Description: Accurate reconstruction of past ocean temperatures is of critical importance to paleoclimatology. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry ("L'l47") is a relatively recent technique based on the strong relationship between calcification temperature and the statistical excess of 13C- 180 bonds in carbonates. Its application to foraminifera holds great scientific potential, particularly because Ll47 paleotemperature reconstructions do not require assumptions regarding the 180 composition of seawater. However there are still relatively few published observations investigating the potential influence of parameters such as salinity or foraminiferal size and species. We present a new calibration data set based on 234 replicate analyses of9 planktonic and 2 benthic species of foraminifera collected from recent core-top sediments, with calcification temperatures ranging from -2 to 25 °C. We observe a strong relationship between Ll47 values and independent, oxygen-IS estimates of calcification temperatures: L'l47 = 41.63 x 103 /T2 + 0.2056 The formal precision of this regression(± 0.7-1.0 °C at 95 % confidence level) is much smaller than typical analytical errors. Our observations confirm the absence of significant species-specific biases or salinity effects. We also investigate potential foraminifer size effects between 200 and 〉560 μm in 6 species, and conclude that all size fractions from a given core-top location and species display statistically undistinguishable L'l47 values. These findings provide a robust foundation for future interlaboratories comparisons and paleoceanographic applications.

Description: The European Community Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) was established to provide guidelines for monitoring the quality of marine ecosystems. Monitoring the status of marine environments is traditionally based on macrofauna surveys, for which standardised methods have been established. Benthic foraminifera are also good indicators of environmental status because of their fast turnover rates, high degree of specialisation, and the preservation of dead assemblages in the fossil record. In spite of the growing interest in foraminiferal bio-monitoring during the last decades, no standardised methodology has been proposed until today. The aim of the FOraminiferal BIo-MOnitoring (FOBIMO) expert workshop, held in June 2011 at Fribourg, Switzerland, which assembled 37 scientists from 24 research groups and 13 countries, was to develop a suite of standard methods. This paper presents the main outcome of the workshop, a list of motivated recommendations with respect to sampling devices, sample storage, treatment, faunal analysis and documentation. Our recommendations fulfil the criteria imposed both by scientific rigour and by the practical limitations of routine studies. Hence, our aim is to standardise methodologies used in bio-monitoring only and not to limit the use of different methods in pure scientific studies. Unless otherwise stated, all recommendations concern living (stained) benthic foraminiferal assemblages. We have chosen to propose two types of recommendations. Mandatory recommendations have to be followed if a study wants to qualify as sound and compatible to the norms. The most important of these recommendations are the interval from 0 to 1 cm below the sediment surface has to be sampled, and an interface corer or box corer that keeps the sediment surface intact is to be used for offshore surveys. A grab sampler must not be deployed in soft sediments. Three replicate samples are to be taken and analysed separately. Samples are to be washed on a 63-mu m screen, and the living benthic foraminiferal fauna of the 〉 125 mu m fraction is to be analysed. Splits are to be picked and counted entirely, and all counted foraminifera from at least one replicate per station have to be stored in micropalaeontological slides. Census data, supplementary laboratory data and microslides have to be archived. Advisory recommendations are to sample in autumn, to have a sample size of 50 cm(2) or a tube of 8 cm inner diameter, to use 〉 70% ethanol as a preservative, rose Bengal at a concentration of 2 grams per litre for staining, and a staining time of at least 14 days. The split size should be defined by a target value of 300 specimens, heavy liquid separation should be avoided, and the 63-125 mu m fraction or deeper sediment levels may be considered in some environments. We are convinced that the application of this protocol by a large number of scientists is a necessary first step to a general acceptance of benthic foraminifera as a reliable tool in bio-monitoring studies

Description: The evolution of productivity, redox conditions, temperature, and ventilation during the deposition of an Aegean sapropel (S1) is independently constrained using bulk sediment composition and high-resolution single specimen benthic foraminiferal trace metal and stable isotope data. The occurrence of benthic foraminifer, Hoeglundina elegans (H. elegans), through a shallow water (260 m) sapropel, permits for the first time a comparison between dissolved and particulate concentrations of Ba and Mn and the construction of a Mg/Ca-based temperature record through sapropel S1. The simultaneous increase in sedimentary Ba and incorporated Ba in foraminiferal test carbonate, (Ba/Ca)H. elegans, points to a close coupling between Ba cycling and export productivity. During sapropel deposition, sedimentary Mn content ((Mn/Al)sed) is reduced, corresponding to enhanced Mn2+ mobilization from sedimentary Mn oxides under suboxic conditions. The consequently elevated dissolved Mn2+ concentrations are reflected in enhanced (Mn/Ca)H. elegans levels. The magnitude and duration of the sapropel interruption and other short-term cooling events are constrained using Mg/Ca thermometry. Based on integrating productivity and ventilation records with the temperature record, we propose a two-mode hysteresis model for sapropel formation.

Description: Data associated with the paper: Foraminiferal community response to seasonal anoxia in Lake Grevelingen (the Netherlands). First sheet is: Oxygen Penetration Depth ± sd and free H2S detection depth ± sd for each month in 2012 for both stations 1 and 2 (in mm). Second sheet is: Living foraminiferal abundances for each replicate, year and month for all the species of the assemblage (ind./10cm^3).

Description: The stations were sampled along the French Mediterranean coast in spring (March-April) 2012 onboard the RV Europe. Bottom sediment at 36 stations (10 to 71 m water depth) was sampled using a Reineck box-corer. Three replicates (“a”, “b”, “c”; different box-corer launches) were done at each station for meiofauna analysis. The surface sediment (0-1 cm) of the first box-corer launches (i.e., “a”) was used for grain size analysis. If the sediment appears visually very different in the second and third launches (i.e., “b” and “c”) another sample was taken. Sediment was sampled from the three replicates box-corer and gathered to measure grain sizes thanks to sieves. Sediment samples were first dry weighted, then wet sieved on 63, 125, 150, 250, and 500 µm meshes and finally residues were dry weighted. Then, the percentage from the total dry weight was calculated for each size fraction. Sediment from a Van Veen grab launch, deployed at each station, was used to measure organic matter content. The organic matter percentage was determined with the loss on ignition method, 4h30 at 450 °C. Missing values means not available. These data were acquired thanks to Pierre Boissery and the funding from the Agence de l'Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse. The sampling survey was possible thanks to the Ifremer, especially Bruno Andral, and the RV Europe crew members.