Proquest Dissertations
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter ^ce. while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy subm itted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. in the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Artror, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI* NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy availabie. u m t FORAMINIFERS OF THE PALMER DEEP REGION, ANTARCTIC PENINSULA, MODERN DISTRIBUTION AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHY OF THE LAST 13 KY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Michael R. Sperling, M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Dr. Peter N. Webb Dr. Lonnie G. Thompson Adviser Dr. Scott E. Ishman Department of Geological Sciences Dr. Rosemary Askin Dr. Gunter Faure UMI Number. 9994941 UMI UMI Microform 9994941 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT This research focused on foraminiferal assemblages from the Antarctic Peninsula, their composition in modem and Holocene sediments dependent on environmental conditions and postmortem processes, and their utility as paleoenvironmental proxies. Additional independent proxies may be provided by chemical analysis of the shells and organic linings of benthic foraminifers in fixture studies as shown by reconnaissance investigations in this dissertation. Two assemblages, living during the Austral autumn, have been recognized by the use of the vital stain Rose Bengal. The Bulimina aculeata assemblage, currently present in the Palmer Deep basins, has been proven to be robust to postmortem changes, and indicates open marine conditions during the austral summer, up-welling of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) and increased primary productivity in the surface waters. The Fursenkoina fusiformis assemblage seems to be opportunistic and thrives in environments that may be temporarily anoxic. These conditions seem to prevail in the Andvord drift and Gerlache Strait, recently bathed in Weddell Sea Transitional Water (WSTW), where the shallow water depth prevents deep-water circulation and hindering the oxygenation of the bottom waters. Additionally, a third assemblage is proposed in the research. It is hypothesized that the Miliammina arenacea assemblage lives during a different season of II the year, since it is present only in the dead assemblages. The use of this assemblage as an indicator of hypersaline conditions, which may be generated by the formation of Saline Shelf Water (SSW), is suggested. The derived information about ecological adaptations of modem foraminifers was used for the interpretation of Holocene environments from the study area. The results confirm that the Antarctic Peninsula has been a region of rapid and variable climate fluctuation since the Last Glacial Maximum. Four major faunal turnovers have been recognized during the latest Pleistocene. The first occurrence of benthic foraminifers at 12.8 ky BP is interpreted as the time of final disintegration of an ice shelf over the study area. A rapid increase in diversity and abundances at 11.8 ky BP is thought to indicate the beginning of the Holocene in the Antarctic Peninsula region. The onset of the mid- Holocene at 9 ky BP was accompanied by the last occurrence of the WSTW indicator F. fiisiformis in the Palmer Deep. Alternating dominance of the SSW indicator M. arenacea and CDW indicator B. aculeata during the last 3.4 ky points to variable and fast changing environmental conditions. The previously observed warming over the last 50 years in the study area may thus be a part of the natural climatic variability o f the Antarctic Peninsula. Ill Dedicated to my wife Renate, and son Felix. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser. Dr. Peter N. Webb for his guidance and encouragement throughout this research. I am grateful to Dr. Scott Ishman, Rosemarie Askin, Gunter Faure, and Lonnie Thompson for stimulating discussions and reviews of my dissertation draft. Thanks goes to Dr. Patrick Quilty, Eugene Domack, Amy Leventer, Charlotte Sjunneskog, Fiona Taylor, and Stefanie Brachfeld for providing copies o f their unpublished manuscripts. I also thank Thomas Janecek, at the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility, for his assistance in obtaining core samples used in this research. Thanks goes to ODP Scientific Party for data and samples from Leg 178 and to Prof. Dr. Hemleben for samples from core MC529 of the Ionian Basin. This research was financially supported in part from National Science Foundation grants provided to Dr. Scott E. Ishman (DPP-9615669) and Dr. Peter N. Webb (DPP- 9420475). Additional support was provided through grants from the Friends of Orton Hall and Geological Society of America. VITA February 14, 1966.......................................... Bom — Bad Kreuznach, Germany 1997 ................................................................. M.S. Geology & Mineralogy — Eberhard Karls Universitat Tübingen, Germany 1997 — Present............................................... Ph.D. Candidate — The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio PUBLICATIONS Sperling, M., 1998. Benthic foraminifers as indicators of oxygen-depleted waters associated with the Holocene eastern Mediterranean Sea sapropel SI. In: Abstracts with Programs — Geological Society of America. Vol. 30, no. 7. p. 27. Sperling, M., 1998. Modem benthic foraminifers from the Palmer Deep Basins. In: „Holocene Paleonvironmental Change Along the Antarctic Peninsula: A Test of the Solar / Bi-Polar Signal". LMG98-02 Post-Cruise Report, USAP 1998, pp. 11- 14. Sperling, M., & ODP Scientific Party, 1999. Paleoclimatic changes in the Bellingshausen Sea during the Holocene as recorded by benthic foraminifers from ODP LEG 178. In: Programme & Abstracts — 8th International Symposium, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand, p. 289. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Geological Sciences VI LIST OF TABLES Table Page 2.1. Varimax Principal Component Scores of living benthic foraminiferal Q-mode assemblages from the study area. Dominant and associated species (scores > 0.8) are outlined ................................ 55 2.2. Varimax Principal Component Loadings of living benthic foraminiferal Q-mode assemblages from the study area. The highest loading for each station is outlined ......................................................56 2.3. Varimax Principal Component Scores of benthic foraminiferal Q-mode assemblages from the study area. Dominant and associated species (scores > 0.8) are outlined ........................................................ 60 2.4. Varimax Principal Component Loadings of benthic foraminiferal Q-mode assemblages from the Palmer Deep region. The highest loading for each station is outlined ............................................................................61 2.5. Proposed assemblages in the study area, named after the underlined species. Taxa in brackets are removed from the potential fossil data se t......................................................................................... 69 2.6. Average standing stock (living tests), benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates (BEAR, dead tests), and Preservation Index (PI) of the most abundant agglutinated species from the study area, ordered by increasing preservation potential.................................................. 78 2.7. Average standing stock (living tests), benthic foraminiferal accumulation rates (BEAR, dead tests), and Preservation Index (PI) of the most abundant calcareous species from the study area, ordered by increasing preservation potential ............................................................82 3.1. Listing of selected references recording foraminiferal organic linings with taxonomic classification .......................................................... 88 Vll 3.2. Characteristics o f the three types of linings encountered in this study. Note that diameter, breath, and # o f chamber are estimates and not based on statistically proven data. It is suggested that C. lobatulus and T. intermedia can be distinguished from each other by these parameters........................................................................................ I l l