Effect of varying frontal systems on stable oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of modern planktic foraminifera of Southern Ocean

Studies have been carried out in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean regarding the movement of its fronts (water-masses boundaries) with changing climate and other oceanic parameters. But the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean has received little attention. To fill in this lacuna...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tiwari, M., Mohan, R., Meloth, T., Naik, S.S., Sudhakar, M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Current Science Association 2011
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Online Access:http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/3831
Description
Summary:Studies have been carried out in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean regarding the movement of its fronts (water-masses boundaries) with changing climate and other oceanic parameters. But the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean has received little attention. To fill in this lacuna, during the first Indian expedition to Southern Ocean in 2004, plankton net samples, sediment cores and other physical oceanographic parameters were collected. The isotopic results obtained from planktic foraminifera from the plankton net samples and surface sediments are presented here. We find that, in this region too, planktic foraminifera secrete their shells in isotopic equilibrium with seawater and the planktic foraminifera from the core top sediments yield values akin to that obtained from plankton net samples. It implies that planktic foraminifera preserved in sediments record overlying seawater signatures in this sector. Thus, down-core foraminiferal isotopic data from the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean can be used as a proxy for reconstructing the temporal variations of different water masses