Glacial-interglacial changes in the surface water characteristics of the Andaman Sea: Evidence from stable isotopic ratios of planktonic foraminifera

• Main Authors: Ahmad, S.M., Patil, D.J., Rao, P.S., Nath, B.N., Rao, B.R., Rajagopalan, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Indian Academy of Sciences 2000
• Subjects: Andaman Sea; Globigerinoides ruber; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/357

Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses of the planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber) from a deep sea sediment core (GC-1) in the Andaman Sea show high glacial-to-Holocene d 18 O amplitude of 2.1% which is consistent with previously published records from this marginal basin and suggest increased salinity and/or decreased temperature in the glacial surface waters of this region. A pulse of 18 O enrichment during the last deglaciation can be attributed to a Younger Dryas cooling event and/or to a sudden decrease of fresh water influx from the Irrawady and Salween rivers into the Andaman Sea. High d 13 C values observed during the isotopic stages 2 and 4 are probably due to the enhanced productivity during glacial times in the Andaman Sea.