Akira Tsujimoto

A Cenozoic record of the equatorial Pacific carbonate compensation depth

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and climate are regulated on geological timescales by the balance between carbon input from volcanic and metamorphic outgassing and its removal by weathering feedbacks; these feedbacks involve the erosion of silicate rocks and organic-carbon-bearing rocks. The integrated effect of these processes is reflected in the calcium carbonate compensation depth, which is the oceanic depth at which calcium carbonate is dissolved. Here we present a carbonate accumulation record that covers the past 53 million years from a depth transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The carbonate compensation depth tracks long-term ocean cooling, deepening from 3.0–3.5u2009kilometres during the early Cenozoic (approximately 55u2009million years ago) to 4.6 kilometres at present, consistent with an overall Cenozoic increase in weathering. We find large superimposed fluctuations in carbonate compensation depth during the middle and late Eocene. Using Earth system models, we identify changes in weathering and the mode of organic-carbon delivery as two key processes to explain these large-scale Eocene fluctuations of the carbonate compensation depth.

Climatic forcing of Quaternary deep-sea benthic communities in the North Pacific Ocean

Abstract There is growing evidence that changes in deep-sea benthic ecosystems are modulated by climate changes, but most evidence to date comes from the North Atlantic Ocean. Here we analyze new ostracod and published foraminiferal records for the last 250,000 years on Shatsky Rise in the North Pacific Ocean. Using linear models, we evaluate statistically the ability of environmental drivers (temperature, productivity, and seasonality of productivity) to predict changes in faunal diversity, abundance, and composition. These microfossil data show glacial-interglacial shifts in overall abundances and species diversities that are low during glacial intervals and high during interglacials. These patterns replicate those previously documented in the North Atlantic Ocean, suggesting that the climatic forcing of the deep-sea ecosystem is widespread, and possibly global in nature. However, these results also reveal differences with prior studies that probably reflect the isolated nature of Shatsky Rise as a remote oceanic plateau. Ostracod assemblages on Shatsky Rise are highly endemic but of low diversity, consistent with the limited dispersal potential of these animals. Benthic foraminifera, by contrast, have much greater dispersal ability and their assemblages at Shatsky Rise show diversities typical for deep-sea faunas in other regions. Statistical analyses also reveal ostracod-foraminferal differences in relationships between environmental drivers and biotic change. Rarefied diversity is best explained as a hump-shaped function of surface productivity in ostracods, but as having a weak and positive relationship with temperature in foraminifera. Abundance shows a positive relationship with both productivity and seasonality of productivity in foraminifera, and a hump-shaped relationship with productivity in ostracods. Finally, species composition in ostracods is influenced by both temperature and productivity, but only a temperature effect is evident in foraminifera. Though complex in detail, the global-scale link between deep-sea ecosystems and Quaternary climate changes underscores the importance of the interaction between the physical and biological components of paleoceanographical research for better understanding the history of the biosphere.

Human-induced marine ecological degradation: micropaleontological perspectives

We analyzed published downcore microfossil records from 150 studies and reinterpreted them from an ecological degradation perspective to address the following critical but still imperfectly answered questions: (1) How is the timing of human-induced degradation of marine ecosystems different among regions? (2) What are the dominant causes of human-induced marine ecological degradation? (3) How can we better document natural variability and thereby avoid the problem of shifting baselines of comparison as degradation progresses over time? The results indicated that: (1) ecological degradation in marine systems began significantly earlier in Europe and North America (∼1800s) compared with Asia (post-1900) due to earlier industrialization in European and North American countries, (2) ecological degradation accelerated globally in the late 20th century due to post-World War II economic growth, (3) recovery from the degraded state in late 20th century following various restoration efforts and environmental regulations occurred only in limited localities. Although complex in detail, typical signs of ecological degradation were diversity decline, dramatic changes in total abundance, decrease in benthic and/or sensitive species, and increase in planktic, resistant, toxic, and/or introduced species. The predominant cause of degradation detected in these microfossil records was nutrient enrichment and the resulting symptoms of eutrophication, including hypoxia. Other causes also played considerable roles in some areas, including severe metal pollution around mining sites, water acidification by acidic wastewater, and salinity changes from construction of causeways, dikes, and channels, deforestation, and land clearance. Microfossils enable reconstruction of the ecological history of the past 102–103 years or even more, and, in conjunction with statistical modeling approaches using independent proxy records of climate and human-induced environmental changes, future research will enable workers to better address Shifting Baseline Syndrome and separate anthropogenic impacts from background natural variability.

Abyssal Benthic Foraminifera in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (IODP Exp 320) During the Middle Eocene

Abstract We report on the faunal transition of benthic foraminifera during the middle Eocene at Site U1333 (4862 m water depth, 3,560–3,720 m paleo-water depth) of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 320 in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. During the period ∼41.5–40.7 Ma, which includes carbonate accumulation event 3 (CAE-3), the benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate (BFAR) increased gradually and then it declined rapidly. In contrast, BFAR was considerably lower during ∼40.7–39.4 Ma, corresponding to the middle Eocene climatic optimum (MECO), and then it increased during ∼39.3–38.4 Ma, including CAE-4. Diversity (E [S200]) was slightly lower in the upper part of the study interval than in the lower part. The most common benthic foraminifera were Nuttallides truempyi, Oridorsalis umbonatus, and Gyroidinoides spp. in association with Globocassidulina globosa and Cibicidoides grimsdalei during the period studied. Quadrimorphina profunda occurred abundantly with N. truempyi, O. umbonatus, and G. globosa during ∼39.4–38.4 Ma, including CAE-4, although this species was also relatively common in the lower part of the study interval. Virgulinopsis navarroanus and Fursenkoina sp. A, morphologically infaunal taxa, were common during ∼38.8–38.4 Ma, corresponding to the late stage of CAE-4. Based on Q-mode cluster analysis, four sample clusters were recognized and their stratigraphic distributions were generally discriminated in the lower and upper parts of the study interval. Thus, there was only a small faunal transition in the abyssal eastern equatorial Pacific during the middle to late-middle Eocene. The faunal transition recognized in this study may be related to recovery processes following intense carbonate corrosiveness in the eastern equatorial Pacific during MECO. To reference Supplemental Data please click here.