Project Details
Projekt
Dynamics of biogenic silica sedimentation in the NE Atlantic during the late Pliocene - Pleistocene
Applicant
Oscar Romero, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2005 to 2007
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5451515
The North Atlantic has driven the field of paleoceanography over the last 20 years, in large part because of progress in documenting millennial - and sub-Milankovitch-scale climate variability over the last glacial cycle using conventional piston cores. We propose here to push the record further back in time utilizing the material gained during IODP Leg 303 North Atlantic I which will extend the study of climate variability over the last ca. 4 Ma. We propose here a multiparameter approach based on geochemistry and micropaleontology proxies to reconstruct the late Plio-Pleistocene history of biogenic silica sedimentation in the NE Atlantic... In particular, we will address the variations of opal production related with ocean circulation changes, global climatic history, and the shift between production of siliceous and calcareous organisms. Since diatoms are actually the most important siliceous producers, we will also explore the short and long-term variations in the diatom community as proxy for changes in water masses, nutrient availabilty and preservation. In addition, we intend to determine the variations of diatom valve dissolution associated with rapid climate events and long-time climate patterns in the NE Atlantic.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
