generated from a well‐dated Kasten core (SPR0901‐03KC). These records reveal the relationship between Southern California upwelling and oxygenation over the past 2,000 years. Inconsistencies between Si/Ti (coastal upwelling proxy) and TOC (total export productivity proxy) suggest wind curl upwelling influenced Southern California primary productivity, especially during intervals of weak coastal upwelling. Coherence between δ¹⁵N_sed, TOC, and drought indicators supports a local control of δ¹⁵N_sedby atmospheric circulation, as persistent northerly winds associated with an intensified North Pacific High pressure cell lead to enhanced coastal upwelling. In the northeast Pacific, δ¹⁵N_sedis used as a water mass tracer of denitrification signals transported north from the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) via the California Undercurrent. A 1,200‐year δ¹⁵N_sedrecord from the Pescadero slope, Gulf of California, lies between denitrifying subsurface waters in the ETNP and Southern California. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly, coherence between Pescadero and Santa Barbara Basin δ¹⁵N_sedindicates connections between ETNP and Southern California on centennial timescales. Yet an out‐of‐phase relationship occurred when the Aleutian Low was anomalously strong during the Little Ice Age. We suggest intensified nutrient‐rich subarctic water advection might have transported high‐¹⁵N nitrate into Southern California when the California Undercurrent and ETNP denitrification weakened.

 

Climate conditions and instantaneous depositional events can influence the relative contribution of sediments from terrestrial and marine environments and ultimately the quantity and composition of carbon buried in the sediment record. Here, we analyze the elemental, isotopic, and organic geochemical composition of marine sediments to identify terrestrial and marine sources in sediment horizons associated with droughts, turbidites, and floods in the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB), California, during the last 2,000 years. Stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) indicate that more terrestrial organic carbon (OC) was deposited during floods relative to background sediment, while bulk C to nitrogen (C/N) ratios remained relatively constant (~10). Long‐chainn‐alkanes (C₂₇, C₂₉, C₃₁, and C₃₃), characteristic of terrestrial OC, dominated all types of sediment deposition but were 4 times more abundant in flood layers. Marine algae (C₁₅, C₁₇, and C₁₉) and macrophytes (C₂₁and C₂₃) were also 2 times higher in flood versus background sediments. Turbidites contained twice the terrestrialn‐alkanes relative to background sediment. Conversely, drought intervals were only distinguishable from background sediment by their higher proportion of marine algaln‐alkanes. Combined, our data indicate that 15% of the total OC buried in SBB over the past 2,000 years was deposited during 11 flood events where the sediment was mostly terrestrially derived, and another 12% of deep sediment OC burial was derived from shelf remobilization during six turbidite events. Relative to twentieth century river runoff, our data suggest that floods result in considerable terrestrial OC burial on the continental margins of California.

 

A chemoautotrophy maximum is present in many anoxic basins at the sulfidic layer's upper boundary, but the factors controlling this feature are poorly understood. In 13 of 31 cruises to the Cariaco Basin, particulate organic carbon (POC) was enriched in¹³C (δ¹³C_POCas high as −16‰) within the oxic/sulfidic transition compared to photic zone values (−23 to −26‰). During “heavy” cruises, fluxes of O₂and [NO₃⁻+ NO₂⁻] to the oxic/sulfidic interface were significantly lower than during “light” cruises. Cruises with isotopically heavy POC were more common between 2013 and 2015 when suspended particles below the photic zone tended to be nitrogen rich compared to later cruises. Within the chemoautotrophic layer, nitrogen‐rich particles (molar ratio C/N< 10) were more likely to be¹³C‐enriched than nitrogen‐poor particles, implying that these inventories were dominated by living cells and fresh detritus rather than laterally transported or extensively decomposed detritus. During heavy cruises,¹³C enrichments persisted to 1,300 m, providing the first evidence of downward transport of chemoautotrophically produced POC. Dissolved inorganic carbon assimilation during heavy cruises (n= 3) was faster and occurred deeper than during light cruises (n= 2). Metagenomics data from the chemoautotrophic layer during two cruises support prevalence of microorganisms carrying RuBisCO form II genes, which encode a carbon fixation enzyme that discriminates less against heavy isotopes than most other carbon fixation enzymes, and metatranscriptomics data indicate that higher expression of form II RuBisCO genes during the heavy cruises at depths where essential reactants coexist are responsible for the isotopically heavier POC.

 

Lithogenic sediment input to the Cariaco Basin on the eastern Venezuelan shelf is controlled by small mountainous rivers (SMRs). The Cariaco Basin is also an area of high phytoplankton productivity as a result of strong Trade Wind‐driven coastal upwelling. Characterizing the sources that supply particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep Cariaco Basin is important for interpreting the paleoclimate record stored in its sediments. We measured suspended POC in the four main rivers draining into the Caraiaco Basin, the Tuy, Unare, Neveri, and Manzanares, between September 2008 and September 2009 and conducted basin‐wide oceanographic cruises in September 2008 (rainy season) and March 2009 (upwelling season). Riverine concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and POC in the four rivers were comparable to observations made in similar tropical SMR systems (POC was between 0.3–2 mg C l⁻¹; DOC was between 100–300 μM). Within the basin, the geochemical composition of surface particles and bottom nepheloid layers (BNLs) changed with season. During the rainy season, the isotopic composition of both surface particles and BNL was characteristic of continentally derived material (δ¹³C_org, approximately −30 to −26‰), while during upwelling, the composition shifted to values more typical of marine sources (δ¹³C_org, approximately −24 to −20‰). SMRs represent an important component of the global carbon budget, which are often overlooked in ocean carbon budgets and also in paleoclimate studies of coastal environments.