Planktonic foraminifera as signal carriers in paleoceanography: from modern biology to proxy application in the western South Atlantic

• Main Author: Martins Venancio Padilha de Oliveira, Igor
• Other Authors: Schulz, Michael, Reichart, Gert-Jan
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universität Bremen 2017
• Subjects: South Atlantic; stable isotopes; western boundary currents; planktonic foraminifera; sediment traps; glacial; interglacial; Heinrich stadial; 550; 550 Earth sciences and geology; ddc:550; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: https://media.suub.uni-bremen.de/handle/elib/1261; https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:46-00106010-17

Proxies derived from planktonic foraminifera shell chemistry and assemblage composition allowed to assess past changes in surface hydrography. However, the usefulness of these planktonic foraminifera proxies relies on the understanding of their biology and species-specific environmental preferences. Despite the importance of these evaluations regarding foraminiferal biology, informations about the species reproductive cycle, calcification depth and seasonal fluxes still not well constrained. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the assessment of planktonic foraminiferal biology (e.g. reproduction and calcification depth) and on paleoceanographic application of proxies derived from these organisms in marine archives located at the western South Atlantic, which is a key region due to the presence of boundary currents that transport heat to high latitudes.