A trace metal investigation of the radiocarbon anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific during the last glacial termination ...

• Main Author: Nishibayashi, Mark Hacker author
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Southern California Digital Library (USC.DL) 2015
• Subjects: Geological Sciences degree program; Master of Science degree; College of Letters, Arts and Sciences school; Pacific; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-185290; https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF167G9JU

For decades, the paleoclimate and paleoceanography community has attempted to find an explanation for the rise in atmospheric CO? and simultaneous drop in the radiocarbon content of the atmosphere during the last glacial termination. In this study, we investigate the possible release of CO?-rich hydrothermal fluids during the deglaciation, using the trace metal content of foraminifera as a proxy. We develop a methodology to analyze the concentration of trace metals in the planktonic foraminifera, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The elements analyzed, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu, are present in elevated concentrations in hydrothermal fluids compared to seawater. ? We investigate the trace element composition of foraminifera from two marine sediment cores from the eastern equatorial Pacific, VM21-30 and VM21-29. The Zn/Ca and Cu/Ca records from VM21-30 show a rapid increase in the deglacial section of the core, concurrent with the large drop in ...