Abstract
We compared a four-year long oxygen and carbon isotope record of the pteropod Limacina inflata (juveniles) with a record derived from Globigerinoides ruber (white variety) sampled with time-series sedimenttraps off Cape Blanc (Mauretania). Both oxygen isotope records provide seasonal patterns of water temperatures which generally correspond to measured variations of surface water temperatures. Surprisingly, adult specimens of L. inflata collected during 1989 also showed a seasonal oxygen isotope pattern, suggesting rapid shell growth and relatively short lifespans of this species. Due to its different life and carbonate precipitation habitat, G. ruber generally produces higher water temperatures (applying -0.35%o as vital effect) than L. inflata (precipitation depth around 50 m). Absolute temperatures derived from G. ruber at times exceeded the measured SSTs when applying a vital effect of -0.35%o. All temperature curves show changing seasonality from year-to-year: seasonality in temperature was highest in 1989 and lowest in 1991. During 1991, calculated temperatures remain generally low and the reconstructed temperature curves of G. ruber and L. inflata converge, suggesting stronger and deeper mixing of water masses. The seasonal δ13C patterns of juvenile L. inflata and G. ruber differ largely, the former species revealing higher values of up to 1.5%o. Unlike G. ruber, L. inflata shows a negative temperature dependency of δ13C of 0.08%o per 1°C. The temperature-corrected δ13C record of L. inflata corresponds better (compared to G. ruber) to seasonal variations in carbon flux which in turn largely determines the δ13C of ∑CO2 in water masses near the surface. Furthermore, the corrected δ13C values of this pteropod correspond better to measured δ13C ∑CO2 values.
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Fischer, G., Kalberer, M., Donner, B., Wefer, G. (1999). Stable Isotopes of Pteropod Shells as Recorders of Sub-Surface Water Conditions: Comparison to the Record of G. ruber and to Measured Values. In: Fischer, G., Wefer, G. (eds) Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58646-0_7
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