Sub-Milankovitch climate oscillations are well documented phenomena in the Gulf of Mexico during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and Termination I, however very little is known about equivalent events during older time intervals. Basin 4 is located on the northwest slope of the Gulf of Mexico and has provided a detailed record of late MIS 6 and Termination II. The results of this study show that the delta18O record of planktonic foraminifer G. ruber contains millennial-scale climate oscillations during MIS 6, a series of meltwater spikes, and a climate reversal during Termination II. Paired delta18O -- Mg/Ca data across these events reveal that the unusually large amplitudes in the delta 18O record cannot be explained by sea surface temperature (SST) or ice volume, but rather are a response to isotopically light glacial meltwater from the paleo-Mississippi river. This conclusion supports the studies of similar oscillations during Termination I and MIS 3.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/61948 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Contributors | Droxler, Andre W., Dugan, Brandon |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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