Description: Here we present an improvement of paleotemperature reconstructions for the Southern Ocean by combining new diatom data from the Pacific sector with published Atlantic and Indian sector reference data. The statistical analysis of 336 surface sediment samples recovered from a wide area of Southern Ocean environments defines a supra-regional reference data set for quantitative summer sea surface temperature (SSST) estimations. In situ temperature measurements covering the time span from approx. 1900 to 1991 were used as reference instead of more recent time series of satellite-derived data, possibly biased by ocean warming. Different transfer function (TF) models for the Imbrie and Kipp Method (IKM), the Modern Analog Technique (MAT), Weighted Averaging (WA), and Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares (WAPLS) were tested. Best performance for IKM was obtained using the D336 set with 29 diatom taxa and three factors, resulting in root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.833°C for SSST. MAT estimates were best with six analogs resulting in the lowest RMSEP of 0.812°C. WAPLS applied to D336 resulted in a RMSEP of 0.782°C. WA performed less well, expressed by a RMSEP of 0.974°C. Furthermore, two subsets for the Atlantic (D151) and the Pacific sectors (D107) were applied with IKM to test for the advantages of localized TFs. IKM-D151 and IKM-D107 performed comparably good as IKM-D336, with RMSEP of 0.71°C and 0.68°C, respectively. Application of the augmented reference data sets on two Pleistocene sediment records from the Atlantic (PS1768-8) and Pacific (PS58/271-1) sectors led to the best performance of IKM with D336, expressed by high overall communalities (〉0.75) and fewer (PS1768-8) to no (PS58/271-1) no-analogs, compared to the regional data sets, proving IKM-D336 to deal better with higher assemblage variability. SSST estimates for both cores exhibit similar glacial/interglacial patterns for all four applied D336-based TF methods, with the best concordance between IKM and WAPLS.

Description: Boundary scavenging, or the enhanced removal of adsorption-prone elements from the ocean in areas of high particle flux, is an often cited, though not well-quantified, concept used to understand the oceanic distribution of many trace metals. Because 230Th and 231Pa are produced uniformly from uranium decay and removed differentially by scavenging, the process of boundary scavenging can bee lucidated by a more detailed knowledge of their water column distributions. To this end, filtered seawater was collected across the gradients in particle flux which span the subarctic Pacific: in the west during the Innovative North Pacific Experiment (INOPEX) and in the east along LineP. Lateral concentration gradients of dissolved 230Th are small throughout the subarcticPacific at 12 sites of variable particle flux. This contradicts the prediction of the traditional boundary scavenging model. A compilation of water column data from throughout the North Pacific reveals much larger lateral concentration gradients for 230Th between the subarctic North Pacific and subtropical gyre, over lateral gradients in scavenging intensity similar to those found within the subarctic. This reflects a biogeochemical-province aspect to scavenging. Upper water column distributions of 231Pa and 231Pa/230Th ratio are consistent with the influence of scavenging by biogenic opal, while deep waters (〉2.5 km) reveal an additional 231Pa sink possibly related to manganese oxides produced at continental margins or ridge crests.

Description: In order to map the modern distribution of diatoms and to establish a reliable reference data set for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in the northern North Pacific, a new data set including the relative abundance of diatom species preserved in a total of 422 surface sediments was generated, which covers a broad range of environmental variables characteristic of the subarctic North Pacific, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea between 30° and 70°N. The biogeographic distribution patterns as well as the preferences in sea surface temperature of 38 diatom species and species groups are documented. A Q-mode factor analysis yields a three-factor model representing assemblages associated with the Arctic, Subarctic and Subtropical water mass, indicating a close relationship between the diatom composition and the sea surface temperatures. The relative abundance pattern of 38 diatom species and species groups was statistically compared with nine environmental variables, i.e. the summer sea surface temperature and salinity, annual surface nutrient concentration (nitrate, phosphate, silicate), summer and winter mixed layer depth and summer and winter sea ice concentrations. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and other analyses indicate 32 species and species groups have strong correspondence with the pattern of summer sea surface temperature. In addition, the total diatom flux data compiled from ten sediment traps reveal that the seasonal signals preserved in the surface sediments are mostly from spring through autumn. This close relationship between diatom composition and the summer sea surface temperature will be useful in deriving a transfer function in the subarctic North Pacific for the quantitative paleoceanographic and paleoenvironmental studies. The relative abundance of the sea ice indicator diatoms Fragilariopsis cylindrus and F. oceanica of 〉 20% in the diatom composition is used to represent the winter sea ice edge in the Bering Sea. The northern boundary of the distribution of F. doliolus in the open ocean is suggested to be an indicator of the Subarctic Front, while the abundance of Chaetoceros resting spores may indicate iron input from nearby continents and shelves and induced productivity events in the study area.

Description: This paper adds to a series of studies addressing the distribution of living coccolithophores in the Southern Ocean(SO). We investigated plankton samples collected during RV Polarstern cruise ANT-XXVI/2 (from 27th November 2009 to 27th January 2010) along a broad E–W transect in the Pacific sector of the SO during austral summer. One hundred and fifty samples fromtwenty-nine stationswere collected fromthe upper 150mof the water column. Both coccoliths and coccospheres per samplewere counted separately using a scanning electronmicroscope (SEM). The highest abundances of 640 · 103 coccospheres/l were reached close to the Subtropical Front (STF) and increases in the numbers of coccospheres and coccoliths were found both at the Subantarctic Front (SAF) and the Polar Front (PF). However, the numbers decrease southward until almost a monospecific assemblage and sporadic record of Emiliania huxleyi (types B/C and C) south of the PF. Thirty-three coccolithophore species, including sixteen species found as isolated coccoliths, were identified of which E. huxleyi is clearly the most dominant coccolithophore taxon in the studied samples. Two main coccolithophore assemblages were established coincident with areas bounded by the oceanographic fronts: the Polar Front Zone (PFZ) and Subantarctic Zone (SAZ). In the upper photic zone of the SAZ, Acanthoica quattrospina, Calcidiscus leptoporus, Coccolithus pelagicus (sensu lato) HOL, E. huxleyi type A, Ophiaster spp. and Syracosphaera spp. among others were found. The PFZ was characterized by a reduced number of species, i.e., Calciopappus caudatus, E. huxleyi types B, B/C and C, as well as Pappomonas spp. and Papposphaera spp. The sea surface temperature measured in situ was the most prominent factor influencing coccolithophore diversity, distribution and assemblage compositions in the Pacific sector of the SO during austral summer. Coccolithophore biogeography in the study area showed marked differences with the northern high latitudes; the reduced presence of the cold water species Coccolithus pelagicus, abundant in the (sub) Arctic region, and the dominance of E. huxleyi type B/C and C in the SO contrasts with the dominance of E. huxleyi types A and B in the North Atlantic. Findings such as these cover existing gaps in an unexplored area of the SO as well as supporting previous research performed in neighboring areas. The current coccolithophore numbers and assemblage distribution in relation to the frontal dynamics of the SO provide valuable information for potential future paleoceanographic reconstructions.

Description: The ratio of unsupported protactinium-231 to thorium-230 in marine sediments, (Pa/Th)xs, is potentially sensitive to several processes of oceanographic and climatological interest: deep ocean circulation, marine biological productivity (as it relates to total particle flux) and particle composition (specifically, biogenic opal and authigenic Mn). In order to attribute variations in (Pa/Th)xs observed in sediment records to changes in specific processes through time, a better understanding of the chemical cycling of these elements in the modern ocean is necessary. To this end, a survey was undertaken of (Pa/Th)xs in surface sediments from the subarctic Pacific (SO202-INOPEX expedition) in combination with a Pacific-wide compilation of published data. Throughout the Pacific, (Pa/Th)xs is robustly correlated with the opal content of sediments. In the North and equatorial Pacific, simultaneous positive correlations with productivity indicators suggest that boundary scavenging and opal scavenging combine to enhance the removal of Pa in the eastern equatorial Pacific and subarctic Pacific. Deep ocean water mass ageing (〉3.5 km〉3.5 km) associated with the Pacific overturning appears to play a secondary role in determining the basin scale distribution of (Pa/Th)xs. A basin-wide extrapolation of Pa removal is performed which suggests that the Pacific Pa budget is nearly in balance. We hypothesize that through time (Pa/Th)xs distributions in the Pacific could define the evolving boundaries of contrasting biogeographic provinces in the North Pacific, while the influence of hydrothermal scavenging of Pa potentially confounds this approach in the South Pacific.

Description: Eolian dust is a significant source of iron and other nutrients that are essential for the health of marine ecosystems and potentially a controlling factor of the high nutrient-low chlorophyll status of the Subarctic North Pacific. We map the spatial distribution of dust input using three different geochemical tracers of eolian dust, 4He, 232Th and rare earth elements, in combination with grain size distribution data, from a set of core-top sediments covering the entire Subarctic North Pacific. Using the suite of geochemical proxies to fingerprint different lithogenic components, we deconvolve eolian dust input from other lithogenic inputs such as volcanic ash, ice-rafted debris, riverine and hemipelagic input. While the open ocean sites far away from the volcanic arcs are dominantly composed of pure eolian dust, lithogenic components other than eolian dust play a more crucial role along the arcs. In sites dominated by dust, eolian dust input appears to be characterized by a nearly uniform grain size mode at ∼4 μm. Applying the 230Th-normalization technique, our proxies yield a consistent pattern of uniform dust fluxes of 1–2 g/m2/yr across the Subarctic North Pacific. Elevated eolian dust fluxes of 2–4 g/m2/yr characterize the westernmost region off Japan and the southern Kurile Islands south of 45° N and west of 165° E along the main pathway of the westerly winds. The core-top based dust flux reconstruction is consistent with recent estimates based on dissolved thorium isotope concentrations in seawater from the Subarctic North Pacific. The dust flux pattern compares well with state-of-the-art dust model predictions in the western and central Subarctic North Pacific, but we find that dust fluxes are higher than modeled fluxes by 0.5–1 g/m2/yr in the northwest, northeast and eastern Subarctic North Pacific. Our results provide an important benchmark for biogeochemical models and a robust approach for downcore studies testing dust-induced iron fertilization of past changes in biological productivity in the Subarctic North Pacific.

Description: Palynological analyses were performed on 53 surface sediment samples from the North Pacific Ocean, including the Bering and Okhotsk Seas (37–64°N, 144°E–148°W), in order to document the relationships between the dinocyst distribution and sea-surface conditions (temperatures, salinities, primary productivity and sea-ice cover). Samples are characterized by concentrations ranging from 18 to 143 816 cysts/cm3 and the occurrence of 32 species. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was carried out to determine the relationship between environmental variables and the distribution of dinocyst taxa. The first and second axes represent, respectively, 47% and 17.8% of the canonical variance. Axis 1 is positively correlated with all parameters except to the sea-ice and primary productivity in August, which are on the negative side. Results indicate that the composition of dinocyst assemblages is mostly controlled by temperature and that all environmental variables are correlated together. The CCA distinguishes 3 groups of dinocysts: the heterotrophic taxa, the genera Impagidinium and Spiniferites as well as the cyst of Pentapharsodinium dalei and Operculodinium centrocarpum. Five assemblage zones can be distinguished: 1) the Okhotsk Sea zone, which is associated to temperate and eutrophic conditions, seasonal upwellings and Amur River discharges. It is characterized by the dominance of O. centrocarpum, Brigantedinium spp. and Islandinium minutum; 2) the Western Subarctic Gyre zone with subpolar and mesotrophic conditions due to the Kamchatka Current and Alaska Stream inflows. Assemblages are dominated by Nematosphaeropsis labyrinthus, Pyxidinopsis reticulata and Brigantedinium spp.; 3) the Bering Sea zone, depicting a subpolar environment, influenced by seasonal upwellings and inputs from the Anadyr and Yukon Rivers. It is characterized by the dominance of I. minutum and Brigantedinium spp.; 4) the Alaska Gyre zone with temperate conditions and nutrient-enriched surface waters, which is dominated by N. labyrinthus and Brigantedinium spp. and 5) the Kuroshio Extension-North Pacific-Subarctic Current zone characterized by a subtropical and oligotrophic environment, which is dominated by O. centrocarpum, N. labyrinthus and warm taxa of the genus Impagidinium. Transfer functions were tested using the modern analog technique (MAT) on the North Pacific Ocean (= 359 sites) and the entire Northern Hemisphere databases (= 1419 sites). Results confirm that the updated Northern Hemisphere database is suitable for further paleoenvironmental reconstructions, and the best results are obtained for temperatures with an accuracy of ± 1.7 °C.