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The central Arctic Ocean is one of the least explored deep sea regions and long biostratigraphic sediment records are sparse. The main focus of this thesis is the Arctic Ocean foraminiferal record and its application to reconstruct paleoceanographic variations and summer sea ice cover changes between late Quaternary interglacial periods. One of the studied cores was retrieved from the central Lomonosov Ridge Intra Basin. This core contains a relatively high-resolution biostratigraphic record spanning Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1–3, although with a hiatus encompassing the Last Glacial Maximum. Radiocarbon age calibrations in this core show a decreasing trend of high marine reservoir ages of about 1400 years during the last deglaciation to 700 years in the late Holocene. The cores from the Lomonosov Ridge off Greenland and the Morris Jesup Rise contain preserved calcareous microfossils further back in time than most previously studied central Arctic Ocean cores. The calcium content estimated by X-ray fluorescence scanning of these cores shows a distinct pattern of calcium rich intervals coinciding with peaks in foraminiferal abundance in the sediment record of MIS 1–7. The calcium peaks originate from material accumulated during interglacials, primarily through detrital carbonate and dolomite input from the decaying North American ice sheet and secondarily from biogenic material. Intervals of calcareous benthic foraminifera are found in pre MIS 7 sediments on both the southern Lomonosov Ridge and Morris Jesup Rise. Their assemblage composition and stable carbon isotope data suggest increased primary production and decreased summer sea ice cover compared to the Holocene central Arctic Ocean. This is also suggested for an interval of high abundance of the subpolar planktic foraminifera Turborotalita quinqueloba on the southern Lomonosov Ridge with a proposed MIS 11 age. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.</p>

In 2005, box cores were collected throughout the Hudson Bay and Strait. A detailed micropaleontological data set has been generated from these cores for this study and is combined with geochemical and geochronological data to observe temporal and spatial oceanographic changes throughout the bay and strait. All of the cores show an increase in tintinnid species and agglutinated foraminifera, and coincident decreases in calcareous foraminifera in younger core sections. In general, these microfossil trends are correlated with higher organic matter content of the younger core sections. This results from a more extensive freshwater plume that causes lowered pH in the superficial sediments and conditions less favourable for the preservation of calcareous tests. Furthermore, with a 14C age constraint in one of the cores, the mid-Holocene depositional and paleoceanographic history is represented, and provides evidence of marine invasion by 7100 cal yrs BP.

Pelagic clays cover nearly one half of the ocean floor, but are rarely used for paleoceanographic research because of their extremely slow sedimentation rates, post-depositional alteration(s), and the lack of biogenic material available to provide ages. My dissertation develops and applies approaches to study pelagic clays by targeting the largest marine sediment province in the world: the South Pacific Gyre (SPG). I present an unprecedented spatially and temporally extensive paleoceanographic history of the SPG and discuss authigenic processes in pelagic clays that are linked to changes in global seawater composition through the Cenozoic. My research was based on an extensive inorganic geochemical dataset I developed from samples gathered during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 329. I applied multivariate statistical techniques (e.g., Q-mode factor analysis and constrained least squares multiple linear regression (CLS)) to the dataset in order to (a) identify the existence of six end-members in pelagic clay (namely, eolian dust, Fe/Mn-oxyhydroxides, apatite, excess Si, and two types of volcanic ash), (b) quantify their abundances, (c) determine their mass accumulation rates, and (d) infer major features in the paleoceanographic evolution of the SPG. Key parts of my research also developed improved MATLAB codes to facilitate and speed the search for best fitting end-member combinations in CLS modeling. Additionally, I expanded the natural gamma radiation instrumental capabilities on the D/V JOIDES Resolution to quantify concentrations of uranium, thorium, and potassium. I dated the pelagic clay at four of the IODP sites with a cobalt-based age model that I developed, and documented that the seawater behavior of cobalt determines the extent to which this method can be applied. Collectively, the results track the spatial extent of dust deposition in the SPG during the aridification of Australia, dispersed ash accumulation from episodes of Southern Hemisphere volcanism, and other features of Earth’s evolution during the Cenozoic. I further quantified two geochemically distinct types of authigenic ash alterations within the pelagic clay, indicating that altered ashes may be a significant and variable sink of magnesium in seawater over geologic timescales.

Estudos recentes têm demonstrado significativas variações na composição da fauna de ostracodes batiais decorrentes de mudanças climáticas. Visando verificar como esses eventos afetaram a ostracofauna batial da bacia de Campos foram analisadas 15 amostras provenientes de um testemunho a pistão recuperado a 1.287 m de lâmina de água. Espécies alóctones e autóctones foram identificadas sendo apenas as últimas estudadas. A idade das amostras foi obtida com base na análise de isótopos estáveis de oxigênio em testas do foraminífero planctônico Globigerinoides ruber, e os resultados comparados com dados do SPECMAP (Spectral Mapping Project). Foram identificadas 50 espécies autóctones distribuídas em 26 gêneros e 17 famílias. Os gêneros Krithe e Cytheropteron foram os mais diversificados (sete e cinco espécies, respectivamente). A família mais diversificada foi Cytheruridae, corroborando outros estudos paleoceanográficos. Foi estabelecida a idade de 42 ka para a base e 200 anos para o topo do testemunho. A análise de agrupamento por similaridade de Jaccard dividiu as amostras em dois grupos separados na amostra 12 (17,3 ka), no limite Holoceno-Último Máximo Glacial. A diversidade oscilou significativamente entre períodos glaciais e interglaciais, sendo menor no primeiro (3,0 nats/ind-1) e maior no último (3,4 nat/ind-1). Foi observado o predomínio de Argilloecia e Cytheropteron durante a deglaciação, Saida no interglacial, Apatihowella no UMG, Krithe no glacial e Macropyxis durante o UMG e glacial. Xestoleberis, por sua vez, ocorreu com diversidade relativamente constante ao longo de todo o testemunho. A distância taxonômica entre as espécies que ocorrem no glacial e interglacial se mostrou dentro dos limites esperados, com pequena proximidade entre os limites superiores e inferiores, respectivamente. A fauna de ostracodes da Bacia de Campos respondeu às variações climáticas ocorridas no Quaternário, o que reforça seu grande potencial como indicadora de mudanças paleoceanográficas. / Present studies have demonstrated significative changes in the composition of bathyal ostracode fauna caused by climatic events. With the objective of assess the influence of these events on the bathyal ostracodes from Campos Basin, 15 samples from a piston core taken at 1,287 m water depth were studied. Both allochthonous and autochthonous species were identified, however, only the latter were analyzed. The age of the samples was determined based on oxygen stable isotope data from tests of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber and compared to SPECMAP (Spectral Mapping Project) ones. Fifty autochthonous species belonging to 26 genera and 17 families were identified. The genera Krithe and Cytheropteron were the more diversified (seven and five species, respectively), while Cytheruridae was the most diversified family, supporting other paleoceanographic studies. The core bottom was dated as 42 ka, and the top 200 years. The Jaccard similarity grouping analysis shared the samples into two groups being the sample 12 (17.3 ka) the limit between them, which corresponds to the Holocene-Last Glacial Maximum transition. The diversity varied significantly between glacial and interglacial periods, being lower in the former (3.0 nats/ind-1) and higher in the latter (3.4 nat/ind-1). The predominance of Argilloecia and Cytheropteron during the deglacial, Saida during the interglacial, Apatihowella during LGM, Krithe on glacial, and Macropyxis during the glacial and LMG was recorded. Xestoleberis was registered with steady diversity values along the core. The taxonomic distances between the species in the glacial and interglacial presented ordinary values, with small distance between the upper and lower limits, respectively. The ostracode faunas from Campos Basin responded to the Quaternary climatic events, reinforcing the use of deep-sea ostracodes changes as a paleoceanographic proxy.

Proxies geoquímicos (n-alcanos, alquenonas, GDGTs, &#948;13C, Fe/Ca e Ti/Ca), obtidos em amostras de um testemunho sedimentar, foram utilizados para avaliar as mudanças paleoclimáticas e paleoceanográficas na região da Plataforma Continental de São Sebastião ao longo do Holoceno Tardio. O modelo de idade, obtido através da análise conjunta dos métodos de 210Pb e 14C, demonstrou que testemunho aqui estudado cobre os últimos 1500 anos. A avaliação dos marcadores terrígenos permitiu a identificação das mudanças na drenagem e erosão continental, as quais estão relacionadas às alterações no regime de precipitação do continente adjacente. Variações ao longo do tempo na temperatura da superfície do mar foram relacionadas às mudanças no regime de ventos predominante, os quais são responsáveis por um aumento ou uma redução da frequência dos eventos de ressurgência. Já as mudanças nos valores de temperatura de subsuperfície foram relacionadas com a entrada e saída da Água Central do Atlântico Sul próxima às regiões costeiras, e com os processos de mistura na coluna d\'água. As variações na temperatura média do ar (TMA), por sua vez, provavelmente estiveram relacionadas com mudanças na irradiação total solar. Períodos representados pelos valores mais elevados de TMA correspondem aos períodos de máxima irradiação solar conhecidos como Máxima Medieval (1100 a 1250 DC) e Máxima Moderna (1950 - presente) e o período representado pelos menores valores de TMA coincide com o período de mínima solar conhecido como Spörer. Além disso, foi possível observar uma redução na entrada de material terrígeno para a plataforma continental durante a Anomalia Climática Medieval. Em contrapartida, o período que corresponde a Pequena Era do Gelo foi caracterizado por um aumento da contribuição terrígena. No geral, foi possível observar que o gradiente de temperatura da superfície do mar entre o Oceano Atlântico Norte e o Atlântico Sul parece desempenhar um papel importante desencadeando ou amplificando as mudanças climáticas observados nos trópicos. Este dipolo de temperatura pode ocasionar mudanças na posição da Zona de Convergência Intertropical e no regime de ventos predominantes, que por sua vez irão influenciar, direta e indiretamente, nas mudanças na circulação marinha de superfície e no regime de chuvas da região. / Geochemical proxies (n-alkanes, alkenones, GDGTs, &#948;13C, Fe / Ca and Ti / Ca) were used to evaluate the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic changes in the Continental Shelf of São Sebastião during the Late Holocene. The age model, obtained through the combined analyses of 210Pb and 14C methods, indicated that the core used in this study covers the last 1500 years. Variations in the sea surface temperature may be related to changes in the prevailing winds, which in turn are responsible for an increase or reduction in the frequency of the upwelling events. Changes in subsurface temperature values can be related to the presence of the South Atlantic Central Water near the coastal regions, and the mixing processes in the water column. Changes in mean air temperature (MAT), in turn, are probably related to fluctuations in total solar radiation, since periods represented by higher values of MAT correspond to the periods of maximum solar irradiation known as Medieval (1100-1250 AD) and Modern Maximum (1950 - present). While the period represented by the lower MAT values can be linked to the solar minimum period known as Spörer. The evaluation of terrigenous markers allowed the identification of variations in the drainage and continental erosion, which in turn are related to changes in the precipitation of the adjacent continent. Furthermore, the Medieval Climate Anomaly was characterized by a decrease in the terrigenous input, while the Little Ice Age could be characterized as a period of increased terrestrial contribution. Overall, it was observed that the sea surface temperature gradient between the North Atlantic and the South Atlantic Oceans appears to play an important role in triggering or amplifying climate change observed in the tropics. This temperature dipole can cause changes in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and the direction of prevailing winds, which in turn will influence, directly and indirectly, the marine circulation and the rainfall.

Estudos recentes têm demonstrado significativas variações na composição da fauna de ostracodes batiais decorrentes de mudanças climáticas. Visando verificar como esses eventos afetaram a ostracofauna batial da bacia de Campos foram analisadas 15 amostras provenientes de um testemunho a pistão recuperado a 1.287 m de lâmina de água. Espécies alóctones e autóctones foram identificadas sendo apenas as últimas estudadas. A idade das amostras foi obtida com base na análise de isótopos estáveis de oxigênio em testas do foraminífero planctônico Globigerinoides ruber, e os resultados comparados com dados do SPECMAP (Spectral Mapping Project). Foram identificadas 50 espécies autóctones distribuídas em 26 gêneros e 17 famílias. Os gêneros Krithe e Cytheropteron foram os mais diversificados (sete e cinco espécies, respectivamente). A família mais diversificada foi Cytheruridae, corroborando outros estudos paleoceanográficos. Foi estabelecida a idade de 42 ka para a base e 200 anos para o topo do testemunho. A análise de agrupamento por similaridade de Jaccard dividiu as amostras em dois grupos separados na amostra 12 (17,3 ka), no limite Holoceno-Último Máximo Glacial. A diversidade oscilou significativamente entre períodos glaciais e interglaciais, sendo menor no primeiro (3,0 nats/ind-1) e maior no último (3,4 nat/ind-1). Foi observado o predomínio de Argilloecia e Cytheropteron durante a deglaciação, Saida no interglacial, Apatihowella no UMG, Krithe no glacial e Macropyxis durante o UMG e glacial. Xestoleberis, por sua vez, ocorreu com diversidade relativamente constante ao longo de todo o testemunho. A distância taxonômica entre as espécies que ocorrem no glacial e interglacial se mostrou dentro dos limites esperados, com pequena proximidade entre os limites superiores e inferiores, respectivamente. A fauna de ostracodes da Bacia de Campos respondeu às variações climáticas ocorridas no Quaternário, o que reforça seu grande potencial como indicadora de mudanças paleoceanográficas. / Present studies have demonstrated significative changes in the composition of bathyal ostracode fauna caused by climatic events. With the objective of assess the influence of these events on the bathyal ostracodes from Campos Basin, 15 samples from a piston core taken at 1,287 m water depth were studied. Both allochthonous and autochthonous species were identified, however, only the latter were analyzed. The age of the samples was determined based on oxygen stable isotope data from tests of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber and compared to SPECMAP (Spectral Mapping Project) ones. Fifty autochthonous species belonging to 26 genera and 17 families were identified. The genera Krithe and Cytheropteron were the more diversified (seven and five species, respectively), while Cytheruridae was the most diversified family, supporting other paleoceanographic studies. The core bottom was dated as 42 ka, and the top 200 years. The Jaccard similarity grouping analysis shared the samples into two groups being the sample 12 (17.3 ka) the limit between them, which corresponds to the Holocene-Last Glacial Maximum transition. The diversity varied significantly between glacial and interglacial periods, being lower in the former (3.0 nats/ind-1) and higher in the latter (3.4 nat/ind-1). The predominance of Argilloecia and Cytheropteron during the deglacial, Saida during the interglacial, Apatihowella during LGM, Krithe on glacial, and Macropyxis during the glacial and LMG was recorded. Xestoleberis was registered with steady diversity values along the core. The taxonomic distances between the species in the glacial and interglacial presented ordinary values, with small distance between the upper and lower limits, respectively. The ostracode faunas from Campos Basin responded to the Quaternary climatic events, reinforcing the use of deep-sea ostracodes changes as a paleoceanographic proxy.

Abstract This thesis examines the Mid-Pliocene climatic extreme ca. three million years ago (Ma) which was the latest longtime warm period. It is an important topic because the climate back then was warmer compared with the present. The bipolar regions are studied because they represent the largest areas that control the global climate. This study is based on clay mineral research that may significantly improve our knowledge of the Mid-Pliocene climate when combined with other palaeoenvironmental data. The paleoclimatological objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate how clay minerals reflect the Mid-Pliocene Global Warmth event, 2) to study ice sheet development at high latitudes, especially in East-Antarctica, and the history of ice rafting and sea ice, especially in the Arctic Ocean. This thesis deals with the clay mineral distribution and compositional analysis of the Pliocene-aged marine sediment sequences provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). The first studied site, Site 1165, is located at the continental rise of Prydz Bay, East Antarctica, and the second studied site, Site 911, is located at the Yermak Plateau, north of Svalbard, in the Arctic Ocean. The Pliocene smectite clay minerals at Site 1165 were mainly derived from Antarctic continental sources and transported to the site primarly by bottom currents related to warm events during the last 5 Ma. The evidence obtained in this study shows that the East Antarctic ice sheet may have been a dynamic ice sheet during the past 5 Ma, especially during the Mid-Pliocene. The results from the Mid-Pliocene possibly suggest a general warming trend. Based on the composition of the heavy minerals and clay minerals, at Site 911, the Pliocene smectite clay minerals were mainly transported within sea ice by the Siberian branch of the Transpolar Drift. The results indicate a warming trend at approximately 3 Ma after which they indicate a shift back to glacial conditions. Based on this study, the Mid-Pliocene Global Warmth can be observed in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Sea level regression during the Last Glacial Maximum exposed the Bering Land Bridge, and cut off the connection between the North Pacific and Arctic Ocean, ending the exchange of North Pacific Water through the Bering Strait. Exchange of North Pacific Water comprises a major portion of fresh water input to the Arctic Ocean, and is of vital importance to North Atlantic Deep Water formation, a vital component of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Bering Strait throughflow thus plays an integral role in global climate stability. A suite of four cores was selected, three in the Bering Sea and one in the Chukchi Sea, to bracket the Bering Strait in order to elucidate changes in sediment delivery, productivity and regional oceanography as the Bering Land Bridge flooded and modern ocean circulation was established during the last deglaciation. The arrival of nutrient rich North Pacific Water in the Chukchi Sea is recorded around 8 ka by organic carbon isotope depletion and an increase in total organic carbon and organic nitrogen, reflecting an increasingly marine isotopic signal and increased productivity. In the Bering Sea, the early deglaciation is marked by depleted organic carbon isotopes that indicate increasing terrestrial input, and increased total organic carbon. Principal component analysis of sedimentologic, geochemical and isotopic data clearly captures discrete sediment populations that correspond to key climatic intervals, representing changes in sediment delivery, productivity and circulation during the last deglaciation. In the Bering Sea we observe that deglaciation began in earnest around 18–17 ka, but lack of confidence in our age control does not allow for a precise date. Our results suggest that modern circulation through the Bering Strait, and thus for the Bering and Chukchi Seas, was established ~8 ka. Prior to 8 ka there is an interval of sediment that appears record a possible reversal of flow through the Bering Strait corresponding to the 8.2 ka event.

At present, the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) influences water availability for nearly one third of the global population. The intensity and position of the EAM has varied considerably since its onset, but disagreement still exists related to the precise latitudinal and intensity shifts of the Westerly Jet and associated storm fronts, which mark the northern extent of the monsoon. Paleoclimate research can assist in improved assessment and prediction of EAM intensity, radiative forcing, and biogeochemical cycles in the Japan Sea and North Pacific, especially under the currently changing climate. My research primarily focuses on using major-, trace- and rare earth elements in sediments from International Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 346 in the Japan (Ulleung Basin) and East China Seas (Okinawa Trough) to track variability in the EAM on millennial time scales. Using geochemical and multivariate statistical techniques (Q-Mode Factor analysis and Constrained Least Squares multiple linear regressions), I differentiated compositionally similar terrigenous aluminosilicate materials (continental crust components, eolian dusts, volcanic ash) from these sediment archives. I successfully constructed a robust record of aluminosilicate provenance, which enables more precise determinations of EAM position and intensity than previously possible. Most of my research focused on the interpretation of aluminosilicate records over several different timescales from three sites from Expedition 346. In tandem with this research, I also refined values of the well-known, and widely used, Standard Reference Material (SRM) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Basalt (BHVO-2). In the Okinawa trough (Sites U1428/U1429), I identified and tracked the increase in flux of five continental crust materials, loesses, and volcanic ashes during glacial cycles, continental shelf exposure, and the migration of paleo-rivers in the last 400 kyr. Additionally, I constructed a 12 Myr record, which identified and quantified the dust fluxes to Ulleung Basin (Site U1430), and emphasized the importance of the Taklimakan and Gobi Deserts as main sources of dust to the Japan Sea and Pacific through the Cenozoic. Collectively, these aluminosilicate flux reconstructions are first to identify multiple specific Asian source regions through the Cenozoic, and highlight the complexity of accurately reconstructing monsoons and other aspects of paleoclimate from sediment in dynamic environments.