Paleoceanographic evolution recorded in the northern South China Sea since 4 Ma

The late Pliocene-Pleistocene is of great interest for understanding the Earth’s climate system, because not only the late Pliocene is the latest period with tem-perature significantly higher than the Holocene, but also during the Pliocene/Pleistocene transition the Earth’s environment changed from a warm and uni-form climate state into an extreme one with typical glacial-interglacial cycles. During this period the Earth’s climate experienced through the grandly phased rising of the Qing…     

A record of Miocene carbon excursions in the South China Sea

High-resolution δ¹³C records are presented for the Miocene benthic foraminifersCibicidoides wuellerstorfi andC. kullenbergi (24-5 Ma) and the planktonic foraminiferGlobigerinoides sacculifer (18-5 Ma) from ODP Site 1148A (18° 50.17’N, 116° 33.93’E, water depth 3308.3 m), northern South China Sea. The general pattern of parallel benthic and planktonic δ¹³C shows a decrease trend of δ¹³C values from the early-middle Miocene to the middle-late Miocene. Two distinct δ¹³C positive excursions at 23.1-22.2 and 17.3-13.6 Ma, and two negative excursions at 10.2-9.4 and 6.9-6.2 Ma have been recognized. All these events are cosmopolitan, providing the good data for the stratigraphic correlation of the South China Sea with the global oceans as well as for studying the changes of the global carbon reservoir and its corresponding climate.     

An abrupt cooling event early in the last interglacial in the northern South China Sea

The high-resolution quantitative analysis of the planktonic foraminifera and the δ¹⁸O records of the section between 96.49– 137.6 mcd at ODP Site 1144 on the continental slope of northern South China Sea reveals an abrupt cooling event of sea surface temperature (SST) during the last interglacial (MIS 5.5, i.e. 5e). The dropping range of the winter SST may come to 7.5°C corresponding to 1.2‰ of the δ¹⁸O value of sea surface water. This event is comparable with those discovered in the west Europe and the northern Atlantic Ocean, but expressed in a more intensive way. It is inferred that this event may have been induced by middle- to low-latitude processes rather than by polar ice sheet change. Since the Kuroshio-index speciesPulleniatina obliquiloculata displayed the most distinct change at the event, it may also be related to the paleoceanographic change of the low-latitude area in the western Pacific Ocean. This event can be considered as one of “Younger Dryas-style coolings” and is indicative of climate variability of the last interglacial stage.     

Stable isotopic records of the glacial deep-water properties in the South China Sea

Based on the oxygen and carbon stable isotopic records of benthic foraminifera in nine deep-sea cores of the South China Sea (SCS), the bathymetric profiles of δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C since the last glacial maximum (LGM) are preliminarily established. The bathymetric gradients of deep-water δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C in the SCS are obviously greater during the LGM than during the Holocene, showing the existence of the deep thermocline and nutricline at water depth of about 2 000 m. Particularly, the differences in δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C between the LGM and Holocene, from which the ice-volume effect and the global mean shift have been subtracted respectively, are positive values at water depths of 1 000–2 500 m in the SCS. This indicates the existence of deep-water mass with relatively cool temperature or higher salinity, better ventilation and more δ¹³C within the water depth range of the SCS during the LGM, which is distinctly different from that at present. These changes further confirm the existence of the glacial “North Pacific Deep Water” which, however, is possibly confined to the water depth range of 1 000–2 500 m. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 49576286 and 49732060).     

Neogene oxygen isotopic stratigraphy, ODP Site 1148, northern South China Sea

A detailed stable isotopic study based on benthic foraminifera from 1165 samples of ODP Site 1148 (18° 50.17.3’N, 116° 33.93’E, water depth 3308.3 m), northern South China Sea, provides an excellent oxygen isotopic record with an average resolution of 30 ka. It contains the most continuous δ¹⁸O data with highest resolution for the whole Neogene sequence in the world. The δ¹⁸O curve shows a step-like increasing upwards and records 5 increases, 3 decreases and 2 stable stages during the Neogene, reflecting the general trend of global cooling. Among these events the δ¹⁸O decrease at 17.2–14.5 Ma, and two δ¹⁸O increases at 14.5-13.6 and 3.0-2.4 Ma are most marked and globally comparable. The intervals at 13.6-10.2 and 6.0-3.0 Ma with the lowest-amplitude and least fluctuation in δ¹⁸O represent the most stable bottom water periods for the South China Sea.     

Climatic significance of δ <Superscript>18</Superscript>O records from an 80.36 m ice core in the East Rongbuk Glacier,Mount Qomolangma (Everest)

The δ ¹⁸O variations in an 80.36 m ice core retrieved in the accumulation zone of the East Rongbuk Glacier, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), is not consistent with changes of air temperature from both southern and northern slopes of Himalayas, as well as these of the temperature anomalies over the Northern Hemisphere. The negative relationship between the δ ¹⁸O and the net accumulation records of the ice core suggests the “amount effect” of summer precipitation on the δ ¹⁸O values in the region. Therefore, the δ ¹⁸O records of the East Rongbuk ice core should be a proxy of Indian Summer Monsoon intensity, which shows lower δ ¹⁸O values during strong monsoon phases and higher values during weak phases.     

Quaternary biogenic opal records in the South China Sea: Linkages to East Asian monsoon, global ice volume and orbital forcing

Particulate fluxes investigated in the central South China Sea (SCS) during 1993―1996 indicate that opal flux can be used to show primary productivity change, which provides a foundation for tracing the evolutionary relationship between the surface productivity and East Asian monsoon in the SCS during the late Quaternary glacial and interglacial periods. Based on the studies of opal % and their mass accumulation rates (MAR) at the six sites recovered from the SCS during the “Resolution” ODP Leg 184 and “Sonne” 95 cruise of the Sino-Germany cooperation, opal % and their MARs increased evidently in the northern sites since 470―900 ka, and they enhanced and reduced, respectively, during the glacial and interglacial periods. Whereas they increased obviously in the southern sites since 420―450 ka, and they augmented and declined, respectively, during the interglacial and glacial periods. The vari- ability in opal % and their MARs in the late Quaternary glacial cyclicity indicate the “seesaw” pattern of surface productivity in the SCS. The winter monsoon intensified during the glacial periods, surface productivity increased and decreased, respectively, in the northern and southern SCS. The summer monsoon strengthened during the interglacial periods, surface productivity increased and decreased, respectively, in the southern and northern SCS. The cross spectral analyses between the opal % in the northern and southern SCS during the Quaternary and global ice volume (δ 18O) and orbital forcing (ETP) indicate that the East Asian winter and summer monsoons could be ascribed to the different drive mechanisms. On the orbital time scale, the global ice volume change could be a dominant factor for the winter monsoon intension and temporal variations. As compared with the winter monsoon, the correlative summer solar radiation with the obliquity and precession in the Northern Hemisphere could be a mostly controlling factor for the summer monsoon intension and temporal variations.     

A quick cooling event of the East Asian monsoon responding to Heinrich Event 1: Evidence from stalagmite δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O records

Based on TIMS U-series dating results and annual band counting method, an annual-resolution time scale from 17450 to 14420 aBP has been established for a stalagmite from the Hulu Cave at Tangshan, Nanjing. A high-resolution oxygen isotopic record reveals decadral-centural oscillations in air temperature in the East Asian monsoon climate area during the last glacial maximum. The most conspicuous feature in the oxygen isotopic record in the period is the particular cold event synchronized with the last Heinrich event (H1) in the northern Atlantic deep-sea records. This particular cold event, beginning at 16140 ± 100 aBP, shows a rapid cooling down with a magnitude of 7–8°C in air temperature within 36 years. Furthermore, δ¹⁸O record demonstrates that the event lasted 790 years with gradually warming tendency (10 cycles of air temperature oscillations) after the remarkable cooling down. We believed that this unique pattern of event recorded in the stalagmite δ⁸O might be controlled by various factors including changes of insolation at mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere, the southern extend of the last ice-rafted event in the North Atlantic and changes of the Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature.     

Temperature and methane records over the last 2 ka in Dasuopu ice core

High resolution δ¹⁸O and methane records over the last 2ka have been reconstructed from Dasuopu ice core recovered from the Himalayas. Analysis shows that the δ¹⁸O record correlates well with the Northern Hemispheric temperature, Dunde ice core record, and with temperature record in eastern China. The warming trend detected in δ¹⁸O record from the last century is similar to that during the Medieval warm period. There is a dramatic increasing in methane concentration in the Dasuopu ice core, which reached 1031 nmol ⋅ mol^-1 in 1997. Moreover, methane concentration in the Dasuopu ice core is about 15%-20% higher than that in Antarctica and Greenland. There is a positive correlation between methane concentration and δ¹⁸O in Dasuopu ice core.     

The nutrient forms,cycling and exchange flux in the sediment and overlying water system in lakes from the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

The 213 m ice core from the Puruogangri Ice Field on the Tibetan Plateau facilitates the study of the regional temperature changes with its δ ¹⁸O record of the past 100 years. Here we combine information from this core with that from the Dasuopu ice core (from the southern Tibetan Plateau), the Guliya ice core (from the northwestern Plateau) and the Dunde ice core (from the north-eastern Plateau) to learn about the regional differences in temperature change across the Tibetan Plateau. The δ ¹⁸O changes vary with region on the Plateau, the variations being especially large between South and North and between East and West. Moreover, these four ice cores present increasing δ ¹⁸O trends, indicating warming on the Tibetan Plateau over the past 100 years. A comparative study of Northern Hemisphere (NH) temperature changes, the δ ¹⁸O-reflected temperature changes on the Plateau, and available meteorological records show consistent trends in overall warming during the past 100 years.     

Possible correlation between miocene global climatic changes and magnetic proxies,using neuro fuzzy logic analysis in a stratigraphic well at the Llanos foreland basin,Colombia

In this work we have assessed the hybrid algorithm of NeuroFuzzy logic (NFL), to establish a correlation between global climatic changes (benthic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O data), experimental S-ratio (factor characterizing stability of remanent magnetization) and magnetic susceptibility (κ). Magnetic proxies have been measured in 44 samples of the Colombian stratigraphic well Saltarín 1A (distal Llanos foreland basin). κ and Sratios were linked to global δ¹⁸O data assuming a constant accumulation rate for a 305 meters thick stratigraphic interval flanked by the two palynological age constrains available. This interval encompasses, from top to base, the bottom of the Guayabo formation, the León, and the upper unit of the Carbonera formations (lower to middle Miocene). The best inference is accomplished applying a Takagi-Sugeno-Kan (TSK) fuzzy model with four fuzzy rules and the δ¹⁸O, S-ratios and κ data used in a linear form to train the system. These results are interpreted as the outcome of a significant influence of global climatic changes upon magnetic proxies. A stronger correlation is perhaps prevented by the likely influence of local and regional tectonic events and climatic changes that could have affected the distal segment of the Colombian Llanos foreland basin during Miocene times. We argue that late diagenesis of primary magnetic minerals and the assumption of a constant accumulation rate might have a minor influence on these results.     

A possible Younger Dryas-type event during Asian monsoonal Termination 3

1 Introduction The Younger Dryas (YD) cold spell is one of the most prominent abrupt climate change events in the past and a key feature of the last glacial termination. A great agreement has been attained in terms of the tim- ing and geographic extent of…     

Responses of foraminiferal isotopic variations at ODP Site 1143 in the southern South China Sea to orbital forcing

The foraminiferal δ ¹⁸O and δ ¹³C records for the past 5 Ma at ODP Site 1143 reveal the linear responses of the Plio-Pleistocene climatic changes in the southern South China Sea to orbital forcing at the obliquity and precession bands. The phase of the δ ¹⁸O variations with the orbital forcing is opposite to that of the δ ¹³C, which may be caused by the frequent El Niño events from the equatorial Pacific. The amplification of the Northern Hemisphere Ice Sheet at ñ3.3 Ma probably affected the development of the 100-ka climatic cycles. Its further spreading may spur the 100-ka climatic cycle to become the dominant cycle in the late Pleistocene. The “Mid- Pleistocene Transition” event has localized influence on the isotopic variations in the southern South China Sea. The foraminiferal δ ¹³C records for the past 5 Ma at Site 1143 are highly coherent with the orbital forcing at the long eccentricity band, and lead the δ ¹⁸O records at the shorter eccentricity band, highlighting the importance of the carbon cycle in the global climate change.     

Geologic age of the lower Josoji Formation,Shimane Peninsula,Southwest Honshu,Japan: Implications for an abrupt change to deep-water during the earlier opening stage of the Japan Sea

The lower part of the Josoji Formation, Shimane Peninsula, contains clues for figuring out changes in deep-water characteristics during the opening of the Japan Sea. The foraminiferal assemblage includes early to middle Miocene biostratigraphic index taxa such as planktonic foraminiferal Globorotalia zealandica and Globorotaloides suteri. The occurrence of these two species, together with the absence of praeorbulinids, suggests that the lower part of the Josoji Formation is assigned to the top of planktonic foraminiferal Zone N7/M4 (16.39 Ma). The benthic foraminiferal assemblage, which is characterized by Cyclammina cancellata and Martinottiella communis, clearly suggests that the lower Josoji Formation was deposited at bathyal depths, and that it developed in association with the abrupt appearance of deep-sea calcareous forms. Such bathyal taxa are the main constituents of the Spirosigmoilinella compressa–Globobulimina auriculata Zone of the Josoji Formation and also of the Gyrodina–Gyroidinoides Zone at Ocean Drilling Program Site 797 in the Japan Sea. The base of these benthic foraminiferal zones can be correlated with the base of the nannofossil Sphenolithus heteromorphus Base Zone (= CNM6/CN3); thus, its estimated age is 17.65 Ma. This biostratigraphic information suggests that the lower Josoji Formation was deposited from shortly before 17.65–16.39 Ma in upper limit age. Evidence that fresh to brackish and shallow-water basins formed in the rifting interval of 20–18 Ma in the Japan Sea borderland suggests that the abrupt appearance of deep-sea calcareous foraminifera occurred about 1 my earlier in this area than in other sedimentary basins and suggests that a significant paleoceanographic change occurred in the proto-Japan Sea at 17.65 Ma.     

Late slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation during the Last Glacial Inception: New constraints from sedimentary (231Pa/230Th)

Our study gives new constraints on the response of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) export to various forcings during the Last Glacial Inception. The decay corrected excess sedimentary (²³¹Pa/²³⁰Th) activity ratio (hereafter referred to as (Pa/Th)) has been measured over that period in two deep cores from the Western (SU90-11, 44°04′N, 40°01′W, 3645 m) and Eastern (MD01-2446, 39°03′N, 12°37′W, 3547 m) basins of the North Atlantic. Both records display significant changes despite the relatively short half-life of ²³¹Pa (～ 32 kyr) compared to the period we investigate. The (Pa/Th) variability does not correlate to changes in local opal flux normalized to ²³⁰Th. Moreover, the (Pa/Th) profiles display a high degree of coherency with indirect proxies of AMOC activity such as the benthic foraminifera δ¹³C and the mid-latitude summer Sea Surface Temperature in nearby reference cores. These additional pieces of evidence support our interpretation of the (Pa/Th) as reflecting AMOC export. The (Pa/Th) repeatedly underwent rapid changes during the Last Glacial Inception associated with the extension of ice rafted detritus in the North Atlantic, highlighting the control of ice-sheet dynamics through freshwater forcing on AMOC export. AMOC export remains large during periods of ice-sheet growth and its decreases lag the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation forcing. AMOC modulation appears driven by ice-sheet dynamics, itself driven by the seasonal insolation gradient between low and high Northern Hemisphere latitudes and the associated intensity of the meridional oceanic and atmospheric circulation.     

Evolution of Atlantic-Pacific δC gradients over the last 2.5 m.y.

The evolution of interocean carbon isotopic gradients over the last 2.5 m.y. is examined using high-resolution δ¹³C records from deep sea cores in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Over much of the Northern Hemisphere ice ages, relative reductions in North Atlantic Deep Water production occur during ice maxima. From 2.5 to 1.5 Ma, glacial reductions in NADW are less than those observed in the late Pleistocene. Glacial suppression of NADW intensified after 1.5 Ma, earlier than the transition to larger ice sheets around 0.7 Ma. At a number of times during the Pleistocene, δ¹³C values at DSDP Site 607 in the North Atlantic were indistinguishable from eastern equatorial Pacific δ¹³C values from approximately the same depth (ODP Site 677), indicating significant incursions of low δ¹³C water into the deep North Atlantic. Atlantic/Pacific δ¹³C values converge during glaciations between 1.13-1.05 m.y., 0.83-0.70 m.y., and 0.46-0.43 m.y. This represents a pseudo-periodicity of approximately 300 kyr which cannot easily be ascribed to global ice volume or orbital forcing. This partial decoupling, at low frequencies, of the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C signals at Site 607 indicates that variations in North Atlantic deep water circulation cannot be viewed simply as a linear response to ice sheet forcing.     

Climate fluctuations during the Holocene in NW Iberia: High and low latitude linkages

High resolution benthic foraminiferal stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) and molecular biomarkers in the sediments are used here to infer rapid climatic changes for the last 8200 years in the Ría de Muros (NW Iberian Margin). Benthic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C potentially register migrations in the position of the hydrographic front formed between two different intermediate water masses: Eastern North Atlantic Central Water of subpolar origin (ENACW_sp) and subtropical origin (ENACW_st). The molecular biomarkers in the sediment show a strong coupling between continental organic matter inputs and negative δ¹³C values in benthic foraminifera. The rapid centennial and millennial events registered in these records have been compared with two well known North Atlantic Holocene records from the subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SST) anomalies off Cape Blanc, NW Africa and the subpolar Atlantic (Hematite Stained Grains percentage, subpolar North Atlantic). Comparison supports a strong link between high- and low-latitude climatic perturbations at centennial–millennial time scales during the Holocene. Spectral analyses also points to a pole-to-equator propagation of the so-called 1500 yr cycles. Our results demonstrate that during the Holocene, the NW Iberian Margin has undergone a series of rapid events which are likely triggered at high latitudes in the North Atlantic and are rapidly propagated towards lower latitudes. Conceivably, the propagation of these rapid climatic changes involves a shift in atmospheric and oceanic circulatory systems.     

Benthic foraminifera and bottom water evolution in the middle-southern Okinawa Trough during the last 18 ka

Changes of the deep-water circulation and chemicalcompositions in related water masses in the oceanshave played a significant role in the evolution of theglobal climate system[1].Many studies have shownthat the characteristics of the deep-water during theglaciations were distinctly different from that of to-day[2,3].In the northern Pacific,Duplessy et al.[4]foundthat the ventilation of the deep-water(at water depthbetween700―2600m)during the last glaciation wasstronger than that of today,and …     

Eolian evidence from the Chinese Loess Plateau: the onset of the Late Cenozoic Great Glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere and Qinghai-Xizang Plateau uplift forcing

On the basis of a newly-constructed record of magnetic susceptibility (SUS) and the depositional rate change of eolian loess-red clay sequences in the last 7.2 Ma BP from the hea Plateau, together with a cornperison of a record of °¹⁸O values from the equatorial East Pacific Ocean and eolian Quartz flux variations fmm the North Pacific Ocean, the evolutiomuy process of the Late Cenozoic Great Glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere can be divided into three stages: the arrival stage around 7.2–3.4 Ma BP, the initial stage at about 3.4—2.6 Ma BP, and the Great Ice Age since 2.6 Ma BP. The evolution of the East Asian monsoon is characterized by paid winter and summer monsoons, and it is basically composed of the initial stage of weak winter and summer monsoons, the transitional stage of simultaneous increase in intensity of winter and summer monsoons, and the prevailing stage of strong winter and week summer monsoons, or weak winter and strong summer monsoons. The Late Cenowic global tectonic uplift, paaicdarly the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau uplift and the associated CO₂ concentration variation, controls the dng processes of the onset of Great Glaciation and the long-term changes of East Asian monsoom climate in the Northern Hemisphere to a large extent. The accelerating uplift of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau between 3.4 and 2.6 Ma BP provided an important driving force to global climiatic change. Project supported by the foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZ951-A1-402), the State Science and Technology Committee (Grant No. 95-pre-40)and the Chinese Nature Science Foundation (Grant No. 49672140)     

Water temperature records from corals near the nuclear power plant in southern Taiwan

Coral samples collected at the outlet and the inlet of the Third Nuclear Power Plant were measured for the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C, indicating the surrounding seawater temperature and physiological/biochemical reactions during coral skeletal growth. The results show that with higher seawater temperature in summer, the values of δ¹⁸O are lower but those for δ¹³C are higher; however, the δ¹⁸O extremes lag six weeks behind the δ¹³C extremes because the highest water temperature lags the maximum number of sunshine hours. Records of the extreme high temperature observed in the northern South China Sea between Oct. 1987 and Sep. 1988, and the extraordinary low temperature from Oct. 1992 to Feb. 1993 are also preserved in the coralline isotope signals. However, when the water temperature becomes too high the coral growth seems to stop.