Description: This study tests the hypothesis that the late Miocene to early Pliocene constriction and closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS), connecting the tropical Atlantic and East quatorial Pacific (EEP), caused a decrease in productivity in the Caribbean, due to decreased coastal upwelling and an end to the connection with high-productivity tropical Pacific waters. The present study compared paleoceanographic proxies for the interval between 8.3 and 2.5 Ma in 47 samples from south Caribbean ODP Site 999 with published data on EEP DSDP Site 503. Proxies for Site 999 include the relative abundance of benthic foraminiferal species representing bottom current velocity and the flux of organic matter to the sea floor, the ratio of infaunal/epifaunal benthic foraminiferal species and benthic foraminifer accumulation rates (BFARs). In addition, we calculated % resistant planktic foraminifers species and used the previously published % sand fraction and benthic carbon isotope values from Site 999. During early shoaling of the Isthmus (8.3-7.9 Ma) the Caribbean was under mesotrophic conditions, with little ventilation of bottom waters and low current velocity. The pre-closure interval (7.6-4.2 Ma) saw enhanced seasonal input of phytodetritus with even more reduced ventilation, and enhanced dissolution between 6.8 and 4.8 Ma. During the post-closure interval (4.2-2.5 Ma) in the Caribbean, paleoproductivity decreased, current velocity was reduced, and ventilation improved, while the seasonality of phytodetrital input was reduced dramatically, coinciding with the establishment of the Atlantic-Pacific salinity contrast at 4.2 Ma. Our data support the hypothesis that late Miocene constriction of the CAS at 7.9 Ma and its closure at 4.2 Ma caused a gradual decrease in paleoproductivity in the Caribbean, consistent with decreased current velocity and seasonality of the phytodetrital input.

Description: Diversity trends 8.3-2.5 Ma in Caribbean deep-sea foraminifera, as interpreted from the indices Fisher's alpha and the Information Index [H(S)] parallel paleoproductivity proxies (benthic foraminiferal infaunal/epifaunal species ratio, benthic foraminifer accumulation rates and flux of organic carbon to the seafloor). Paleoproductivity never reached an eutrophic threshold value above which we would predict opposite trends of high paleoproductivity and low diversity, consistent with stressful conditions. Instead, results are similar to those from other studies of oligotrophic settings that show a positive and statistically significant correlation between paleoproductivity and diversity. The correlations between current intensity and watermass oxygenation with diversity are negative and statistically significant. These results are also borne out by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Intervals of increased relative abundance of Epistominella exigua, a proxy for seasonality of phytodetrital input to the seafloor, coincide with increased diversity, suggesting that pulsed paleoproductivity enhanced the diversity signal in the Caribbean. Diversity and paleoproductivity peaked in the Caribbean at 7.9 Ma, and declined thereafter due to the cut off of the nutrient-rich Pacific deep waters (〈1000 m) into the Caribbean. From 7.6 to 4.2 Ma, both diversity and paleoproductivity increased. With the complete closure of the Caribbean-Pacific seaway at 4.2 Ma, both diversity and paleoproductivity gradually decreased from a high at 4.2 Ma to moderate values until the end of the study interval at 2.5 Ma. Major intervals of significant shifts in Caribbean diversity and paleoproductivity were also confirmed with SHEBI analysis that displays a diverging trend between the Pacific and Caribbean sites since 7.9 Ma, with the Caribbean displaying decreasing values. In summary, in the Caribbean, decreased paleoproductivity due to the gradual constriction and the final closure of the Central American Seaway (CAS) led to decreased deep-sea benthic foraminiferal diversity and that both benthic foraminiferal diversity and paleoproductivity maintained a positive relationship.

Description: We collected pelagic sediments from Holes A and B of IODP Site 342-U1407 that accumulated on the Southeast Newfoundland Ridge that spanned the Early Cenomanian to Early Turonian. In this study, we reconstruct the paleoceanographic changes before, during, and after Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) to isolate the triggers behind the widespread deposition of organic matter (OM) during this time. We combined the stable isotopes of bulk organic carbon, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon, major and trace elements, and abundances of microfossils (benthic foraminiferal, biserial heterohelicid foraminifera, and radiolarians) to characterize the sediments. Biomarker indices were also calculated to determine the source and thermal maturity of the OM.

Description: © The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Science Advances 2 (2016): e1600883, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600883.

Description: The formation of the Isthmus of Panama stands as one of the greatest natural events of the Cenozoic, driving profound biotic transformations on land and in the oceans. Some recent studies suggest that the Isthmus formed many millions of years earlier than the widely recognized age of approximately 3 million years ago (Ma), a result that if true would revolutionize our understanding of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary change across the Americas. To bring clarity to the question of when the Isthmus of Panama formed, we provide an exhaustive review and reanalysis of geological, paleontological, and molecular records. These independent lines of evidence converge upon a cohesive narrative of gradually emerging land and constricting seaways, with formation of the Isthmus of Panama sensu stricto around 2.8 Ma. The evidence used to support an older isthmus is inconclusive, and we caution against the uncritical acceptance of an isthmus before the Pliocene.

Description: This study was supported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute to A.O., J.B.C.J., N.K., and H.A.L.; the NSF (EAR 1325683) to A.O., P.G.R.-D., and E.L.G.; the National System of Investigators to A.O.; the Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (Panamá) to A.O., H.A.L., and S.E.C.; the U.S. Geological Survey to R.F.S.; and the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina) to A.L.C., G.M.G., E.S., and L.S.