Zhifang Xiong

Quantitative estimates of Asian dust input to the western Philippine Sea in the mid-late Quaternary and its potential significance for paleoenvironment

We present a new high-resolution multiproxy data set of Sr-Nd isotopes, rare earth element, soluble iron, and total organic carbon data from International Marine Global Change Study Core MD06-3047 located in the western Philippine Sea. We integrate our new data with published clay mineralogy, rare earth element chemistry, thermocline depth, and delta C-13 differences between benthic and planktonic foraminifera, in order to quantitatively constrain Asian dust input to the basin. We explore the relationship between Philippine Sea and high-latitude Pacific eolian fluxes, as well as its significance for marine productivity and atmospheric CO2 during the mid-late Quaternary. Three different indices indicate that Asian dust contributes between similar to 15% and similar to 50% to the detrital fraction of the sediments. Eolian dust flux in Core MD06-3047 is similar to that in the polar southern Pacific sediment. Coherent changes for most dust flux maximum/minimum indicate that dust generation in interhemispheric source areas might have a common response to climatic variation over the mid-late Quaternary. Furthermore, we note relatively good coherence between Asian dust input, soluble iron concentration, local marine productivity, and even global atmospheric CO2 concentration over the entire study interval. This suggests that dust-borne iron fertilization of marine phytoplankton might have been a periodic process operating at glacial/interglacial time scales over the past 700 ka. We suggest that strengthening of the biological pump in the Philippine Sea, and elsewhere in the tropical western Pacific during the mid-late Quaternary glacial periods may contribute to the lowering of atmospheric CO2 concentrations during ice ages.

The silicon isotope composition of Ethmodiscus rex laminated diatom mats from the tropical West Pacific: Implications for silicate cycling during the Last Glacial Maximum

The cause of massive blooms of Ethmodiscus rex laminated diatom mats (LDMs) in the eastern Philippine Sea (EPS) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) remains uncertain. In order to better understand the mechanism of formation of E. rex LDMs from the perspective of dissolved silicon (DSi) utilization, we determined the silicon isotopic composition of single E. rex diatom frustules (δ30SiE. rex) from two sediment cores in the Parece Vela Basin of the EPS. In the study cores, δ30SiE. rex varies from −1.23‰ to −0.83‰ (average −1.04‰), a range that is atypical of marine diatom δ30Si and that corresponds to the lower limit of reported diatom δ30Si values of any age. A binary mixing model (upwelled silicon versus eolian silicon) accounting for silicon isotopic fractionation during DSi uptake by diatoms was constructed. The binary mixing model demonstrates that E. rex dominantly utilized DSi from eolian sources (i.e., Asian dust) with only minor contributions from upwelled seawater sources (i.e., advected from Subantarctic Mode Water, Antarctic Intermediate Water, or North Pacific Intermediate Water). E. rex utilized only ~24% of available DSi, indicating that surface waters of the EPS were eutrophic with respect to silicon during the LGM. Our results suggest that giant diatoms did not always use a buoyancy strategy to obtain nutrients from the deep nutrient pool, thus revising previously proposed models for the formation of E. rex LDMs.

Evidence for sea level and monsoonally driven variations in terrigenous input to the northern East China Sea during the last 24.3 ka

Geochemical and sedimentological analyses of core PC-1 recovered from the northern East China Sea (ECS) provide insights into variations in terrigenous input associated with sea level and climate changes over the past 24.3 ka. Based on high-resolution multiproxy records, our results suggest that the competing processes of sea level and monsoonally driven precipitation determined terrigenous input to the northern ECS. Dominance of terrigenous material, along with relatively light Globigerinoides ruber δ18O, indicates that the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) lowstand of sea level has occurred during the period 21.5–19.6 ka, not suggesting an early slow rise but supporting the conventional LGM age of 21 ka. This LGM lowstand was terminated by the rapid sea level rise of 19 ka meltwater pulse (MWP), which is well expressed by the nearly synchronous decreases in both terrigenous detritus and mean grain size from 19.6 to 18.9 ka. MWP-1A is clearly marked in our records by a sharp reduction in terrigenous input and pronounced maxima of G. ruber δ18O at 15.3–14.8 ka, given the considerable age uncertainties of deglacial marine radiocarbon samples. A slightly increasing input of terrigenous matter is noted after 13.4 ka, potentially pointing to a sea level fall following the Inter-Allerod Cooling Period, which was seldom reported previously. Although MWP-1B did not leave robust signatures in terrigenous input, it is explicitly captured by the heavy δ18O of G. ruber and decline in mean grain size at 11.5–10.9 ka. MWP-1c probably occurred in a broad millennial interval with multiple peaks, which are robustly marked by the abrupt variations in terrigenous input and marine organic matter at 9.7–9.3 and 9.1 ka, respectively. During the late Holocene, the effect of continuously weakening monsoon precipitation overwhelmed that of stable sea level resulting in a uniform increase in the proportion of marine-derived organic matter after 5.5 ka.

Sea surface temperature and salinity reconstruction based on stable isotopes and Mg/Ca of planktonic foraminifera in the western Pacific Warm Pool during the last 155 ka

Changes in sea surface temperature (SST), seawater oxygen isotope (δ18Osw), and local salinity proxy (δ18Osw-ss) in the past 155 ka were studied using a sediment core (MD06-3052) from the northern edge of the western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP), within the flow path of the bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current. Our records reveal a lead-lag relationship between paired Mg/Ca-SST and δ18O during Termination II and the last interglacial period. Similarity in SST between our site and the Antarctic temperature proxy and in CO2 profile showed a close connection between the WPWP and the Antarctic. Values of δ18O sw exhibited very similar variations to those of mean ocean δ18Osw, owing to the past sea-level changes on glacial-interglacial timescale. Calculated values of δ18Osw-ss reflect a more saline condition during high local summer insolation (SI) periods. Such correspondence between δ18Osw-ss and local SI in the WPWP may reflect complex interaction between ENSO and monsoon, which was stimulated by changes in solar irradiance and their influence on the local hydrologic cycle. This then caused a striking reorganization of atmospheric circulation over the WPWP.

Correspondence between the ENSO-like state and glacial-interglacial condition during the past 360 kyr

In the warming world, tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variation has received considerable attention because of its enormous influence on global climate change, particularly the El Niño-Southern Oscillation process. Here, we provide new high-resolution proxy records of the magnesium/calcium ratio and the oxygen isotope in foraminifera from a core on the Ontong-Java Plateau to reconstruct the SST and hydrological variation in the center of the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) over the last 360 000 years. In comparison with other Mg/Ca-derived SST and δ18O records, the results suggested that in a relatively stable condition, e.g., the last glacial maximum (LGM) and other glacial periods, the tropical Pacific would adopt a La Niña-like state, and the Walker and Hadley cycles would be synchronously enhanced. Conversely, El Niño-like conditions could have occurred in the tropical Pacific during fastchanging periods, e.g., the termination and rapidly cooling stages of interglacial periods. In the light of the sensitivity of the Eastern Pacific Cold Tongue (EPCT) and the inertia of the WPWP, we hypothesize an inter-restricted relationship between the WPWP and EPCT, which could control the zonal gradient variation of SST and affect climate change.

Cleaning of marine sediment samples for large diatom stable isotope analysis

Diatom stable isotope analysis offers considerable potential in palaeoceanography, particularly where carbonate material is scarce or absent. However, extracting pure diatom frustules free of external labile organic matter from marine sediments is an essential requirement for their applications as paleoenvironmental proxies. Here, based largely on previous work, we developed a method including physical separation and chemical oxidation steps to concentrate and clean pure large diatoms from laminated diatom mat and diatomaceous clay sediment samples for their stable isotope analysis. Using the physical separation techniques consisting of the removal of carbonate and excess organic matter, sieving, differential settling, and heavy liquid floatation, pure diatoms can be successfully isolated from the sediment samples with opal concentration more than 10%. Subsequent time oxidation experiment shows that labile organic matter coating pure diatom valves can be effectively removed with 30% H2O2 at 65 °C for 2 h. Measurements of δ13C after every step of physical separation demonstrate that contaminants and lost diatoms can influence the original diatom stable isotope signal, highlighting the importance of a visual check for dominant diatom size in the initial sample and purity in the final sample. Although the protocol described here was only applied to diatom mats or diatom oozes containing large diatoms (Ethmodiscus rex), we believe that this method can be adapted to common diatoms of general marine sediment samples.

THE EVOLUTION OF UPPER WATER IN THE CENTER OF WEST PACIFIC WARM POOL DURING THE LAST 360KYR: THE EVOLUTION OF UPPER WATER IN THE CENTER OF WEST PACIFIC WARM POOL DURING THE LAST 360KYR

The Core KX97322-4 was taken from the Ontong Java Plateau,western equatorial Pacific.Quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera,combined with oxygen isotope data and spectral analyses of each index,revealed the glacial-interglacial variations of the oxygen isotope of planktonic foraminifera and the vertical structure of the upper water in the center of the West Pacific Warm Pool(WPWP) during the last 360kyr.Our results indicate that,since MIS10,the oxygen isotopes of both the surface dwelling species G.ruber and subsurface dwelling species N.dutertreis showed obvious glacial-interglacial cycles.The surface and subsurface waters were influenced by the volume change of high latitude ice sheets in a large scale generally,and the subsurface water is even more sensitive.The variation in upper water structure also imitates the glacial-interglacial cycle.The thermocline(DOT) was getting deeper during MIS10 to MIS8,but abruptly became shallower in MIS8-MIS7/8,then deepened again after MIS7/8 and turned to stable fluctuation when entered the last glacial stage.The spectral analyses indicate that the joint effect of high latitude forcing and tropic-driving caused the variation in the upper water characters.Of course,ocean circulation has also impact on the variation in the upper water structures.

Deepwater carbonate ion concentrations in the western tropical Pacific since 250 ka: Evidence for oceanic carbon storage and global climate influence

We present new “size-normalized weight” (SNW)-Δ[CO32−] core-top calibrations for three planktonic foraminiferal species and assess their reliability as a paleo-alkalinity proxy. SNWs of Globigerina sacculifer and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei can be used to reconstruct past deep Pacific [CO32−], whereas SNWs of Pulleniatina obliquiloculata are controlled by additional environmental factors. Based on this methodological advance, we reconstruct SNW-based deepwater [CO32−] for core WP7 from the western tropical Pacific since 250 ka. Secular variation in the SNW proxy documents little change in deep Pacific [CO32−] between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene. Further back in time, deepwater [CO32−] shows long-term increases from marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e to MIS 3 and from early MIS 7 to late MIS 6, consistent with the “coral reef hypothesis” that the deep Pacific Ocean carbonate system responded to declining shelf carbonate production during these two intervals. During deglaciations, we have evidence of [CO32−] peaks coincident with Terminations 2 and 3, which suggests that a breakdown of oceanic vertical stratification drove a net transfer of CO2 from the ocean to the atmosphere, causing spikes in carbonate preservation (i.e., the “deglacial ventilation hypothesis”). During MIS 4, a transient decline in SNW-based [CO32−], along with other reported [CO32−] and/or dissolution records, implies that increased deep-ocean carbon storage resulted in a global carbonate dissolution event. These findings provide new insights into the role of the deep Pacific in the global carbon cycle during the late Quaternary.