Living and fossil calcareous nannoplankton from the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean: Implications for Paleoceanography ...

• Main Author: Findlay, CS
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23236394; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Living_and_fossil_calcareous_nannoplankton_from_the_Australian_sector_of_the_Southern_Ocean_Implications_for_Paleoceanography/23236394

This study documents the distribution of calcareous nannoplankton in the waters and surface sediments of the Australian Sector of the Southern Ocean, and applies the information to core samples from the region to infer past changes in the ocean between 41 os and 64°S. The preservation of calcite plates produced by these phytoplankton are preserved in pelagic sediments and are useful in paleoceanography. Water column samples show that calcareous nannoplankton can be separated into five distinct assemblages associated with properties of the water mass, i.e., temperature, salinity, light and nutrients. In general the abundance and diversity of nannoplankton decrease poleward from subtropical to polar waters. The surface sediments show an abundance and diversity of calcareous nannoplankton different from living assemblages in the water column. Surface sediments are dominated by a single assemblage including C. pelagicus, a species not found in water column samples. The absence of C. pelagicus suggests ...