Michael J. Henehan
Yale University
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Publication
Featured researches published by Michael J. Henehan.
Nature | 2015
Miguel A. Martínez-Botí; Gianluca Marino; Gavin L. Foster; Patrizia Ziveri; Michael J. Henehan; James W. B. Rae; P.G. Mortyn; Derek Vance
Atmospheric CO2 fluctuations over glacial–interglacial cycles remain a major challenge to our understanding of the carbon cycle and the climate system. Leading hypotheses put forward to explain glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 variations invoke changes in deep-ocean carbon storage, probably modulated by processes in the Southern Ocean, where much of the deep ocean is ventilated. A central aspect of such models is that, during deglaciations, an isolated glacial deep-ocean carbon reservoir is reconnected with the atmosphere, driving the atmospheric CO2 rise observed in ice-core records. However, direct documentation of changes in surface ocean carbon content and the associated transfer of carbon to the atmosphere during deglaciations has been hindered by the lack of proxy reconstructions that unambiguously reflect the oceanic carbonate system. Radiocarbon activity tracks changes in ocean ventilation, but not in ocean carbon content, whereas proxies that record increased deglacial upwelling do not constrain the proportion of upwelled carbon that is degassed relative to that which is taken up by the biological pump. Here we apply the boron isotope pH proxy in planktic foraminifera to two sediment cores from the sub-Antarctic Atlantic and the eastern equatorial Pacific as a more direct tracer of oceanic CO2 outgassing. We show that surface waters at both locations, which partly derive from deep water upwelled in the Southern Ocean, became a significant source of carbon to the atmosphere during the last deglaciation, when the concentration of atmospheric CO2 was increasing. This oceanic CO2 outgassing supports the view that the ventilation of a deep-ocean carbon reservoir in the Southern Ocean had a key role in the deglacial CO2 rise, although our results allow for the possibility that processes operating in other regions may also have been important for the glacial–interglacial ocean–atmosphere exchange of carbon.
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems | 2015
Michael J. Henehan; Gavin L. Foster; James William B Rae; Katy C. Prentice; Jonathan Erez; Helen C. Bostock; Brittney J. Marshall; Paul A. Wilson
B/Ca ratios in foraminifera have attracted considerable scientific attention as a proxy for past ocean carbonate system. However, the carbonate system controls on B/Ca ratios are not straightforward, with ?[ inline image] ([ inline image]in situ – [ inline image]at saturation) correlating best with B/Ca ratios in benthic foraminifera, rather than pH, inline image, or inline image (as a simple model of boron speciation in seawater and incorporation into CaCO3 would predict). Furthermore, culture experiments have shown that in planktic foraminifera properties such as salinity and [B]sw can have profound effects on B/Ca ratios beyond those predicted by simple partition coefficients. Here, we investigate the controls on B/Ca ratios in G. ruber via a combination of culture experiments and core-top measurements, and add to a growing body of evidence that suggests B/Ca ratios in symbiont-bearing foraminiferal carbonate are not a straightforward proxy for past seawater carbonate system conditions. We find that while B/Ca ratios in culture experiments covary with pH, in open ocean sediments this relationship is not seen. In fact, our B/Ca data correlate best with [ inline image] (a previously undocumented association) and in most regions, salinity. These findings might suggest a precipitation rate or crystallographic control on boron incorporation into foraminiferal calcite. Regardless, our results underscore the need for caution when attempting to interpret B/Ca records in terms of the ocean carbonate system, at the very least in the case of mixed-layer planktic foraminifera.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | 2016
Michael J. Henehan; Pincelli M. Hull; Donald E. Penman; James W. B. Rae; Daniela N. Schmidt
Pelagic ecosystem function is integral to global biogeochemical cycling, and plays a major role in modulating atmospheric CO2 concentrations (pCO2). Uncertainty as to the effects of human activities on marine ecosystem function hinders projection of future atmospheric pCO2. To this end, events in the geological past can provide informative case studies in the response of ecosystem function to environmental and ecological changes. Around the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary, two such events occurred: Deccan large igneous province (LIP) eruptions and massive bolide impact at the Yucatan Peninsula. Both perturbed the environment, but only the impact coincided with marine mass extinction. As such, we use these events to directly contrast the response of marine biogeochemical cycling to environmental perturbation with and without changes in global species richness. We measure this biogeochemical response using records of deep-sea carbonate preservation. We find that Late Cretaceous Deccan volcanism prompted transient deep-sea carbonate dissolution of a larger magnitude and timescale than predicted by geochemical models. Even so, the effect of volcanism on carbonate preservation was slight compared with bolide impact. Empirical records and geochemical models support a pronounced increase in carbonate saturation state for more than 500 000 years following the mass extinction of pelagic carbonate producers at the K–Pg boundary. These examples highlight the importance of pelagic ecosystems in moderating climate and ocean chemistry.
Geobiology | 2017
Xiangli Wang; Noah J. Planavsky; Pincelli M. Hull; A. E. Tripati; H. J. Zou; L. Elder; Michael J. Henehan
The chromium isotope system (53 Cr/52 Cr expressed as δ53 Cr relative to NIST SRM 979) is potentially a powerful proxy for the redox state of the ocean-atmosphere system, but a lack of temporally continuous, well-calibrated archives has limited its application to date. Marine carbonates could potentially serve as a common and continuous Cr isotope archive. Here, we present the first evaluation of planktonic foraminiferal calcite as an archive of seawater δ53 Cr. We show that single foraminiferal species from globally distributed core tops yielded variable δ53 Cr, ranging from 0.1‰ to 2.5‰. These values do not match with the existing measurements of seawater δ53 Cr. Further, within a single core-top, species with similar water column distributions (i.e., depth habitats) yielded variable δ53 Cr values. In addition, mixed layer and thermocline species do not consistently exhibit decreasing trends in δ53 Cr as expected based on current understanding of Cr cycling in the ocean. These observations suggest that either seawater δ53 Cr is more heterogeneous than previously thought or that there is significant and species-dependent Cr isotope fractionation during foraminiferal calcification. Given that the δ53 Cr variability is comparable to that observed in geological samples throughout Earths history, interpreting planktonic foraminiferal δ53 Cr without calibrating modern foraminifera further, and without additional seawater measurements, would lead to erroneous conclusions. Our core-top survey clearly indicates that planktonic foraminifera are not a straightforward δ53 Cr archive and should not be used to study marine redox evolution without additional study. It likewise cautions against the use of δ53 Cr in bulk carbonate or other biogenic archives pending further work on vital effects and the geographic heterogeneity of the Cr isotope composition of seawater.
Nature Communications | 2018
David Evans; Marcus P. S. Badger; Gavin L. Foster; Michael J. Henehan; Caroline H. Lear; James C. Zachos
Author(s): Evans, David; Badger, Marcus PS; Foster, Gavin L; Henehan, Michael J; Lear, Caroline H; Zachos, James C
Biogeosciences Discussions | 2018
Janet E. Burke; Willem Renema; Michael J. Henehan; Leanne E. Elder; Catherine V. Davis; Amy E. Maas; Gavin L. Foster; Ralf Schiebel; Pincelli M. Hull
The clustering of mitochondria near pores in the test walls of foraminifera suggests that these perforations play a critical role in metabolic gas exchange. As such, pore measurements could provide a novel means of tracking changes in metabolic rate in the fossil record. However, in planktonic foraminifera, variation in pore size, density, and porosity have been 20 variously attributed to environmental, biological, and taxonomic drivers, complicating such an interpretation. Here we examine the environmental, biological, and evolutionary determinants of porosity in 718 individuals representing 17 morphospecies of planktonic foraminifera from 6 core tops in the North Atlantic. Using random forest models, we find that porosity is primarily correlated to size and habitat temperature, two key factors in determining metabolic rates. In order to test if this correlation arose spuriously through the association of cryptic species with distinct biomes, we cultured Globigerinoides ruber in three 25 different temperature conditions, and found that porosity increased with temperature. Crucially, these results show that porosity can be plastic: changing in response to environmental drivers within the lifetime of an individual foraminifer. This demonstrates the potential of porosity as a proxy for foraminiferal metabolic rates, with significance for interpreting geochemical data and the physiology of foraminifera in non-analog environments. It also highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity (i.e., ecophenotypy) in accounting for some aspects of morphological variation in the modern and fossil 30 record.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters | 2013
Michael J. Henehan; James William B Rae; Gavin L. Foster; Jonathan Erez; Katherine C. Prentice; Michal Kucera; Helen C. Bostock; Miguel A. Martínez-Botí; J. Andy Milton; Paul A. Wilson; Brittney J. Marshall; Tim Elliott
Paleoceanography | 2013
Brittney J. Marshall; Robert C. Thunell; Michael J. Henehan; Yrene Astor; K. E. Wejnert
Climate of The Past | 2016
David Evans; Bridget S. Wade; Michael J. Henehan; Jonathan Erez; Wolfgang Müller
Earth and Planetary Science Letters | 2016
Michael J. Henehan; Gavin L. Foster; Helen C. Bostock; Rosanna Greenop; Brittney J. Marshall; Paul A. Wilson