Mn/Ca ratios of Ammonia tepida as a proxy for seasonal coastal hypoxia

Research areas:

• Systèmes marins en transition

Year:

2019

Keywords:

Coastal hypoxia, Benthic foraminifera, Geochemical proxy development, Redox-sensitive elements, Biomineralization, Micro-analytical techniques

Authors:

• Jassin Petersen
• Christine Barras
• Antoine Bézos
• Carole La
• Caroline P. Slomp
• Filip J. R. Meysman
• Aurélia Mouret
• Frans Jorissen

Journal:

Chemical Geology

Volume:

518

Pages:

55 - 66

ISSN:

0009-2541

BibTex:

@article{PETERSEN201955, author = "Jassin Petersen and Christine Barras and Antoine B{\'e}zos and Carole La and Caroline P. Slomp and Filip J.R. Meysman and Aur{\'e}lia Mouret and Frans Jorissen", abstract = "Climate variability has major implications for marine geochemical cycles and biogenic carbonate production. Therefore, past climate-driven changes in marine environments are often inferred from geochemical data of the marine carbonate archive. Proxy calibration studies are essential for the reconstruction of such past environmental changes. Here, we use the geochemical composition of living specimens of the benthic foraminifer Ammonia tepida at three sites in a seasonally hypoxic (oxygen concentration  summer, which are due to cable bacteria activity and bottom water hypoxia/anoxia, respectively. Laser Ablation-ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) allowed a comparison of Mn/Ca ratios of different parts of the benthic foraminiferal test. Our results show that higher Mn/Ca ratios are registered at the deepest station, which experiences the longest and most severe seasonal periods of hypoxia/anoxia. Additionally, the signal preserved in the central part of the benthic foraminiferal tests, which is thought to reflect the entire calcification history of the analysed specimen, appears to be driven by high pore water Mn2+ concentrations due to cable bacteria activity in late winter/spring. Conversely, high Mn/Ca ratios in the last chambers reflect increased Mn refluxing in the surface sediment due to summer hypoxia/anoxia. Thus, Mn/Ca ratios of A. tepida give insight into the complex spatial and temporal variability of pore water manganese.", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2019.04.002", issn = "0009-2541", journal = "Chemical Geology", keywords = "Coastal hypoxia, Benthic foraminifera, Geochemical proxy development, Redox-sensitive elements, Biomineralization, Micro-analytical techniques", pages = "55 - 66", title = "{M}n/{C}a ratios of {A}mmonia tepida as a proxy for seasonal coastal hypoxia", url = "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0009254119301652", volume = "518", year = "2019", }

Abstract:

Climate variability has major implications for marine geochemical cycles and biogenic carbonate production. Therefore, past climate-driven changes in marine environments are often inferred from geochemical data of the marine carbonate archive. Proxy calibration studies are essential for the reconstruction of such past environmental changes. Here, we use the geochemical composition of living specimens of the benthic foraminifer Ammonia tepida at three sites in a seasonally hypoxic (oxygen concentration  summer, which are due to cable bacteria activity and bottom water hypoxia/anoxia, respectively. Laser Ablation-ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) allowed a comparison of Mn/Ca ratios of different parts of the benthic foraminiferal test. Our results show that higher Mn/Ca ratios are registered at the deepest station, which experiences the longest and most severe seasonal periods of hypoxia/anoxia. Additionally, the signal preserved in the central part of the benthic foraminiferal tests, which is thought to reflect the entire calcification history of the analysed specimen, appears to be driven by high pore water Mn2+ concentrations due to cable bacteria activity in late winter/spring. Conversely, high Mn/Ca ratios in the last chambers reflect increased Mn refluxing in the surface sediment due to summer hypoxia/anoxia. Thus, Mn/Ca ratios of A. tepida give insight into the complex spatial and temporal variability of pore water manganese.