Calibration of the B/Ca proxy in the planktic foraminifer Orbulina universa to Paleocene seawater conditions

This research is funded by NSF [OCE12-32987] to BH. The B/Ca ratio of planktic foraminiferal calcite, a proxy for the surface ocean carbonate system, displays large negative excursions during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.9 Ma), consistent with rapid ocean acidification at that time...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Paleoceanography
Main Authors: Haynes, Laura L., Hönisch, Bärbel, Dyez, Kelsey A., Holland, Kate, Rosenthal, Yair, Fish, Carina R., Subhas, Adam V., Rae, James W. B.
Other Authors: NERC, University of St Andrews. Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews. St Andrews Isotope Geochemistry
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
O. universa
B/Ca
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Ocean acidification
Planktic foraminifera
GE Environmental Sciences
GC Oceanography
DAS
SDG 14 - Life Below Water
GE
GC
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10023/12348
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016PA003069
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Summary:This research is funded by NSF [OCE12-32987] to BH. The B/Ca ratio of planktic foraminiferal calcite, a proxy for the surface ocean carbonate system, displays large negative excursions during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 55.9 Ma), consistent with rapid ocean acidification at that time. However, the B/Ca excursion measured at the PETM exceeds a magnitude that modern pH-calibrations can explain. Numerous other controls on the proxy have been suggested, including foraminiferal growth rate and the total concentration of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC). Here we present new calibrations for B/Ca vs. the combined effects of pH and DIC in the symbiont-bearing planktic foraminifer Orbulina universa, grown in culture solutions with simulated Paleocene seawater elemental composition (high [Ca], low [Mg], and low [B]T). We also investigate the isolated effects of low seawater total boron concentration ([B]T), high [Ca], reduced symbiont photosynthetic activity, and average shell growth rate on O. universa B/Ca in order to further understand the proxy systematics and to determine other possible influences on the PETM records. We find that average shell growth rate does not appear to determine B/Ca in high calcite saturation experiments. In addition, our “Paleocene” calibration shows higher sensitivity than the modern calibration at low [B(OH)4-]/DIC. Given a large DIC pulse at the PETM, this amplification of the B/Ca response can more fully explain the PETM B/Ca excursion. However, further calibrations with other foraminifer species are needed to determine the range of foraminifer species-specific proxy sensitivities under these conditions for quantitative reconstruction of large carbon cycle perturbations. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed

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