Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-11-30Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:42:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 weinschutz_lc_dr_rcla.pdf: 1742525 bytes, checksum: 5b9c5ed9e9f54d4ef0daafc46b0439a4 (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / O Grupo Itararé consiste de três grandes ciclos de afinamento ascendente, aos quais foi dado o status de Formação, nomeadas Lagoa Azul, Campo Mourão e Taciba. Essa é uma das bases para estabelecer a Estratigrafia de Seqüências do grupo; a outra é fornecida pelos ciclos climáticos do Quaternário, com os estágios glacial, deglacial e interglacial. A área de Rio Negro-Mafra apresenta uma excelente testemunhagem de poços que, junto a bons afloramentos, possibilita a construção de extensos perfis verticais de fácies; as fácies e ciclos de fácies formam a base para os Sistemas Deposicionais, cuja disposição espacial proporciona a construção das Seqüências. Cinco sistemas são identificados, Arenito, Diamictito, Folhelho, Varvito-Diamictito e Deglaciação, este formado por conglomerado, arenito, diamictito, varvito e folhelho. A estrutura de um Sistema de Deglaciação é a mesma do grande ciclo proposto para a estratigrafia do Grupo Itararé, exceto a mudança do varvito acima para ritmito da proposta litocronoestratigráfica. Foram identificadas cinco seqüências no Grupo Itararé. A seqüência Campo do Tenente, formada por dois espessos sistemas de varvitodiamictito, representando sistema glacicontinental correspondente a trato de mar alto. As seqüências Campo Mourão-I e II, iniciam com espessos sistemas Arenito de trato de mar baixo, seguindo-se sistemas Varvito-Diamictito (só para CM-I), de Deglaciação (trato transgressivo) e Folhelho marinho de mar alto (Siltito Mafra em CM-I, Folhelho Lontras em CM-II). As seqüências Taciba-I e II são mais complexas. TC-I começa com sistema Diamictito espesso, glacimarinho associado a mar alto?, seguido de sistema de Deglaciação. TC-II tem sistema Arenito canalizado de mar baixo, seguido de sistema de Deglaciação transgressiva e sistema Folhelho de mar alto. / The Itararé Group consists of three major fining-upward cycles, also considered as Formations: Lagoa Azul, Campo Mourão and Taciba. This is one of basis to establish the Sequence Stratigraphy for the group; the other one comes from the Quaternary model, where one can recognize three stages of a climatic cycle: glacial, deglacial, interglacial. The Rio Negro-Mafra area presents excellent cored wells and outcrops which allow to build extensive vertical facies logs; facies and facies cycle are the basis for Depositional Systems, whose spatial distribution allows to build Depositional Sequences. Five Systems are identified: Sandstone, Diamictite, Shale, Varvite- Diamictite and Deglaciation. The latter is formed by conglomerate, sandstone, diamictito, varvite and shale. The structure of the Deglaciation System is the same of one major cycle/Formation of Itararé Group, except for the varvite component, or rhythmite in the major cycle. Five sequences are recognized. The Campo do Tenente sequence is formed by two thick varvite-diamictite systems, from a glacicontinental system attributed to a highstand tract (the Campo do Tenente is a marginal equivalent of the marine Lagoa Azul/Roncador Bed). The Campo Mourão sequences (CM-I and CMII) begin with thick Sandstone systems from a lowstand tract; it follows Varvite- Diamictite (only for CM-I), Deglaciation and marine Shale systems, respectively from transgressive and highstand tracts (the CM-2 marine system is the thick Lontras Shale). Taciba Formation sequences TB-I and TB-II are more complex. TB-I starts with a thick, glaciomarine Diamictite system (highstand tract?), and is followed by Deglaciation system. TC-II starts with a channelized, lowstand Sandstone system, estuarine, deltaic and turbidite in origin; it follows the Deglatiation and marine Shale systems, from transgressive and highstand tracts.

O presente trabalho é um estudo de reconstituição paleoambiental da Baixada Litorânea do Mosaico da Juréia-Itatins (MJI) e da região marinnha do Cone do Rio Grande (CRG), talude superior defronte ao Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, inferido a partir da análise de associações de foraminíferos bentônicos, durante os últimos 19.000 anos. Foram também realizadas análises geoquímica da razão Mg/Ca de Globigerinoides ruber (white, stricto sensu), bem como tafonômicas e morfométricas de testas bentônicas, com o intuito de refinar as interpretações paleoambientais, principalmente as obtidas na região do CRG. A Transgressão Santos (~21.227-20.448 a ~5.558-4.558 anos cal A.P.) foi detectada somente no período de 9.400 a 8.385 anos cal A.P. na região costeira do MJI, devido à presença de sedimentos continentais na porção superior do testemunho S03. Durante este intervalo de tempo, as análises microfaunísticas e tafonômicas permiti ram reconhecer quatro fases conspícuas de incursões de águas marinhas (9.400-9.338; 9.072-8.894; 8.656-8.641 e 8.594-8.500 anos cal A.P.) intercaladas por quatro fases de proeminente contribuição continental (9.338-9.072; 8.500-8.385; 8.806-8.672 e 8.625-8.594 anos cal A.P.) na paleolaguna do MJI. Durante as incursões de águas marinhas, observou-se aumento da diversidade de espécies calcárias, com a predominância de Pararotalia cananeiaensis, Ammonia spp. e Elphidium spp. Nos dois períodos de maior aporte continental em que foram encontradas testas de foraminíferos bentônicos, a diversidade diminuiu drasticamente, e houve o concomitante predomínio do gênero Blysmaphaaera. Após 8.385 anos cal A.P. as associações de foraminíferos bentônicos desapareceram dos sedimentos da paleolaguna, que passou a apresentar características cada vez mais continentais. Na região do CRG, as análises microfaunísticas bentônicas e tafonômicas permitiram o reconhecimento de cinco fases com características paleoambientais distintas. A primeira fase (19.000 a 18.600 anos cal A.P.) caracterizou-se por uma maior taxa de sedimentação, e pela presença de testas ricas em sulfeto e monossulfeto de ferro. A segunda (entre 18.600 e 17.000 anos cal A.P.) teve como principal característica o aumento do grau de oxigenação do meio, indicado pela presença de espécies epifaunais típicas de ambientes mais oxigenados, tais como Quinqueloculina spp., Pyrgo spp. e Eponides repandus, e pelo aumento do índice Benthic Foraminiferal Oxygen Index (BFOI). A terceira fase (17.000 a 16.000 anos cal A.P.) se caracterizou pela diminuição da energia de fundo do meio, o que propiciou maior acúmulo de matéria orgânica nos sedimentos e baixos teores de oxigênio no meio bentônico, tal como indicado pelos maiores valores do índice Benthic Foraminifera High Productivity (BFHP). Essas primeiras três fases corresponderam ao período Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). A quarta fase (16.000 e 14.700 anos cal A.P.) foi configurada pela transição entre o HS1 e a Reversão Fria Antártica (Antarctic Cold Reversal - ACR), e foi marcada por modificações significativas no nível da oxigenação do meio, especialmente em ~15.000 anos cal A.P., e provável aumento da temperatura das águas de fundo do CRG, conforme indicado pela presença de Bulimina marginata, Uvigerina peregrina e Quinqueloculina spp. A quinta e última fase (14.700 e 14.000 anos cal A.P.) correspondeu ao início do ACR, com diminuição do hidrodinamismo e da oxigenação do meio e aumento do acúmulo de matéria orgânica nos sedimentos, como demonstrado pelo menor grau de desgaste das testas e pelos índices BFHP e BFOI. Já a análise geoquímica da razão Mg/Ca em testas de G. ruber indicou que as paleotemperaturas superficiais marinhas (Mg/Ca SST) tenderam a aumentar de 19.000 anos cal A.P. ao Presente. Os valores de paleossalinidades superficiais marinhas (SSS) dessa região inferidas pelos valores de \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw, não apresentaram padrão definido de 19.000 a ~8.500 anos cal A.P. A partir dessa idade, elas tiveram leve tendência à diminuição até o Presente. As variações secundárias dos valores de Mg/Ca SST e de \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw parecem ter sido influenciadas principalmente pelas alterações da circulação oceânica atlântica e por fenômenos atmosferico-climáticos associados a Última Deglaciação. No Holoceno, estes fatores se tornaram secundários, e os valores de Mg/Ca SST e de \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw passaram a ser influenciados pelas variações climatico-atmosféricas do hemisfério sul, especialmente as que se deram na região antártica. Também foram influenciadas por aumento da temperatura global, pluviosidade sobre a América do Sul, oscilações secundárias do paleonível relativo do mar durante a Transgressão Santos, variações da pluma de águas menos salinas do Rio de La Plata e por ocorrência de fenômenos tais como a Oscilação Atlântica Multidecadal e o El -Niño - Oscilação Sul. / This thesis is a study of the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Juréia-Itatins Mosaic coastal lowlands (JIM) and the marine region of Rio Grande Cone (CRG), upper slope in front of Rio Grande do Sul State, inferred from analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages during the last 19.000 years. Geochemical analyses of Globigerinoides ruber (white, stricto sensu) along with taphonomical and morphometric analyses of benthic tests were also performed in order to refine the paleoenvironmental interpretations, especially those obtained at CRG. The Santos Transgression (~21,227-20,448 to ~5,558-4,558 cal yr B.P.) was detected only during the period from 9,400 to 8,385 cal yr B.P. in the coastal lowlands of JIM, due to the presence of continental sediments in the upper portion of the S03 core. During this time interval the microfaunistic and taphonomical analyses allowed the recognition of four phases of conspicuous marine waters incursions (9,400-9,338; 9,072-8,894; 8,656-8,641 and 8,594-8,500 cal yr B.P.) interspersed by four phases of prominent continental contribution (9,338-9,072; 8,500-8,385; 8,806-8,672 and 8,625-8,594 cal yr B.P.) in the paleolagoon of JIM. During the marine waters incursions, there was an increase of di versity of calcareous species, wit h the predominance of Pararotalia cananeiaensis, Ammonia spp. and Elphidium spp. In the two periods o f higher continental inflow in which benthic foraminiferal tests were found the diversity decreased drastically, and there was a concomitant predominance of Blysmaphaaera genus. After 8,385 cal yr B.P. the benthic foraminiferal assemblages di sappeared of paleolagoon sediments, which began to show increased continental features. In the CRG\'s region, the benthic microfaunistic and taphonomical analyses allowed the recognition of five phases with distinct paleoenvironmental characteristics. The first phase (19,000 to 18,600 cal yr B.P.) was characterized by a higher sedimentation rate, and the presence of tests containing iron sulphide and monossulphide. The second (between 18,600 and 17,000 cal yr B.P.) had as main characteristic the increase of the oxygenation grade of the environment, evidenced by both the presence of epifaunal species typical of more oxygenated environments, such as Quinqueloculina spp., Pyrgo spp. and Eponides repandus, and by the Benthic Foraminiferal Oxygen Index (BFOI). The third phase (17,000 to 16,000 cal yr B.P.) was characterized by the decrease of bottom hydrodynamic energy, which provided higher organic matter accumulation in the sediments and the low levels of oxygen in the benthic environment, as indicated by the higher values of Benthic Foraminifera High Productivity (BFHP) index. These first three phases corresponded to the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) period. The fourth phase (16,000 to 14,700 cal yr B.P.) was configured by the transition between the HS1 and the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR). It was marked by significant changes in the environment oxygen level especially at ~15,000 cal yr B.P. and by the correspondent increase of bottom water temperature in the CRG, as indicated by the presence of Bulimina marginata, Uvigerina peregrina and Quinqueloculina spp. The fifth and last phase (14,700 to 14,000 cal yr B.P.) corresponded to the beginning of ACR, with decrease of hydrodynamics and oxygenation grade of the environment and increase of organic matter accumulation in the sediments, as demonstrated by both the lower degree of tests wear and by the BFOI and BFHP indexes. The geochemistry analysis of Mg/Ca ratio in G. ruber tests indicated that the paleo-sea surface temperatures (Mg/Ca SST) tended to increase from 19,000 cal yr B.P. to the Present. Meanwhile the paleo-sea surface salinities (SSS) inferred by the values of \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw, did not had a defined pattern from 19.000 to ~8,500 cal yr B.P. Since then they have registered a slight tendency to decrease. The secondary variations of Mg/Ca SST and \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw values appear to have been influenced primarily by the variations of Atlantic Ocean circulation and by the atmospheric-climatic phenomena associated with the Last Deglaciation. In the Holocene however these paleoclimatic factors became secondary, and the Mg/Ca SST and \"delta\' POT.18\' Oivc-sw values became influenced by climatic-atmospheric variations of the southern hemisphere, especially those that occurred over the Antarctic region. They were also influenced by the increase in global temperature, the rainfall regimen over South America, the secondary oscillations of the plume of less saline waters from La Plata River, and by the occurrence of phenomena such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the El-Niño-Southern Oscilation.

Les derniers 22 kans sont marqués par des évènements climatiques rapides, non synchrones entre l‘hémisphère Sud et le Nord. Un mécanisme de bascule des températures polaires, amplifié par la capacité de l‘océan profond à stocker et à restituer une partie du CO₂ atmosphérique en fonction de l‘intensité de la circulation océanique et des upwellings le long de la divergence Australe, a été proposé pour expliquer ces évènements. L‘objectif principal de cette thèse a été de définir quel est le rôle de l‘Océan Austral durant ces variations climatiques rapides à l‘aide de 3 carottes sédimentaires marines, prélevées le long de la marge chilienne, sous l‘influence des fronts océaniques et des vents d‘Ouest. La reconstitution des températures océaniques de surface (SST) ont permis de retracer l‘évolution du gradient latitudinal de SST au cours des derniers 22 kans mettant en évidence des migrations vers le sud du front Subtropical, notamment durant la déglaciation,marqués par des changements faunistiques en foraminifères planctoniques et benthiques suggérant unapport accru de nutriments en surface, et accompagnés par un enrichissement en [O₂] dans l‘eau de fond. Ces évènements sont peut-être liés à un renforcement des upwellings au niveau de la divergence australe induisant un renforcement de la ventilation des eaux intermédiaires antarctiques. Ces variations hydrologiques se produisent durant la hausse de CO₂ atmosphérique enregistrée dans les carottes de glace antarctiques pendant la déglaciation, indiquant un lien intime entre les upwellings, l‘intensité de la ventilation des eaux intermédiaires et le transfert de CO₂ depuis l‘océan profond vers l‘atmosphère. / The last 22 kyr are marked by abrupt climatic events, non-synchronous between the southern and northern hemispheres. A see-saw mechanism of the polar temperatures, amplified by the deep oceanability to store and release a portion of atmospheric CO₂, depending on the intensity of the thermohaline circulation and the large upwellings along the southern divergence, has been proposed to explain these observations. The main aim of this thesis was to assess the role of the southern ocean during these millennial events, by studying 3 marine cores, retrieved along the Chilean margin, under the influence of oceanic fronts and the westerly winds. The reconstruction of the sea surface temperatures (SST) allowed tracing the evolution of the SST latitudinal gradient during the last 22 kyr, highlighting southward migrations of the Subtropical Front, especially during the deglaciation, marked by benthic and planktonic foraminifera faunal changes which can be interpreted as surface nutrients inputs increase, accompanied by an enrichment of the bottom water [O₂] in the bottom water. These events could be related to stronger upwellings at the southern divergence leading to an increase of the Antarctic intermediate waters ventilation. These changes occur during atmospheric CO₂ increases recorded in Antarctic ice cores, marking the deglaciation, and suggesting an intimate link between upwellings, the intensity of the intermediate waters ventilation, and deep ocean-atmosphere CO₂ transfers.

Sediments of Bohemian Forest lakes are important natural archives. Their sedimentary record covers postglacial history of the lakes as well as history of natural processes in a wider region. It also documents local settlements and changes in landscape management. The lake sediments have attracted the interest of the scientific community since the end of the 19th century. Despite of the fact that modern paleolimnological and paleoecological investigations were already performed in the second half of the 20th century in the Bohemian Forest Mts., the great potential of the lake sediments was not fully utilized in scientific research so far. The ultimate objective of this thesis is to deepen knowledge of these natural archives and support their utilization in future studies. Several specific objectives have been set to achieve the ultimate objective: i) to compare age of the Bohemian Forest lake sediments with the recent knowledge of local deglaciation at the end of the last ice age, ii) to integrate chronostratigraphic marker horizons as one of the tools of Late Glacial sediment dating, iii) to assess the role of bioerosion in chitinous subfossil freshwater invertebrate remains on the record representativeness, and iv) to prove the presumed dystrophic nature of the lakes during the Holocene using...

Dans le contexte du réchauffement climatique, les enregistrements paléoclimatiques à différentes échelles temporelles et spatiales apparaissent essentiels pour comprendre les mécanismes du climat. La Patagonie Chilienne (41°S à 56°S) parcourue du Nord au Sud par les Andes représente une contrainte topographique majeure sur les circulations atmosphériques et océaniques. Cette région est la seule qui intercepte la totalité de la ceinture des vents d'ouest austraux et constitue donc une zone clé pour étudier les changements paléoenvironnementaux et comprendre les mécanismes océan-atmosphère et leurs interactions aux moyennes et hautes latitudes de l'hémisphère sud. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse sont : (1) de tester l’analyse pollinique dans les sédiments marins de cette région, (2) d’étudier les modifications des paléoenvironnements continentaux au cours des 20 000 dernières années à partir de deux carottes océaniques de la campagne "PACHIDERME" (MD07-3088 et MD07-3104) et (3) de déterminer leurs liens avec l’activité des vents d’ouest et avec l’influence de ces vents dans l’hémisphère sud et donc sur le climat à l’échelle globale. Les analyses polliniques dans les sédiments marins de surface à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des fjords de la Patagonie reflètent fidèlement la végétation actuelle développée sur le continent le plus proche, ce qui prouve la validité de la palynologie marine dans cette région. Au niveau de la péninsule de Taitao (46°S), l’expansion des forêts nord patagoniennes après 17.6 ka marque le début de la déglaciation. Cette dernière est interrompue par un évènement froid et humide, l’Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR) qui s’exprime ici par le développement des tourbières de Magellan et est lié à l’intensification des vents d’ouest. Le développement de taxons héliophiles à ~11 ka illustre le début de l’Holocène sous des conditions plus chaudes et plus sèches qui sont également enregistrées autour du Fjord de Reloncavi (41°S). Ces conditions persistent jusqu’à ~8-7 ka, puis les changements de végétation aux cours de l’Holocène montrent une variabilité climatique plus importante évoluant vers un climat plus froid et plus humide qui se renforce au nord de la Patagonie après ~6-5 ka puis pendant l’Holocène supérieur. La comparaison de nos résultats avec les données paléoclimatiques de la région souligne les déplacements de la ceinture des vents d’ouest. Après une descente rapide vers le sud au début de la déglaciation, cette ceinture des vents d’ouest remonte vers le nord pendant l’ACR avant de redescendre à nouveau vers le sud à l’Holocène proche de sa position actuelle. Ce phénomène appuie l’hypothèse d’un lien entre les variations du CO2 atmosphérique et la ceinture des vents d’ouest jusqu’au début de l’Holocène. A partir de l’Holocène moyen et supérieur, la ceinture des vents d’ouest s’élargit avec un léger retour vers le nord probablement lié à la mise en place d’El Niño au niveau de l’océan Pacifique tropical. / In the context of global warming, paleoclimate records at different time and spatial scales appear critical to understand climate mechanisms. Chilean Patagonia (41°S to 56°S), crossed by the Andes from north to south, represents a major topographic constraint on ocean and atmospheric circulation. It is the only region that intercepts the entire southern westerly wind belt. Thus it represents a key-area for the study of paleoenvironmental changes in the southern hemisphere and the understanding of ocean-atmosphere mechanisms and their interactions from the mid- to high-latitudes of the southern hemisphere. In this context, the purposes are: (1) to test the pollen analysis on marine surface sediments in this region, (2) to study the continental changes of paleoenvironments during the last 20,000 years from two oceanic cores of the "PACHIDERME" campaign (MD07-3088 and MD07-3104) and (3) to evaluate their links with southern westerly wind belt activity and with the influence of these winds on the southern hemisphere and with the climate at a global scale. The pollen analyses of marine surface sediments in fjords or offshore from Chilean Patagonia reflect the present-day vegetation from the nearby continental area. At the Peninsula of Taitao (46°S), the North Patagonian forest expansion after 17.6 kyr shows the beginning of the deglaciation. This last (period) is interrupted by a wet and cool event, the Antarctic Cold Reversal (ACR), that was expressed here by development of the Magellanic moorland linked to the southern westerly wind intensification. The expansion of heliophytic taxa at ~11 kyr illustrates the beginning of the Holocene under warmer and drier conditions that are also recorded around the fjord of Reloncavi (41°S). These conditions persisted until ~8-7 kyr, and then the vegetation changes during the Holocene show a larger climate variability toward a cooler and wetter climate that enhances in northern Patagonia later ~6-5 kyr during the Late Holocene. Our results compared with the regional paleoclimatic data highlight the shifts of the southern westerly wind belt. After a rapid southward shift at the beginning of the deglaciation, the southern westerly wind belt returns northward during the ACR before reaching southern latitudes near to their present-day position. This scheme strengthens the inference of the link between atmospheric CO2 variability and the southern westerly wind belt up to the Early Holocene. From the mid and late Holocene, the southern westerly wind belt was displaced northward with a slight return probably linked to the beginning of El Niño recorded in tropical Pacific Ocean.

O objetivo da presente tese é o de documentar, em escala milenar, as variações paleoclimáticas e paleoceanográficas superficiais do Atlântico Sul Ocidental desde o Último Máximo Glacial. Com esta finalidade, foram obtidas estimativas de paleotemperatura, paleossalinidade e paleoprodutividade baseadas na análise de fauna de foraminíferos planctônicos, isótopos estáveis de oxigênio e carbono em Globigerinoides ruber e nove datações de radiocarbono em amostras de um testemunho coletado na Bacia de Santos. Os dados foram complementados com a reanálise de outro testemunho previamente coletado em outro setor da mesma Bacia. Os resultados demonstram que as mudanças paleoceanográficas registradas no período analisado podem ser parcialmente explicadas por variações na exportação de calor e sal para o hemisfério norte relacionadas à atividade da célula de transporte meridional e à configuração das correntes superficiais associadas à circulação atmosférica. Outra parte significativa da variabilidade parece estar relacionada à intensidade do Sistema de Monção da América do Sul resultante de variações na insolação de acordo com o ciclo de precessão. Os principais desvios da tendência de variação da composição isotópica da água do mar esperada em função das mudanças de insolação coincidem com os grandes pulsos de degelo ocorridos em torno de 19, 14 e 8,2 mil anos AP. / The goal of this thesis is to document the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic changes occurred at the millennial scale since the Last Glacial Maximum at the surface Western South Atlantic. Paleotemperature, paleosalinity and paleoproductivity estimates were obtained for this purpose based on faunal changes of foraminifera assemblages, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in Globigerinoides ruber and nine radiocarbon datings in a core retrieved at Santos Basin. These data were supplemented by the reanalysis of a second core previously analyzed from a different sector of the same basin. The results demonstrate that paleoceanographic changes recorded in the analyzed period may be partially explained by changes in the heat and salt export to the northern hemisphere related to the meridional overturning cell and the surface currents related to atmospheric circulation. Another significant portion of the observed variability seems to be related to changes in the strength of the South American Monsoon System resulting from insolation changes according to the precessional cycle. The main departures from the expected trend of variation in the isotopic composition of seawater related to insolation changes coincide with great meltwater pulses occurred around 19, 14, and 8.2 kyr BP.

It is now accepted that the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) was highly dynamic and drained by numerous fast flowing ice streams. This dynamic nature combined with its maritime location made the BIIS sensitive to the rapid climate change that characterised the Last Glacial Interglacial Transition. Gaining an understanding of the behaviour of the BIIS at this time is important to explore the nature of forcing between ice sheets and climate. This thesis presents new chronological data relating to the deglaciation of the northwest sector of the BIIS (NW-BIIS) from onshore dating of moraines using cosmogenic exposure dating. This improved chronological framework is supported by offshore data in the form of a newly constructed Ice Rafted Detritus (IRD) record from the offshore sediment core MD95-2007. These data suggest that deglaciation commenced sometime after 18 ka and that the NW-BIIS was located close to the present day shoreline by 16 ka. Further provenance analysis of the IRD using U-Pb dating of detrital minerals demonstrates that during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition MD95-2007 was being supplied distal IRD from a source(s) to the west. The absence of diagnostic Scottish material suggests that after retreat to the coastline at 16 ka calving margins were not re-established during Greenland Interstadial 1. By combining these results with existing data relating to the deglaciation of the NW-BIIS it is possible to summarise the deglaciation history of the NW-BIIS from the continental shelf to mountainous source regions and compare this to numerical models of BIIS behaviour during this time. With a better understanding of the chronology of NW-BIIS retreat it is possible to relate the timing of initial deglaciation to possible forcing factors and gain a better understanding of the response of a marine based sector of an ice sheet to rapid climate change.

The West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) plays an important role in the global heat budget and global hydrologic cycle, so knowledge about its past variability would improve our understanding of global climate. Variations in WPWP precipitation are most notable during El Niño-Southern Oscillation events, when climate changes in the tropical Pacific impact rainfall not only in the WPWP, but around the globe. The stalagmite records presented in this dissertation provide centennial-to-millennial-scale constraints of WPWP precipitation during three distinct climatic periods: the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the last deglaciation, and the Holocene. In Chapter 2, the methodologies associated with the generation of U/Th-based absolute ages for the stalagmites are presented. In the final age models for the stalagmites, dates younger than 11,000 years have absolute errors of ±400 years or less, and dates older than 11,000 years have a relative error of ±2%. Stalagmite-specific 230Th/232Th ratios, calculated using isochrons, are used to correct for the presence of unsupported 230Th in a stalagmite at the time of formation. Hiatuses in the record are identified using a combination of optical properties, high 232Th concentrations, and extrapolation from adjacent U/Th dates. In Chapter 3, stalagmite oxygen isotopic composition (d18O) records from N. Borneo are presented which reveal millennial-scale rainfall changes that occurred in response to changes in global climate boundary conditions, radiative forcing, and abrupt climate changes. The stalagmite d18O records detect little change in inferred precipitation between the LGM and the present, although significant uncertainties are associated with the impact of the Sunda Shelf on rainfall d18O during the LGM. A millennial-scale drying in N. Borneo, inferred from an increase in stalagmite d18O, peaks at ~16.5ka coeval with timing of Heinrich event 1, possibly related to a southward movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). An inferred precipitation maximum (stalagmite d18O minimum) during the mid-Holocene in N. Borneo supports La Niña-like conditions and/or a southward migration of the ITCZ over the course of the Holocene as likely mechanisms for the observed millennial-scale trends. In Chapter 4, stalagmite Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and d13C records reflect hydrologic changes in the overlying karst system that are linked to a combination of rainfall variability and cave micro-environmental effects. Dripwater and stalagmite geochemistry suggest that prior calcite precipitation is a mechanism which alters dripwater geochemistry in slow, stalagmite-forming drips in N. Borneo. Stalagmite Mg/Ca ratios and d13C records suggest that the LGM climate in N. Borneo was drier and that ecosystem carbon cycling may have responded to the drier conditions. Large amplitude decadal- to centennial-scale variability in stalagmite Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and d13C during the deglaciation may be linked to deglacial abrupt climate change events.

O objetivo da presente tese é o de documentar, em escala milenar, as variações paleoclimáticas e paleoceanográficas superficiais do Atlântico Sul Ocidental desde o Último Máximo Glacial. Com esta finalidade, foram obtidas estimativas de paleotemperatura, paleossalinidade e paleoprodutividade baseadas na análise de fauna de foraminíferos planctônicos, isótopos estáveis de oxigênio e carbono em Globigerinoides ruber e nove datações de radiocarbono em amostras de um testemunho coletado na Bacia de Santos. Os dados foram complementados com a reanálise de outro testemunho previamente coletado em outro setor da mesma Bacia. Os resultados demonstram que as mudanças paleoceanográficas registradas no período analisado podem ser parcialmente explicadas por variações na exportação de calor e sal para o hemisfério norte relacionadas à atividade da célula de transporte meridional e à configuração das correntes superficiais associadas à circulação atmosférica. Outra parte significativa da variabilidade parece estar relacionada à intensidade do Sistema de Monção da América do Sul resultante de variações na insolação de acordo com o ciclo de precessão. Os principais desvios da tendência de variação da composição isotópica da água do mar esperada em função das mudanças de insolação coincidem com os grandes pulsos de degelo ocorridos em torno de 19, 14 e 8,2 mil anos AP. / The goal of this thesis is to document the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic changes occurred at the millennial scale since the Last Glacial Maximum at the surface Western South Atlantic. Paleotemperature, paleosalinity and paleoproductivity estimates were obtained for this purpose based on faunal changes of foraminifera assemblages, carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in Globigerinoides ruber and nine radiocarbon datings in a core retrieved at Santos Basin. These data were supplemented by the reanalysis of a second core previously analyzed from a different sector of the same basin. The results demonstrate that paleoceanographic changes recorded in the analyzed period may be partially explained by changes in the heat and salt export to the northern hemisphere related to the meridional overturning cell and the surface currents related to atmospheric circulation. Another significant portion of the observed variability seems to be related to changes in the strength of the South American Monsoon System resulting from insolation changes according to the precessional cycle. The main departures from the expected trend of variation in the isotopic composition of seawater related to insolation changes coincide with great meltwater pulses occurred around 19, 14, and 8.2 kyr BP.

Cette thèse a pour objectifs de documenter les variations spatiotemporelles de la zone de minimum d’oxygène (OMZ) du Pacifique Nord-Est, et d’identifier les mécanismes qui ont causé ces variations. L’étude est fondée sur l’analyse géochimique des composants majeurs, mineurs et traces de sédiments prélevés dans le Pacifique Nord-Est, en combinant des mesures par ICP-MS et scanneur XRF. Ces mesures ont permis de distinguer l’effet de la productivité biologique de celui de la ventilation océanique sur l’oxygénation du sédiment. J’ai pu mettre en évidence le rôle prépondérant de la productivité au niveau de la Basse Californie (23°N), qui varie en phase avec les températures en Atlantique Nord durant les 120.000 dernières années. Par ailleurs, la ventilation océanique a probablement joué un rôle important au niveau du golfe de Papagayo (12°N), par l’advection de masses d’eau provenant des hautes latitudes nord et sud. L’intensité de l’OMZ du Pacifique Nord-Est serait donc influencée par des modifications des circulations océaniques et atmosphériques, liées aux climats des hautes latitudes des deux hémisphères. / This thesis aims at documenting the spatiotemporal variations of the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) of the northeastern Pacific, and identifying the mechanisms that caused theses variations. The study is based on the geochemical analyses of major, minor, and trace elements of sediments from the northeastern Pacific, by combining ICP-MS and XRF scans measurements. These measurements allowed distinguishing the effect of biologic productivity and oceanic ventilation on sediment oxygenation. I was able to highlight the predominant impact of the productivity off the Baja California Margin (23°N), which varied in phase with the high northern Atlantic temperature across the past 120,000 years. Moreover, oceanic ventilation did play an important role off the Papagayo Gulf (12°N), because of the advection of water mass coming from the high northern and southern latitudes. OMS intensity in the northeastern Pacific could thus be influenced by changes in the atmospheric and oceanic circulation, in relation to high northern and southern latitudes climates.