Oxygen-18 enrichment of planktonic foraminifera due to gametogenic calcification below the euphotic zone.

Empty shells of spinose planktonic foraminifera on the seabed are significantly enriched in oxygen-18 as compared with the shells of their living counterparts in surface waters. This enrichment is due to gametogenic calcification, which extracts calcium carbonate from deeper and colder waters as the shell sinks below the euphotic zone. JEAN-CLAUDE DUPLESSY.

Vertical distribution and isotopic composition of living planktonic foraminifera in the Western north atlantic.

Thirteen species of planktonic foraminifera collected with vertically stratified zooplankton tows in the slope water, Gulf Stream cold core ring, and northern Sargasso Sea show significant differences in their vertical distributions in the upper 200 meters of these different hydrographic regimes. Gulf Stream cold core rings may be responsible for a southern displacement of the faunal boundary associated with the Gulf Stream when reconstructed from the deep-sea sediment record. Oxygen isotope analyses of seven species reveal that nonspinose species (algal symbiont-barren) apparently calcify in oxygen isotope equilibrium, whereas spinose species usually calcify out of oxygen isotope equilibrium by approximately -0.3 to -0.4 per mil in delta(18)O values. The isotope data indicate that foraminifera shells calcify in depth zones that are significantly narrower than the overall vertical distribution of a species would imply.

Seasonal Oxygen Isotopic Variations in Living Planktonic Foraminifera off Bermuda.

Seasonal variations in the oxygen-18/oxygen-16 ratio of calcite shells of living planktonic foraminifera in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda are a direct function of surface water temperature. Seasonal occurrence as well as depth habitat are determining factors in the oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera. These relationships may be used to determine the seasonal temperature contrast of oceans in the past.

Subtropical convergence fluctuations and quaternary climates in the middle latitudes of the Indian ocean.

Oxygen isotopic and microfaunal analyses and shell size variations of Orbulina universa in two Indian Ocean cores indicate that the position of the Subtropical Convergence has fluctuated between a northern limit north of 31 degrees S during glacial stages and its present, maximum southern limit. The northward displacement of the Subtropical Convergence to a position off Durban, South Africa, reflects the general weakness of the Agulhas Current during glacial stages and parts of interglacial stages, representing about 65 percent of the past 540,000 years.

Ecologic and Paleoclimatic Implications of Morphologic Variation of Orbulina universa in the Indian Ocean.

Multivariate cluster analysis of various morphologic indices of Orbulina universa populations from the Indian Ocean indicate the existence of two major groups whose geographic distribution corresponds to the equatorial and central water masses. An abrupt change in shell porosity between populations of this planktonic foraminiferal species in plankton as well as sediment samples occurs within or near the 10 degrees S Hydrochemical Front. Orbulina universa is an excellent indicator of oceanographic conditions in the Indian Ocean today, and may be used as an independent check on shifts in water masses during the last glaciation.

Gametogenesis in planktonic foraminifera.

Gametogenesis in Globigerinella aequilateralis and Globigerinoides sacculifer in culture is preceded by sinking of the organism and loss of its spines. Hundreds of thousands of flagellated gametes, about 5 micrometers in diameter, are produced within the parent shell and released within a period of 13 hours.

Shell porosity of recent planktonic foraminifera as a climatic index.

Despite variations in pore diameter and pore concentration between 22 species of planktonic Foraminifera, shell porosites are relatively uniform for those co-occurring in the same latitudinal belts: over 10 percent for tropicalsubtropical species; 5 to 10 percent for temperate species; and less than 5 percent for subpolar-polar species. Shell porosities of fossil planktonic Foraminifera may be useful indices for interpreting Cenozoic climates.