Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Glacial-Interglacial cycle'

Feedbacks between climate, tectonics and erosion drive mineral dissolution in the subsurface and may provide strong controls on chemical weathering as a mechanism for modulating climate through CO2 drawdown. However, few quantitative evaluations of chemical weathering intensity or flux variations with time exist to support this hypothesized feedback. Trace element concentrations in colluvial sediment demonstrate that in unglaciated mid-latitude terrain, climate exerts a strong control on chemical weathering intensity and erosion over glacial-interglacial cycles by modulating the efficacy of abiotic and biotic processes. Weakly chemically altered sediment corresponds with high erosion rates during the Last Glacial interval (vice versa during the Holocene) such that we observe stable weathering rates despite variations in temperature and vegetation. Our results suggest that climate-weathering feedbacks in mid-latitude regions may be weaker than previously hypothesized and provide a new framework to explain stable solute fluxes over Milankovitch climate fluctuations.
10000-01-01

This thesis investigated changes in the circum-North Atlantic continental weathering regime and ocean circulation across the last glacial/interglacial cycle, using Pb and Nd isotopes respectively as proxies. The northern North Atlantic was selected on the basis that the greatest changes in weathering regime took place on the surrounding continental landmasses, which have been successively glaciated and deglaciated.

La variabilité du système climatique influence la productivité et la distribution des espèces marines sur toutes les échelles de temps, de la variabilité saisonnière et inter-annuelle aux cycles glaciaires-interglaciaires. Mais ces liens entre climat et écosystèmes marins sont encore largement méconnus, de telle sorte que les prévisions des changements à venir sont difficiles. De plus, parce que les indicateurs paléoclimatiques issus des archives marines sont souvent liés au fonctionnement de l’écosystème, cette méconnaissance limite la fiabilité de la reconstruction de la variabilité climatique passée.Ce travail de thèse vise à améliorer notre connaissance de ces liens entre climat et écosystèmes marins : nous nous sommes intéressés aux changements de productivité marine au cours du dernier cycle glaciaire-interglaciaire, et nous nous sommes aussi penchés sur la réponse de l’écosystème, incluant l'ensemble des niveaux de la chaine trophique, à la variabilité inter-annuelle à décennale en climat pré-industriel. Ce travail est basé sur l’utilisation d’un modèle climatique (IPSL-CM), d’un modèle de biogéochimie marine (PISCES) et d’un modèle de niveaux trophiques supérieurs (APECOSM).Dans un premier temps, nous montrons que le lien entre l’intensité de la mousson indienne et la productivité primaire marine, en été boréal dans la mer d’Arabie, n’est pas direct. En effet, il apparait indispensable pour comprendre les changements de productivité de considérer, en plus de l'intensité de la mousson, la structure de la mousson. En particulier, la position du Jet de Findlater par rapport à la côte de la péninsule arabique est un paramètre important puisqu'elle conditionne la dynamique d'Ekman dans la région.Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié les variations de la productivité marine au large de l'embouchure du fleuve Congo et leurs liens avec le fleuve et les changements de dynamique atmosphérique africaine. Ce travail a mis en évidence que la relation entre l'intensité de la mousson et l'intensité des alizés, souvent utilisée dans les reconstructions climatiques, n'est pas toujours vérifiée. Selon le climat étudié, l'importance des effets thermiques ou dynamiques sur les changements de précipitations et de vents simulés est différente.Dans un troisième temps, nous avons étudié l'effet de la variabilité inter-annuelle sur les changements de productivité passés et sur le signal climatique potentiellement enregistré par des indicateurs climatiques biologiques.Enfin, la dernière partie de cette thèse se focalise sur la réponse des organismes marins des haut-niveaux trophiques à la variabilité climatique à différentes fréquences. Ce travail a révélé que les organismes marins répondent de façons différentes aux variations environnementales en fonction de leur taille et de leur habitat
Climate variability influences marine primary productivity and marine species distribution over all timescales, from seasonal to interannual variability and glacial-interglacial cycles. The links between climate and marine ecosystems are still sparsely known so that the predictions of futur changes are difficult. Moreover, because paleoclimate recorders extracted from marine archives are often linked to the functionning of the ecosystem, this lack of knowledge limits our ability to reconstruct past climate variability.This thesis work aims at improving our knowledge of these links between climate and marine ecosystems : we have looked into marine productivity changes during the last glacial-interglacial cycle, but we also examined the "end-to-end" ecosystem response to inter-annual to decadal variability in a pre-industrial climate. This work uses a climate model (IPSL-CM), a bio-geochemical model (PISCES) and a model of high trophic levels (APECOSM).First, we show that the link between Indian summer monsoon intensity and marine primary productivity in the Arabian Sea is indirect. Indeed, it appears necessary to consider the monsoon pattern, such as the Findlater Jet position, which drives the Ekman dynamics in the region, as well as its intensity to understand the productivity changes.Second, we study the marine productivity changes off the Congo river mouth and their links with the river runoff and the African atmospheric dynamics. This work shows that the relationship between monsoon intensity and trade winds intensity, often used to reconstruct past changes, is not always verified. Depending on the climate, thermal or dynamical effects are more or less prominent drivers of the simulated changes in precipitation and winds. Productivity off the Congo river mouth, which is mainly located in the subsurface, seems more affected by the ocean and atmosphere dynamics than by the river supply in nutrients.Third, we study the inter-annual variability effects over past productivity changes and over the climatic signal potentially recorded in the biological climate proxies.Finally, the last part of the thesis focuses on high trophic levels marine organisms response to climate variability at different frequencies. This study shows that marine organisms response to environmental changes varies with the organism' size and habitat

Des résultats croisés d’études biogéochimiques de cultures in vivo et de modélisations cellulaires ont mis en évidence un lien entre le fractionnement biologique des coccolithes et la concentration en CO2 du milieu de vie de leurs producteurs, les coccolithophoridés. Ces résultats ont ouvert la voie à l’utilisation des effets vitaux des coccolithes comme proxy du CO2 dans le milieu. Toutefois, des biais affectent l’application des calibrations empiriques de culture à des populations naturelles de coccolithes. Ainsi, ce travail cherche à formaliser la fonction de transfert entre les effets vitaux et les [CO2aq] en milieu naturel, qui puisse être appliquée pour reconstruire les pCO2 passées. Nous utilisons pour cela les enregistrements provenant des carottes de glace antarctiques pour quantifier le forçage de la pCO2 sur l’intensité des effets vitaux des coccolithes. Nous mettons notamment en évidence, et discutons, un contrôle des concentrations en CO2 sur la différence isotopique (Δδ18O, Δδ13C) entre coccolithes de différentes tailles produits pendant la pénultième terminaison glaciaire (130-140 ka). Dans un deuxième volet de la thèse, nous appliquons cette fonction de transfert à des coccolithes datant de la transition mi-Pléistocène (800-1250 ka), une période clé de changement climatique, pour laquelle les pCO2 ne sont pas documentées. Nous obtenons un enregistrement de pCO2 avec des amplitudes et des variations cohérentes couvrant l’intégralité de la transition, ce qui accrédite la calibration proposée. Nos travaux permettent d’étayer l’hypothèse d’une sensibilité accrue des calottes glaciaires au forçage radiatif par le CO2 depuis la MPT
Results from both in vivo cultures and cell modelling biogeochemical studies have demonstrated a link between the biological fractionation of coccoliths and the CO2 concentration of the living environment of their producers, the coccolithophores. These results have encouraged the use of coccolith vital effects as proxies for the levels of CO2 in the medium. However, a number of biases hinder the application of the empirical calibrations from culture experiments to natural coccolith populations. This work aims at formalizing the transfer function linking the vital effects to the [CO2aq] in natural environments, to be used for the reconstruction of past pCO2. To this end, we use the records from Antarctic ice cores to quantify the forcing of pCO2 on the magnitude of the coccoliths’ vital effects. We evidence, and discuss, a control of CO2 concentrations on the isotopic difference (Δδ18O, Δδ13C) between coccoliths of different sizes produced during the penultimate glacial termination (130-140 ka). The second part of this thesis is dedicated to applying the transfer function to coccoliths from the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (800-1250 ka), a key period of climate change for which pCO2 variations are not documented. The pCO2 record we obtain, which covers the entire transition, exhibits self-consistent amplitudes and variations, thus giving credit to the calibration we present. Our record supports the hypothesis of an increased sensitivity of ice sheets to the radiative forcing of CO2 since the MPT

La variabilité du système climatique influence la productivité et la distribution des espèces marines sur toutes les échelles de temps, de la variabilité saisonnière et inter-annuelle aux cycles glaciaires-interglaciaires. Mais ces liens entre climat et écosystèmes marins sont encore largement méconnus, de telle sorte que les prévisions des changements à venir sont difficiles. De plus, parce que les indicateurs paléoclimatiques issus des archives marines sont souvent liés au fonctionnement de l’écosystème, cette méconnaissance limite la fiabilité de la reconstruction de la variabilité climatique passée.Ce travail de thèse vise à améliorer notre connaissance de ces liens entre climat et écosystèmes marins : nous nous sommes intéressés aux changements de productivité marine au cours du dernier cycle glaciaire-interglaciaire, et nous nous sommes aussi penchés sur la réponse de l’écosystème, incluant l'ensemble des niveaux de la chaine trophique, à la variabilité inter-annuelle à décennale en climat pré-industriel. Ce travail est basé sur l’utilisation d’un modèle climatique (IPSL-CM), d’un modèle de biogéochimie marine (PISCES) et d’un modèle de niveaux trophiques supérieurs (APECOSM).Dans un premier temps, nous montrons que le lien entre l’intensité de la mousson indienne et la productivité primaire marine, en été boréal dans la mer d’Arabie, n’est pas direct. En effet, il apparait indispensable pour comprendre les changements de productivité de considérer, en plus de l'intensité de la mousson, la structure de la mousson. En particulier, la position du Jet de Findlater par rapport à la côte de la péninsule arabique est un paramètre important puisqu'elle conditionne la dynamique d'Ekman dans la région.Dans un second temps, nous avons étudié les variations de la productivité marine au large de l'embouchure du fleuve Congo et leurs liens avec le fleuve et les changements de dynamique atmosphérique africaine. Ce travail a mis en évidence que la relation entre l'intensité de la mousson et l'intensité des alizés, souvent utilisée dans les reconstructions climatiques, n'est pas toujours vérifiée. Selon le climat étudié, l'importance des effets thermiques ou dynamiques sur les changements de précipitations et de vents simulés est différente.Dans un troisième temps, nous avons étudié l'effet de la variabilité inter-annuelle sur les changements de productivité passés et sur le signal climatique potentiellement enregistré par des indicateurs climatiques biologiques.Enfin, la dernière partie de cette thèse se focalise sur la réponse des organismes marins des haut-niveaux trophiques à la variabilité climatique à différentes fréquences. Ce travail a révélé que les organismes marins répondent de façons différentes aux variations environnementales en fonction de leur taille et de leur habitat
Climate variability influences marine primary productivity and marine species distribution over all timescales, from seasonal to interannual variability and glacial-interglacial cycles. The links between climate and marine ecosystems are still sparsely known so that the predictions of futur changes are difficult. Moreover, because paleoclimate recorders extracted from marine archives are often linked to the functionning of the ecosystem, this lack of knowledge limits our ability to reconstruct past climate variability.This thesis work aims at improving our knowledge of these links between climate and marine ecosystems : we have looked into marine productivity changes during the last glacial-interglacial cycle, but we also examined the "end-to-end" ecosystem response to inter-annual to decadal variability in a pre-industrial climate. This work uses a climate model (IPSL-CM), a bio-geochemical model (PISCES) and a model of high trophic levels (APECOSM).First, we show that the link between Indian summer monsoon intensity and marine primary productivity in the Arabian Sea is indirect. Indeed, it appears necessary to consider the monsoon pattern, such as the Findlater Jet position, which drives the Ekman dynamics in the region, as well as its intensity to understand the productivity changes.Second, we study the marine productivity changes off the Congo river mouth and their links with the river runoff and the African atmospheric dynamics. This work shows that the relationship between monsoon intensity and trade winds intensity, often used to reconstruct past changes, is not always verified. Depending on the climate, thermal or dynamical effects are more or less prominent drivers of the simulated changes in precipitation and winds. Productivity off the Congo river mouth, which is mainly located in the subsurface, seems more affected by the ocean and atmosphere dynamics than by the river supply in nutrients.Third, we study the inter-annual variability effects over past productivity changes and over the climatic signal potentially recorded in the biological climate proxies.Finally, the last part of the thesis focuses on high trophic levels marine organisms response to climate variability at different frequencies. This study shows that marine organisms response to environmental changes varies with the organism' size and habitat

Les changements du taux atmospherique du co#2 sont d'une grande importance pour l'explication des fluctuations climatiques pendant le quaternaire. Le carbone organique dans les ecosystemes continentaux peut jouer un grand role dans la modification et la direction des fluctuations glaciaire-interglaciaires. Une base de donnees paleo-environnementale est utilisee pour construire des cartes de la vegetation des continents, a 18000, 8000 et 5000 ans. Ces cartes permettent de calculer les bilans du carbone pour chaque periode. Les calculs indiquent qu'il y a une augmentation d'environ 1700 gt (+/- 600 gt) de carbone entre le maximum glaciaire et l'holocene. Ce chiffre est bien superieur a toutes les autres estimations qui ont ete publiees jusqu'a present. Si cette estimation est exacte, elle est importante pour la modelisation du cycle global du carbone et du co#2 pendant le quaternaire superieur

Cette thèse a pour but de reconstituer le climat des 100 000 dernières années en Europe de l’ouest. L’étude du climat du passé permet de mieux comprendre la variabilité naturelle du climat sur laquelle se surimpose aujourd’hui le réchauffement climatique d’origine anthropique. Ce sont des molécules fossiles bactériennes dont la structure varie en fonction des conditions environnementales qui ont permis dans cette étude de reconstituer le paléoclimat à partir des sédiments du lac St Front dans le Massif Central. Les indices dérivés de ces molécules révèlent la variabilité climatique à long terme mais également les évènements rapides de changement climatique ainsi qu’une forte action anthropique en surimposition des changements climatiques régionaux sur les 5000 dernières années. Ce travail montre l’importance de la compréhension de l’outil utilisé et du fonctionnement du système naturel dans lequel il est étudié, préalables indispensables à l’obtention d’une séquence climatique crédible
This thesis aims to reconstruct the climate of the last 100,000 years in western Europe. The study of past climate allows to better understand the natural variability of climate on which human-induced global warming is superimposed today. Bacterial fossil molecules whose structure varies according to the environmental conditions were used in this study to reconstruct the paleoclimate from the sediments of lake St Front in the Massif Central. The indices derived from these molecules reveal the long-term climatic variability but also the rapid events of climate change as well as a strong anthropogenic action in superimposition of the regional climatic changes over the last 5000 years. This work shows the importance of understanding the tool used and the functioning of the natural system in which it is studied, essential prerequisites for obtaining a credible climate reconstruction

An interglacial mudstone sequence from the Port Askaig Tillite Formation on Islay was analysed using an Olympus XRF detector. The resulting geochemical log was compared with an XRF dataset acquired from a Quaternary sedimentary core from the Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean. Chemical proxies representing climatic and environmental changes were analysed in an effort to specifically identify evidence of orbital forcing in the Cryogenian Period. The studied non-glacial rock-section from the Port Askaig Formation was interpreted as being deposited in a shallow marine setting at semitropical latitudes during an episode of global warming at some stage of the Sturtian glaciation (ca 717 – 660 Ma). The transport mechanism of glaciogenic material was by ice rafting. High hematite content was interpreted as an oxygenation event in a peritidal zone when isostatic rebound caused a sea level regression. Increasing amount of muscovite is interpreted to indicate increased weathering. Underlaying sequence of dolostone and overlaying sequence of sandstone were consistent with these interpretations. One interglacial phase is thus observed, which possibly could be attributed to Milankovitch orbital forcing. The interpretation of the paleoclimatic setting of the studied interglacial mudstone did not provide support for the Snowball Earth hypothesis in its “hard” version. Neither did other observations such as evidence of repeating glacial-interglacial cycles and banded iron formations (BIF) appearing also within the Sturtian glaciation.

Variability in the tropical ocean-atmospheric system causes global scale climate anomalies, most evident in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation’s coupled climate feedbacks. Despite being an area of high interest, many questions still remain regarding the west Pacific warm pool’s response to external forcing, particularly its response to increases in anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Paleoclimate reconstructions coupled with model simulations provide insight into the tropical Pacific’s role in past climate variability necessary to the development of robust climate projections. Most paleoclimate records, however, still lack the resolution, length, and chronological control to resolve rapid variability against a background of orbital-scale variations. Here we present stalagmite oxygen isotope (δ18O) reconstructions from Gunung Mulu National Park (4oN, 115oE ), in northern Borneo, that provide reproducible centennial-scale records of western Pacific hydrologic variability that are precisely U/Th-dated and continuous throughout most of the late Pleistocene (0-160 thousand years ago, kybp). The record comprises an entire glacial-interglacial cycle, which allows us to investigate orbital-scale climate forcings and compare two well-dated glacial terminations in the western tropical Pacific. The ice- volume-corrected δ18O records suggest that glacial boundary condtions, which include significantly lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, did not drive significant changes in Mulu rainfall δ18O. Similarly, Borneo stalagmite δ18O is poorly correlated to either global sea level shifts or Sunda Shelf areal exposure is not evident. The Borneo record does vary in phase with local mid-fall equatorial insolation, suggesting that precessional forcing may impart a strong influence on hydroclimate variability in the warm pool. This is best illustrated across Glacial Termination II, when the oscillation of equatorial fall insolation is large and out of phase with ice sheet decay. We also use a subset of well-dated, high-resolution stalagmite δ18O records from Mulu to investigate millennial-scale climate variability during Marine Isotope Stages 3-5 (30-100kybp). We find that regional convection likely decreased during the six massive iceberg discharges defined in the North Atlantic sediment records (“Heinrich events”). The inferred drying (increased stalagmite δ18O) during Heinrich events is consistent with a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone – the dominant paradigm to explain global climate anomalies originating in the north Atlantic (ref). However, any hydrologic variability related to Dansgaad-Oeschgar (D/O) events, millennial-scale sawtooth temperature anomalies of the last glacial period first evident in the Greenland ice records, is notably absent in the stalagmite records. . The Mulu stalagmite record’s absence of D/O signal, however, is in marked contrast to the regional west Pacific marine records and suggests D/O events and Heinrich events may be characterized by fundamentally different climate mechanisms and feedbacks.

Trigger core 07, is a 53 cm long sediment core that was collected during the Danish-Swedish expedition “Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland 2012” on the slope of the Lomonosov Ridge in the Arctic Ocean at a depth of 2522 m. This part of the world has experienced critical environmental changes during the Quaternary. Ice-sheets have advanced and retreated, and deposited sediments through all the Arctic Ocean. Glacial sediments contain coarser material and are gray, whereas interglacial sediments are brown, because of high amounts of manganese, and consist of fine-grained material.  The aim of this project is to make grain size analysis on TC 07 with the purpose to make an interpretation of the grain size data in relation to glaciation history and paleo-oceanography. For that, a correlation with piston core 07 has been made, and also a correlation between piston core 07 and the Arctic Coring Expedition, ACEX. The results showed that fine-grained material is more abundant in the top brown unit down to 32 cm, suggesting an interglacial period. This is followed by a gray-beige unit that goes down to 49 cm, and consist of coarser material, indicating glacial deposits. This unit can be linked to the Marine Isotope Stage 2, MIS 2, which began approximately 29000 years ago and ended about 14000 years ago
”Trigger core 07” är en 53 cm lång sedimentkärna som togs upp på ett djup av 2522 m från Lomonosovryggen i Arktisk under en dansk-svensk expedition kallad ”Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland 2012”. Den här delen av världen har genomgått kraftiga klimatförändringar under kvartär. Istäcken har vuxit fram och dragit sig tillbaka och avsatt sediment över hela Arktis. Sediment avsatta under istider, kännetecknas av att vara gråa med mycket grovt material, medan sediment avsatta under mellanistider är bruna, vilket är på grund av de höga halterna av mangan och består av finkornigt material. Målet med denna uppsats är att göra en kornstorleksanalys på sedimentkärnan, med syfte i åtanke på att göra en tolkning av informationen i förhållande till istidshistorik och paleo-oceanografi. För att kunna gå tillväga med det, har en korrelation gjorts mellan kärnan och ”piston core 07”, samt en korrelation mellan ”piston core 07” och ”Arctic Coring Expedition, ACEX”. Resultaten visar en brun enhet rik på finkornigt material ned till 32 cm, vilket är typiskt för mellanistider. Den följs av en grå-beige enhet som sträcker sig ned till 49 cm och består av grovkornigt material vilket tyder på istid. Den här enheten kan kopplas till ”Marine Isotope Stage 2, MIS ”, som varade mellan 14000 och 29000 år sedan.

Quantifier les variations de température océanique du passé est nécessaire pour comprendre les mécanismes qui régissent l’évolution climatique. Les méthodes de paléo-thermométrie classiques peuvent souffrir de limitation inhérente à l’écologie des organismes et/ou à cause de l’influence d'effets physico-chimiques (salinité, acidité de l’eau de mer…). Ce travail se focalise sur la technique de paléothermométrie Δ47, qui repose sur la mesure du « clumping isotopique » dans les carbonates. Il vise d’abord à établir une calibration appliquée aux foraminifères et ensuite à mettre en œuvre cette calibration pour l’étude des variations climatiques au cours de la transition du Pléistocène moyen (MPT). Notre calibration Δ47-température des foraminifères planctoniques et benthiques, prélevés dans des sédiments modernes, couvre une gamme de température de -2 à 25°C. Les valeurs de Δ47 sur 9 espèces de foraminifères présentent une excellente corrélation avec la température de calcification des organismes, estimée à partir des mesures isotopiques de l’oxygène. Les résultats obtenus confirment l’absence d’effets liés à l’écologie des foraminifères (effets vitaux et de taille des organismes) et démontrent que la salinité n’affecte pas les mesures de Δ47. Cette étude constitue une avancée méthodologique importante pour les futures études paléocéanographiques sur les foraminifères. La MPT correspond à une transition climatique marquée par un changement de fréquence des cycles glaciaires-interglaciaires (de 41 000 à 100 000 ans). La compréhension de cette période est un enjeu scientifique majeur pour appréhender la mise en place du climat actuel. Notre calibration Δ47-température a permis de quantifier les variations de températures au cours de la MPT en mer méditerranée (Section de Montalbano Jonico, sud de l’Italie) et particulièrement des stades isotopiques marins 31 et 19, considérés comme des analogues à l’Holocène. Les résultats indiquent que (i) les températures (Δ47) obtenues sont en adéquation avec les températures obtenues par d’autres paléothermomètres, (2) les températures permettent de retracer les changements de régime océanographique et hydrologique, et (3) la mesure du Δ47 est complément prometteur pour les études multi-méthodes en paléocéanographie
The quantification of past oceanic temperature changes is a critical requirement for understanding the mechanisms which regulate climate variations. Classical methods of paleothermometry could suffer from well-known limitations related to ecology and/or to physico-chemical biases (sea water salinity, acidity…). This work focuses on clumped-isotope carbonate thermometry (Δ47). It aims to establish a calibration of Δ47 foraminifera and use it to study past climatic variations through the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Our Δ47 calibration in planktonic and benthic foraminifera collected from modern marine sediment covers a temperature range of -2 to 25 °C. The clumped-isotope compositions of 9 species of foraminifera show a robust correlation with the calcification temperature, estimated from the measurements of oxygen-18. These results confirm the absence of bias linked to foraminifer ecology (species-specific and foraminifer size effects) and provide evidence that salinity does not affect the Δ47 thermometer. This study constitutes significant methodological progress for future paleoceanographic applications in foraminifera.The MPT is a climatic transition characterized by a shift in the frequencies of glacial-interglacial cycles (from 41 000 to 100 000 years). Understanding the MPT is a major scientific objective, which underlies our effort to study the establishment of our present climate. Our Δ47 calibration was used to quantify temperature changes through the MPT in the Mediterranea Sea (Montalbano Jonico section, south of Italy), and in particular the marine isotopic stages 31 and 19, which may be described as Holocene analogues. We find that (1) Δ47 temperatures are in good agreement with temperatures reconstructed from other paleothermometers, (2) these results allow reconstructing changes in past oceanographic and hydrologic regime, and (3) Δ47 measurement are a promising component of multi-proxy paleoceanographic studies

Aquesta Tesi Doctoral està centrada en la reconstrucció de les condicions climàtiques del passat a la conca occidental del Mediterrani, i més concretament en l’estudi de l’efecte de la variabilitat climàtica d’escala orbital i mil•lenària sobre les condicions oceanogràfiques de la conca. El treball es basa en l’anàlisi i interpretació de dades de indicadors sedimentològics, com ara la mida de gra i la composició elemental dels sediments, d’on s’ha obtingut informació sobre els canvis en les aportacions terrígenes induïts per la variabilitat climàtica i oceanogràfica de la conca, reflectida en canvis del nivell del mar o de la circulació termohalina. Hom ha pogut investigar els canvis del nivell del mar associats als cicles glacials mitjançant l’estudi de les variacions en la mida de gra de les partícules sedimentàries i en la composició elemental d’un testimoni del marge progradant del Golf de Lleó. Les variacions eustàtiques del nivell del mar han determinat l’apilament d’unitats sedimentaries regressives en el talús superior amb una ciclicitat de 100 ka. Els canvis en el nivell del mar han modulat la sedimentació en el marge, la qual va oscil•lar entre aportacions principalment fluvials durant els períodes glacials coincidint amb nivells del mar baixos, i aportacions degudes a la reactivació de processos erosius a la plataforma continental com les Cascades d’Aigües Denses de Plataforma durant les èpoques amb nivell del mar alt corresponents als períodes interglacials. L’estudi de l’Estadi Isotòpic Marí 3, entre 65 i 20 ka, caracteritzat per condicions climàtiques fluctuants de escala mil•lenària, ens hauria d’ajudar a entendre com el clima es comporta sota condicions canviants ràpides i per lo tant pot ser clau per entendre millor el ràpid canvi climàtic induït per l’ésser humà. Les variacions de la mida de gra durant aquest període en el marge del Golf de Lleó han revelat per primera vegada l’existència d’oscil•lacions del nivell del mar d’escala mil•lenària associades a la variabilitat climàtica dels cicles de Dansgaard-Oeschger observats a l’Atlàntic Nord. Nivells del mar relativament alts s’associen a les fases càlides dels cicles de Dansgaard-Oeschger. Aquests resultats mostren una ràpida resposta dels casquets polars a la variabilitat climàtica ràpida del darrer període glacial. Resta per identificar, però, amb precisió el inici d’aquestes pujades del nivell del mar i la seva amplitud. La circulació termohalina del Mediterrani occidental també s’ha vist afectada per les oscil•lacions climàtiques dels cicles de Dansgaard-Oeschger durant l’Estadi Isotòpic Marí 3. Els resultats confirmen que la circulació profunda del Mediterrani occidental funcionà de manera asincrònica respecte a la Circulació de Retorn de l’Atlàntic Nord durant els cicles de Dansgaard-Oeschger. Aquest fet posa de manifest la rapidesa en la transmissió de la variabilitat climàtica entre latituds altes i intermèdies, probablement induïda per un mecanisme de teleconnexió atmosfèrica similar a l’actual Oscil•lació de l’Atlàntic Nord. Tot i així, la circulació profunda del Mediterrani occidental també fou modulada per canvis en la hidrologia de la conca. A l’Holocè hom ha identificat igualment una sèrie d’esdeveniments de curta durada de intensificació de la circulació termohalina, els quals mostren una ciclicitat d’uns 1000 anys. Hom ha pogut correlacionar aquest esdeveniments amb altres observats a l’Atlàntic Nord i en altres regions del planeta, fet que confirma que les reorganitzacions ràpides del sistema climàtic són també comuns en els períodes interglacials.
This PhD Thesis focuses on the reconstruction of past climatic conditions in the Western Mediterranean Basin, and more precisely on the study of the impact of climate variability at orbital and millennial time scales over oceanographic conditions. The work relies on the study of sedimentological proxies like grain-size and elemental geochemical composition of the sediments for unravelling the changes in terrigenous supplies led by oscillations in climate and oceanographic conditions, namely sea level fluctuations and changes in the termohaline circulation of the Western Mediterranean Sea. Sea level changes associated with glacial cycles have been investigated by analysing the oscillations in grain-size and geochemical composition of the sediment records from the progradational Gulf of Lion margin. Eustatic sea level oscillations have determined stacking of regressive progradational units in the upper slope following a 100 kyr cyclicity. Sea level fluctuations have modulated sediment accumulation over this margin, with a succession of periods dominated by high fluvial supplies, and periods characterized by the reactivation of erosive processes in the continental shelf such as Dense Shelf Water Cascading during glacial lowstands and interglacial highstands, respectively. The study of climate variability during Marine Isotope Stage 3, between 65 and 20 ka, characterized by rapid climate fluctuations of millennial time scales, may help us to understand how the climate behaves when undergoing rapid changes and therefore might also further increase our understanding of rapid, anthropogenic climate change. The high-resolution study of grain-size oscillations during Marine Isotopic Stage 3 in the Gulf of Lion margin has shown by the first time the occurrence of millennial scale sea level fluctuations associated with climate variability during the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles identified in the North Atlantic region. Relative high sea level has been observed to occur during warm interstadials of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. These results point to a rapid response of the ice sheets to climate variability during the last glacial period. However, the precise timing and the amplitude of these millennial-scale sea level rises are still to be determined. The termohaline circulation of the Western Mediterranean Sea has been affected by Dansgaard-Oeschger climate oscillations during Marine Isotopic Stage 3 too, as determined by the study carried out in the IMAGES core MD99-2343 offshore Minorca island. Our results show that during Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles the circulation of deep-water masses in the Western Mediterranean was not synchronized with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. This confirms the rapid transmission of climate variability between high and mid-latitudes, likely induced by an atmospheric mechanism similar to the present-day North Atlantic Oscillation. Hydrological oscillations within the basin further modulated the termohaline circulation in the Western Mediterranean Sea. During the Holocene a series of short-lived events of enhanced deep-water circulation have been identified to occur with a cyclicity close to 1000 yr, which have been correlated to relatively cold periods recently recognized from the North Atlantic region and in other regions of the world. These results confirm that rapid reorganizations of the climate system usually ascribed to glacial stages are also a common feature during interglacial periods.

Nitrogen is a principal component of living organisms and comprises the majority of the atmosphere, yet the scarcity of biologically reactive nitrogen in the ocean limits growth and appears to have varied with past changes in physical climate. This thesis takes a multi-faceted approach, including fine-scale sediment analysis, modern field observations and global numerical modeling, to contribute an integrated view of the marine nitrogen cycle and its climatic sensitivity. Nitrogen bound in diatom frustules, extracted from laminated sediments of the Guaymas Basin, has greater seasonal δ¹⁵N variability than corresponding bulk sediment. Downslope transport of frustules from the shelf contributes δ¹⁵N -depleted nitrogen, while pelagic diatom frustules display great sensitivity to seasonal growing conditions. Bulk sedimentary δ¹⁵N represents a reliable integrated monitor of the local nitrogen substrate. Records of bulk sedimentary δ¹⁵N from the subarctic Pacific reflect the tripartite imprints of diagenesis, variable nitrate utilization and changes in δ¹⁵N -nitrate. Modern subsurface δ¹⁵N -nitrate is homogenous across the open subarctic Pacific. Diagenesis introduces δ¹⁵N -enrichments at core tops and there is a gradual decrease of δ¹⁵N with burial. The Gulf of Alaska record does not sample HNLC waters, but records changes in δ¹⁵N -nitrate and diagenesis. This is used to correct for regional 8I 5Nnitrate variability, revealing rapid increases in nitrate utilization, likely due to Fe fertilization, in the western subarctic Pacific during glacial periods. The δ¹⁵N -nitrate record suggests denitrification may have occurred in the deep ocean during the last glacial maximum, and almost certainly in the upper water column of the deglacial subarctic Pacific. A global compilation of δ¹⁵N records evokes co-ordinated changes in denitrification throughout the global thermocline, implying large increases in aggregate denitrification rate, matched by changes in N₂ fixation, under warming conditions. A global, physically-driven modulation of subsurface oxygen concentrations is proposed as the primary relevant forcing on glacial-interglacial timescales. Simple schemes for denitrification and N₂ fixation, based on widely accepted ecological principles, are quantified and embedded in a General Circulation Model of intermediate complexity. The model highlights the competition between diazotrophs and other phytoplankton for phosphorus as a key element of the marine biosphere. The model confirms a pronounced sensitivity of denitrification rates to the physical climate state, with more rapid rates of nitrogen cycling and expanded nitrogen limitation under warmer climates.
Science, Faculty of
Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
Graduate

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Paleoproductivity records during the late Pleistocene are sparse. The equatorial Pacific and the Southern Ocean are collectively responsible for the majority of the new production in the oceans. The nutrient and carbon mass balances of these regions must be constrained in order to fully understand net global biological productivity on glacial timescales. The geochemistry of two east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean cores (02° 33.48 N; 117° 55.06 W) and (00° 15.42 S; 113° 00.57 W) are used to examine changes in biological productivity due to nutrient upwelling on glacial timescales during the Pleistocene. The cores were recovered in March 2006 on the AMAT03 cruise, a site survey cruise for IODP Proposal 626. The total concentrations of Ca, Ti, Fe, Al, P, Ba, S, Mg, Sr, Zn and Mn were determined by a total sediment digestion followed by analysis by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP). Original solid forms of P for 34 evenly spaced samples throughout one core were determined using the P Sequential Extraction technique. This study is attempting to compare upwelling and productivity records by determining temporal records of nutrient proxies, using Latimer and Filippelli (2006) which focused on the Southern Ocean. Equatorial upwelling and Southern Ocean upwelling both appear to exhibit strong glacial timescale variability. The P geochemistry results indicate that the P signal is largely biological. The equatorial Pacific evidence, in accordance with Southern Ocean patterns, supports a nutrient budget-driven productivity signal over time. Gabriel M. Filippelli, Ph. D, Committee Chair

The Earth’s surface carbon cycle naturally distributes carbon among its main reservoirs: the ocean, atmosphere, terrestrial biosphere, marine and continental sediments. This natural cycling of carbon regulates atmospheric CO2 on long and short timeframes. Now that the carbon cycle is being perturbed by anthropogenic CO2 emissions, it is important to understand how it works and may change in the future. The CO2 released to the atmosphere via industrial emissions and land clearing is passed into the Earth’s carbon cycle reservoirs on varying timeframes, with positive and negative feedbacks. The recent and distant geological past provide evidence for how the carbon cycle responds to natural environmental fluctuations, and how the carbon cycle may respond in future. The glacial-interglacial (G-IG) cycles of CO2 in particular exhibit multiple changes in the carbon cycle on short and long time scales, and are littered with clues preserved in the geological record. Chief among these changes are ∼80-90 ppm oscillations in atmospheric CO2 concentration during G-IG progressions. The definitive causes of these large changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration have been keenly debated for the last 40 years, yet remain unresolved, despite substantial progress in analytical and modelling techniques and the growing bodies of proxy data as evidence. The unresolved problem of atmospheric CO2 variations has been dubbed "the holy grail" of G-IG research. This thesis describes the development of a simple modelling tool to analyse the carbon cycle, that uses proxy data directly to constrain the modelling results, and explains its use in a model-data study of the last G-IG cycle of CO2 spanning 130 thousand years ago to the present. The thesis aims to address what caused the G-IG variation in atmospheric CO2. A review of G-IG CO2 research literature reveals important insights with which to undertake a model-data study. For example, substantial debate exists over the relative role of ocean circulation and mixing and other physical processes, versus biological and biogeochemical processes, in driving the G-IG fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Ideas have of20 ten been presented in the literature as competing, or mutually exclusive explanations for the entire G-IG CO2 pattern. The literature review reveals that there are several processes that influence the carbon cycle, individually varying in importance for driving atmospheric CO2 concentration, yet collectively could provide the answer. Key among them are ocean circulation, sea surface temperatures, air-sea gas exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, marine biology and biogeochemistry, and the terrestrial biosphere. Some are both well understood and quantified for the last G-IG cycle of CO2, such as sea surface temperature (SST), relative sea level (RSL) and the terrestrial biosphere. Others could strongly influence the carbon cycle and atmospheric CO2, but are less well-understood and are poorly constrained. The latter includes ocean circulation and marine biological export productivity, which are both key subjects of the "holy grail" debates within the G-IG research literature. The proxy data supporting either of these processes as drivers of G-IG CO2 can be interpreted in other ways to support another hypotheses, leaving the debate over G-IG CO2 open. Other important carbon cycle processes include volcanism, continental weathering, marine sediment burial and weathering, and cosmic radiocarbon fluxes. Review of the literature of paleooceanographic model-data inversions and optimisations reveals there are difficulties applying orthodox inversion approaches to the paleo- age ocean. This difficulty arises mainly due to the relative sparsity and quality of data in the past versus the modern ocean. Inversions may struggle to incorporate proxy data such as carbon isotopes - which undergo numerous biogeochemical transformations during carbon cycle fluxes, and present in model-data-unfriendly formats, such as ratios of two elements versus the ratio of a geological reference standard. Furthermore, review of the use of complex carbon cycle models for model-data studies reveals a tendency towards experimenting over a narrow range of potential outcomes, which is only a limited extension of the well-established approach of hypothesis testing. This can expose the research findings to confirmation bias because only a subset of possible outcomes are considered. The field of model-data analysis in paleaonography is re-emergent after a period of stasis, and is recently re-invigorated by the steadily growing body of proxy data, freely available software and improving personal computer power. The "Simple Carbon Project Model" (SCP-M) box model was constructed for this thesis. The model was built to incorporate elements and proxies that are relatively data-rich and also to represent the processes which influence their concentrations in the carbon cycle. Furthermore, SCP-M was built to enable exhaustive model-data experiments to explore a wide range of possible parameter values and combinations. SCP-M incorporates phosphate, alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), alkalinity, isotopes of carbon (δ13C and ∆14C) and the carbonate ion. SCP-M contains a quantitative representation of carbon cycle fluxes including ocean circulation and mixing, marine biological export productivity, marine carbonate production and dissolution, air-sea gas exchange, the terrestrial biosphere, volcanism and continental weathering. Some of the natural fluxes are relatively small in terms of carbon, yet they can be important for the fluxes of the isotopes of carbon, and other proxies, which are rich in data observations and provide the all important "clues" for changes in atmospheric CO2. Additional fluxes included in SCP-M for the purposes of calibration and testing are industrial era CO2 emissions, and fluxes of radiocarbon to the atmosphere from nuclear weapons testing in the 1950’s and 1960’s. SCP-M is initially constructed as a seven box plus atmosphere model, and is shown to provide an accurate representation of the modern ocean and atmosphere geochemistry, under the influence of anthropogenic emissions and bomb radiocarbon. It is tested against model predictions to the year 2100 for atmospheric CO2, and air-sea gas fluxes of carbon, from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) models for the IPCC’s representative concentration pathways (RCPs). SCP-M provides a reasonable approximation to the CMIP RCP scenarios, with best matching for the lower CO2 emissions pathways. However, the SCP-M model cannot claim to replicate even a fraction of the complexities and detail captured by the CMIP models. The seven-box version of SCP-M ("v1.0") is demonstrated with a model-data optimisation for the last glacial maximum (LGM) and Holocene periods, using data for atmospheric CO2, ocean and atmosphere carbon isotopes and the oceanic carbonate ion proxy. The model-data optimisation experiment includes forcings for the carbon cycle mechanisms that are identified by literature review to be relatively well understood and constrained in the last G-IG cycle: SST, salinity, RSL and atmospheric 14C production. The optimisation solves for the values of global and Atlantic overturning circulation, deep ocean mixing, and marine biological productivity in the LGM and Holocene. The experiments highlight the important role for global overturning and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in driving the increase in atmospheric CO2 from the LGM to the late Holocene period, alongside changes in SST. A second model-data study is undertaken in this thesis using an enhanced version of SCP-M with 12 ocean boxes plus atmosphere ("v2.2"). The analysis is expanded from the LGM-Holocene to cover the last G-IG cycle from 130 thousand years to the present, with model-data experiments undertaken in time-slices at each marine isotope stage (MIS). The model is forced with proxy data for SST, salinity, RSL, Antarctic sea-ice cover, coral reef carbonate production and dissolution, and atmospheric 14C production. The model-data optimisation solves for model values of global and Atlantic overturning circulation and Southern Ocean biological export productivity. The experiment results show that sequential changes in ocean circulation and biological export productivity took place over the last G-IG cycle. Early in the G-IG cycle, during MIS 5a-e, with cooling SST and increased sea-ice cover, the global ocean circulation began to slow (-7 Sv relative to the penultimate interglacial MIS 5e), with reduced upwelling of abyssal waters in the Southern Ocean, and slower Antarctic Bottom Water formation. Later in the G-IG cycle, at MIS 4, Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation also slowed (-5 Sv relative to MIS 5e), leading to a further drop in atmospheric CO2. The LGM model-data experiment showed that both ocean circulation mechanisms remained subdued (GOC -13 Sv and AMOC -5 Sv), and were accompanied by an increase in Southern Ocean biological export productivity (+∼2 mol C m−2 a−1), to achieve the LGM CO2 drawdown. By the Holocene period, both ocean circulation and marine biological productivity returned to modern-type values, that were also similar to their settings in the penultimate interglacial period (MIS 5e). Importantly, the mechanisms solved in the optimisation, the so-called "holy grail" of G-IG CO2 research - ocean circulation and marine biological export productivity, only account for part of the full glacial CO2 drawdown (-55 ppm). An attribution analysis for the model-data results on atmospheric CO2 shows that cooling SST (-25 ppm) was also a major contributor, and to a lesser extent, coral reef carbonates (-8 ppm). The model-data results corroborate hypotheses that feature multiple processes to deliver G-IG CO2. While these processes unwound dramatically at the glacial termination, they took place sequentially through the glacial lead up to the LGM over a period of ∼100 thousand years. Future work includes the continued effort to integrate model inversion or data optimisation procedures into more complex carbon cycle models, and to incorporate the range of emerging proxies (e.g. δ15N) into these models to allow additional multiproxy constraints on hypotheses for G-IG cycles of atmospheric CO2. Furthermore, attempts to undertake model-data studies of the last G-IG cycle (and prior cycles) will be enhanced by refinement and improvement of data constraints such as SST, RSL, salinity, sea-ice cover and coral reef accumulation and dissolution volumes. Finally, the expansion of ocean and atmosphere proxy databases will continue to contribute significantly to attempts to constrain paleoceanographic hypotheses with models and data.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1992.
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The realization that human activities have a major influence on ecosystems from local to global scales has given rise to the concept of the Anthropocene. However, although the influence of human activities on biodiversity is clearly significant, it remains unclear to what extent the rate and magnitude of biodiversity changes differ from pre-human dynamics. Islands are ideal model systems for understanding the relative contribution of environmental and societal variables to biodiversity change because the onset of human activities on islands can generally be clearly defined. The aim of this PhD thesis is to place human-environment interactions on islands in the context of environmental fluctuations over the Quaternary. The thesis consists of two parts. First, I quantify how island area and isolation have changed over the Quaternary as a result of climate-driven sea-level fluctuations, and analyse how these dynamics have shaped modern biodiversity patterns. Secondly, I study how human activities in the past and present have shaped island ecosystems and landscapes, and compare their rate and magnitude to pre-human dynamics. Overall, the findings of my thesis indicate that modern biodiversity patterns show legacies of past human activities but are also imprinted by environmental dynamics in deep-time. Furthermore, the rate of change following human settlement on islands can largely exceed Quaternary background rates. Therefore, my findings are in line with studies that indicate that human activities have become a major driver in shaping biodiversity across scales. Nonetheless, my comparison of islands worldwide also highlights the diverse ways in which abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic variables have interacted across individual islands. Therefore, future studies should acknowledge that global biodiversity change can manifest differently across localities. Finally, I emphasize the importance of strengthening interdisciplinary approaches in island biogeography to enhance our understanding of biodiversity changes in the Anthropocene, and how they relate to deeptime dynamics.
A constatação de que as atividades humanas exercem uma grande influência sobre os ecossistemas, da escala local à global, originou o conceito do Antropoceno. No entanto, apesar da influência das atividades humanas ser claramente significativa, ainda não está claro até que ponto a taxa e magnitude de alterações na biodiversidade diferem da dinâmica pré-humana. As ilhas constituem sistemas modelo ideais para compreender a contribuição relativa de variáveis ambientais e sociais, porque o início das atividades humanas é em geral conhecido. O objetivo desta tese de doutoramento é enquadrar as interações homem-ambiente nas ilhas no contexto das flutuações ambientais no Quaternário. A tese consiste em duas partes. Primeiro, quantifico como a área da ilha e o isolamento mudaram no Quaternário devido às flutuações do nível do mar provocadas pelo clima e analiso como essas dinâmicas moldaram os padrões modernos de biodiversidade. Em segundo lugar, estudo como as atividades humanas passadas e presentes moldaram os ecossistemas e paisagens das ilhas e comparo a sua taxa e magnitude com a dinâmica pré-humana. As conclusões de minha tese indicam que os padrões modernos de biodiversidade mostram legados de atividades humanas passadas, mas também são afectados pela dinâmica ambiental em escalas temporais longinquas. Além disso, a taxa de alterações após o povoamento humano nas ilhas pode exceder largamente taxas quaternárias antecedentes. Os meus resultados concordam com estudos mostrando que as atividades humanas têm sido um fator importante na modelação da biodiversidade ao longo do tempo. Mas a minha comparação global de ilhas também destaca diversas maneiras pelas quais variáveis abióticas, bióticas e antropogénicas interagiram entre ilhas. Estudos futuros devem reconhecer que a mudança global da biodiversidade pode manifestarse de formas diferente entre localidades. Por fim, destaco a importância de aumentar abordagens interdisciplinares na biogeografia insular para melhor compreender as mudanças da biodiversidade no Antropoceno.