Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory
The rapid response of benthic foraminifera to environmental factors (e.g., organic matter quality and quantity, salinity, pH) and their high fossilisation potential make them promising bio-indicators for the intensity and recurrence of brine formation in Arctic seas. Such approach, however, requires...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:bgd80734 2023-05-15T15:11:51+02:00 Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory Fossile, Eleonora Nardelli, Maria Pia Jouini, Arbia Lansard, Bruno Pusceddu, Antonio Moccia, Davide Michel, Elisabeth Péron, Olivier Howa, Hélène Mojtahid, Meryem 2019-11-15 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-405 https://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/bg-2019-405/ eng eng doi:10.5194/bg-2019-405 https://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/bg-2019-405/ eISSN: 1726-4189 Text 2019 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-405 2019-12-24T09:48:13Z The rapid response of benthic foraminifera to environmental factors (e.g., organic matter quality and quantity, salinity, pH) and their high fossilisation potential make them promising bio-indicators for the intensity and recurrence of brine formation in Arctic seas. Such approach, however, requires a thorough knowledge of their modern ecology in such extreme settings. To this aim, seven stations along a N–S transect across the Storfjorden (Svalbard archipelago) have been sampled using an interface multicorer. This fjord is an area of intense sea ice formation characterised by the production of Brine-enriched Shelf Waters (BSW) as a result of a recurrent latent-heat polynya. Living (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal assemblages were analysed together with geochemical and sedimentological parameters in the top five centimetres of the sediment. Three major biozones were distinguished: (i) the <q>inner fjord</q> dominated by typical glacier proximal calcareous species which opportunistically respond to fresh organic matter inputs; (ii) the <q>deep basins and sill</q> characterised by glacier distal agglutinated faunas. These latter are either dominant because of the mostly refractory nature of organic matter and/or the brine persistence that hampers the growth of calcareous species and/or causes their dissolution. (iii) The <q>outer fjord</q> characterised by typical North Atlantic species due to the intrusion of the North Atlantic water in the Storfjordrenna. The stressful conditions present in the <q>deep basins and sill</q> (i.e. acidic waters and low food quality) result in a high agglutinated/calcareous ratio (A / C). This supports the potential use of the A / C ratio as a proxy for brine persistence and overflow in Storfjorden. Text Arctic Foraminifera* glacier North Atlantic Sea ice Storfjorden Storfjordrenna Svalbard Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Arctic Storfjordrenna ENVELOPE(17.000,17.000,76.000,76.000) Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
The rapid response of benthic foraminifera to environmental factors (e.g., organic matter quality and quantity, salinity, pH) and their high fossilisation potential make them promising bio-indicators for the intensity and recurrence of brine formation in Arctic seas. Such approach, however, requires a thorough knowledge of their modern ecology in such extreme settings. To this aim, seven stations along a N–S transect across the Storfjorden (Svalbard archipelago) have been sampled using an interface multicorer. This fjord is an area of intense sea ice formation characterised by the production of Brine-enriched Shelf Waters (BSW) as a result of a recurrent latent-heat polynya. Living (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal assemblages were analysed together with geochemical and sedimentological parameters in the top five centimetres of the sediment. Three major biozones were distinguished: (i) the <q>inner fjord</q> dominated by typical glacier proximal calcareous species which opportunistically respond to fresh organic matter inputs; (ii) the <q>deep basins and sill</q> characterised by glacier distal agglutinated faunas. These latter are either dominant because of the mostly refractory nature of organic matter and/or the brine persistence that hampers the growth of calcareous species and/or causes their dissolution. (iii) The <q>outer fjord</q> characterised by typical North Atlantic species due to the intrusion of the North Atlantic water in the Storfjordrenna. The stressful conditions present in the <q>deep basins and sill</q> (i.e. acidic waters and low food quality) result in a high agglutinated/calcareous ratio (A / C). This supports the potential use of the A / C ratio as a proxy for brine persistence and overflow in Storfjorden. |
format |
Text |
author |
Fossile, Eleonora Nardelli, Maria Pia Jouini, Arbia Lansard, Bruno Pusceddu, Antonio Moccia, Davide Michel, Elisabeth Péron, Olivier Howa, Hélène Mojtahid, Meryem |
spellingShingle |
Fossile, Eleonora Nardelli, Maria Pia Jouini, Arbia Lansard, Bruno Pusceddu, Antonio Moccia, Davide Michel, Elisabeth Péron, Olivier Howa, Hélène Mojtahid, Meryem Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
author_facet |
Fossile, Eleonora Nardelli, Maria Pia Jouini, Arbia Lansard, Bruno Pusceddu, Antonio Moccia, Davide Michel, Elisabeth Péron, Olivier Howa, Hélène Mojtahid, Meryem |
author_sort |
Fossile, Eleonora |
title |
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
title_short |
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
title_full |
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
title_fullStr |
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
title_full_unstemmed |
Benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in Storfjorden sea ice factory |
title_sort |
benthic foraminifera as tracers of brine production in storfjorden sea ice factory |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-405 https://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/bg-2019-405/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(17.000,17.000,76.000,76.000) |
geographic |
Arctic Storfjordrenna Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Storfjordrenna Svalbard Svalbard Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Foraminifera* glacier North Atlantic Sea ice Storfjorden Storfjordrenna Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Foraminifera* glacier North Atlantic Sea ice Storfjorden Storfjordrenna Svalbard |
op_source |
eISSN: 1726-4189 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/bg-2019-405 https://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/bg-2019-405/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-405 |
_version_ |
1766342632896724992 |