Description: Highlights • Neogloboquadrina pachyderma morphotypes can have different isotope compositions. • Isotopic offsets between morphotypes depend on environmental background conditions. • Thin-shelled Neogloboquadrina pachyderma are good recorders of near-surface salinity. • A strong freshwater event off NE Greenland at 12.7 ka may be related to deglaciation. Abstract We report on stable oxygen and carbon isotope data obtained on two different morphotypes of polar planktic foraminifers, i.e., fully encrusted and minor encrusted Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, from a sediment core taken on the NE Greenland continental margin. These morphotypes are supposed to live at different water depths of the upper water column in the area which today is strongly stratified, with a low-saline, cold-water layer at the surface. The paired isotopic data sets inform on temporal variations of past water salinity and temperature in the preferred water depth ranges of the investigated morphotypes and allow conclusions on the stratification of the upper water column. The radiocarbon-dated sediment core covers the time interval from 21 to 4 cal-ka, but the early part of the deglacial interval (18.5–12.7 cal-ka) is not represented, probably due to intense erosion by bottom currents. In sediments from the late last glacial maximum, oxygen isotope differences between thin-shelled and thick-shelled N. pachyderma are low and point at a weaker stratification with less freshwater than today near the surface. The carbon isotopes indicate a dense, perennial sea ice cover, very limited bioproduction, and the presence of a subsurface Atlantic Water layer. In the late deglaciation until ∼10.3 cal-ka, the stable isotope values of both analyzed morphotypes are considerably lower, with significantly stronger amplitudes in the record of thin-shelled specimens than later on. The high-amplitude record stems from a laminated sediment sequence whose older part was deposited within just a few decades. The data are evidence of a strong freshwater event in the research area that probably started before 12.7 ka and may have reduced sea surface salinities by 4–5 practical salinity units. As freshwater sources we discuss both the disintegration of NE Greenland shelf ice and export from the Arctic Ocean interior. The event may have contributed to the weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the Younger Dryas cold event. For the early and mid-Holocene (10-4 cal-ka), the isotope data suggest a structure of the upper water column similar to today, with a well-developed halocline separating low-saline near-surface waters from the underlying Atlantic Water layer. A seasonally disintegrated sea ice cover allowed for a considerable planktic bioproduction.

Description: Reliable estimates of bottom-water oxygen contents are crucial to understanding the formation of past oxygen-depleted environments. Here, we investigate the relationship between pore density in calcareous benthic foraminiferal tests and environmental factors like bottom-water oxygen and nitrate concentration, water depth, and temperature in living (Rose Bengal stained) specimens of the shallow-infaunal species Bolivina pacifica, and the two deep-infaunal species Fursenkoina mexicana, and Chilostomella oolina. Used samples span an oxygen-gradient (0.10 to 4.62 ml L−1) across oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) off Namibia and Pakistan. Bolivina pacifica and F. mexicana display an inverse correlation between pore density and in-situ bottom-water oxygen content (BW-O2), indicating a morphological response of the foraminifers to decreasing oxygenation. Supporting previous results, we suggest that both species may increase their pore numbers to improve the ability of oxygen uptake in low-oxygen environments. Comparison of the calculated pore densities for B. pacifica and F. mexicana with bottom-water nitrate concentration (BW-NO3−) and temperatures, however, illustrates that these factors might also influence the pore density. Our results for the deep-infaunal species C. oolina show no significant relationship between pore density and BW-O2. This suggests that C. oolina, rather than increasing its pore density, has another life-strategy to survive sustained low-oxic conditions, possibly nitrate respiration. The non-correlation between pore densities and BW-NO3−, however, suggests that pores are not involved in the denitrification process. According to our data we suggest that the pore density of some benthic foraminiferal species is controlled by BW-O2. This relation is, however, species-specific. Overall, our data suggest that this morphological response could provide the basis for an independent proxy for BW-O2 in future studies.

Description: We determined δ18OCib values of live (Rose Bengal stained) and dead epibenthic foraminifera Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi, Cibicides lobatulus, and Cibicides refulgens in surface sediment samples from the Arctic Ocean and the Greenland, Iceland, and Norwegian seas (Nordic Sea). This is the first time that a comprehensive δ18OCib data set is generated and compiled from the Arctic Ocean. For comparison, we defined Atlantic Water (AW), upper Arctic Bottom Water (uABW), and Arctic Bottom water (ABW) by their temperature/salinity characteristics and calculated mean equilibrium calcite δ18Oequ from summer sea-water δ18Ow and in situ temperatures. As a result, in the Arctic environment we compensate for Cibicidoides- and Cibicides-specific offsets from equilibrium calcite of − 0.35 and − 0.55 ‰, respectively. After this taxon-specific adjustment, mean δ18OCib values plausibly reflect the density stratification of principle water masses in the Nordic Sea and Arctic Ocean. In addition, mean δ18OCib from AW not only significantly differs from mean δ18OCib from ABW, but also δ18OCib from within AW differentiates in function of provenience and water mass age. Furthermore, in shallow waters brine-derived low δ18Ow can significantly lower the δ18OCib of Cibicides spp. and thus δ18OCib may serve as a paleobrine indicator. There is no statistically significant difference, however, between deeper water masses mean δ18OCib of the Nordic Sea, and of the Eurasian and Amerasian basins, and no influence of low-δ18Ow brines is recorded in Recent uABW and ABW δ18OCib of C. wuellerstorfi. This may be due to dilution of a low-δ18Ow brine signal in the deep sea, and/or to preferential incorporation of relatively high-δ18Ow brines from high-salinity shelves. Although our data encompass environments with seasonal sea-ice and brine formation supposed to ultimately ventilate the deep Arctic Ocean, δ18OCib from uABW and ABW do not indicate negative excursions. This may challenge hypotheses that call for enhanced Arctic brine release to explain negative benthic δ18O spikes in deep-sea sediments from the late Pleistocene North Atlantic Ocean.

Description: It is important to understand the historical precedents of current situations to be able to anticipate where the current global environmental and climatic change may lead. Geo-historical data provide information beyond the limitations of instrumental data. This study aims to reconstruct components of the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental history of the Beagle Channel (BC) during the Late Holocene by using Ameghinomya antiqua shells. We use fossil and modern shells in a comparative analysis through a multiproxy approach, i.e., shell morphometrics, shell growth, and stable oxygen isotope ratios. A holistic analysis of all the proxies indicates that higher productivity occurred around 3542 yr B.P. in the BC, evidenced by more significant growth, size, and longevity in fossil specimens. In addition, smaller ligaments, cardinal teeth, and the pallial sinus in fossil specimens indicate a low-energy environment typical of a marine archipelago. Lastly, palaeotemperatures are estimated to be warmer than today, although the intensity may be overestimated due to the freshwater inflow that would change the salinity of the BC waters. Further analysis in Late-Holocene shells is essential for a more detailed environmental reconstruction around the southern tip of South America.