The B/Ca and Cd/Ca of a subsurface-dwelling foraminifera Pulleniatina obliquiloculata in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean: implications for the subsurface carbonate chemistry estimation

Pulleniatina obliquiloculata shells from 16 core-top samples from the tropical Indo-Pacific Oceans are analyzed for the ratios of boron and cadmium to calcium(B/Ca and Cd/Ca). The B/Ca ratios show a very weak positive relationship with [B(OH)_4^-] and the dissolved carbonate species at the apparent calcification depth of P.obliquiloculata. The boron partition coefficients(K_D) between P. obliquiloculata B/Ca and seawater[B(OH)_4^-]/[HCO_3^-] distribute around 1.1×10^(-3)-1.3×10^(-3) with a mean value of(1.19±0.12)×10^(-3),and are significantly related to the nutrient concentration, especially phosphate. The lack of any clear correlation between the P. obliquiloculata B/Ca and seawater carbonate chemical parameters suggests that the physiochemical controls on boron incorporation are masked by the complexity of natural seawater condition. But the significant dependence of Ku on nutrient may likely be explained by a nutrient related growth-rate effect. Cd/Ca of P.obliquiloculata shows significant correlation with seawater phosphate concentration, and its partition coefficients(D_(cd)) are significantly related to temperature. A first-principle methodology of P. obliquiloculata B/Ca is applied;with the aid of Cd/Ca as a phosphate proxy and a constraint on K_D, to estimating sea water carbonate chemistry(e.g., pH). The results are fairly promising and allow us to propose the possibility to apply the combination of B/Ca and Cd/Ca proxies(and also Mg/Ca and δ^(18)O for estimating temperature and salinity) for the paleoreconstruction of seawater carbonate chemistry.

海洋储碳机制及相关生物地球化学过程研究策略

1碳中和国家战略需要海洋负排放支撑工业革命以来,人类活动导致大气CO_(2)激增,加剧了气候变化,引发一系列社会、经济和环境问题.第75届联合国大会以来,习近平总书记在一系列重大场合多次强调,我国二氧化碳排放力争于2030年前达到峰值,努力争取2060年前实现碳中和.这个重大举措不仅大大提升了我国的国际话语权,也吹响了我国科技-产业-政策联合攻关的“集结号”.

Paleoproductivity records for the past 30 ka in the southern Nansha area, the South China Sea

This note presents productivity variations for the past 30 ka in the southern Nansha area, the South China Sea, from the gravity core 17962 (7°11 ′N, 112°5′E, core length: 8 m, water depth: 1 968 m). Estimated surface productivity demonstrates that at the last glacial maximum the productivity was about 1.6 times as much as that in the Holocene, and the change may be ascribed to an increase of terrestrial nutrients as sea level lowered in the glacial time.

Seasonal variations in planktonic foraminiferal flux and the chemical properties of their shells in the southern South China Sea

Results from sediment trap experiments conducted in the southern South China Sea from May 2004 to March 2006 revealed significant monsoon-induced seasonal variations in flux and shell geochemistry of planktonic foraminifera. The total and species-specific fluxes showed bimodal pattern, such as those of Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerinoides sacculifer, Neoglobo-quadrina dutertrei, Globigerinita glutinata, and Globigerina bulloides. Their high values occurred in the prevailing periods of the northeast and southwest monsoons, and the low ones appeared between the monsoons. Pulleniatina obliquiloculata had high flux rates mainly during northeast monsoon, with exceptional appearance in August 2004. These fluxes changed largely in accord with those of total particle matter and organic carbon, following chlorophyll concentration and wind force. It is inferred that the biogenic particle fluxes are controlled essentially by primary productivity under the influence of East Asian monsoon in the southern SCS. Shell stable oxygen isotope and Mg/Ca data correspond with seasonal variation of sea surface temperature. Shell δ18O values are affected primarily by sea water temperature, and the δ18O changes of different-depth dwelling species indicate upper sea water temperature gradient. Besides, the low carbon isotope values occurred in the periods of East Asian monsoon in general, whereas the high ones between the monsoons. The pattern is in contrary to chlorophyll concentration change, which indicates that the variation of the carbon isotope could probably reflect the change of sea surface productivity.

Exploring the deep South China Sea: Retrospects and prospects

Rapid developments of deep-sea researches in China over the past 20 years have promoted the South China Sea(SCS) into the international deep-sea frontiers. The 'three deep technologies', namely scientific drilling, long-term seafloor observation and deep submersible vehicles implemented successively in SCS studies helped to achieve a number of scientific breakthroughs. Over the 20 years, five international ocean drilling expeditions to the SCS recovered nearly 10 km of sediment cores from sites at 3–4 km water depths, and drilling into the magmatic basement at 6 sites shed light on the genesis of the SCS basin. Coupled with other deep-sea short core sediments from the SCS, these records demonstrate evidence that water and carbon cycling in the low latitude regions can directly respond to the orbital forcing, and subsequently nurture a new concept of lowlatitude forcing of climate changes, which challenges the classical wisdom of the overwhelming role played by the Arctic icesheet in climate changes. The exploration in the continent-ocean transition zone also reveals a number of specific features that characterize the SCS as a marginal basin formed at the subduction zone in the Western Pacific. The features include active magmatism and rapid rupture of lithosphere through the basin formation process, and imply that 'the SCS is not a mini-Atlantic'as they can be distinguished as 'plate-edge rifting' and 'inner-plate rifting' respectively, thus challenging the universality of the Atlantic model for passive margins. Many more discoveries can be assembled from long-term mooring observations and deep diving cruises in the deep SCS, such as the cyclonic nature of the deep-water circulation, deep-water sediment transport by contour currents and turbidites, manganese nodules, extinct hydrothermal vents, and cold-water coral forests. In addition,prominent progress achieved in microbiology and biogeochemistry includes the microbial carbon pump and the coupling of carbon and nitrogen cycles. Clearly, most achievements of the deep-sea explorations in the SCS over the last 20 years have always been of international scale and impact. However, the contributions from Chinese scientists are most prominent, particularly with the research activities undertaken from the major program 'Deep Sea Processes and Evolution of the South China Sea(2011–2018)' supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Responses of benthic foraminifera to changes of temperature and salinity:Results from a laboratory culture experiment

The effects of temperature and salinity on intertidal foraminiferal community under laboratory conditions are poorly understood. We designed a two-factor crossed experiment in which foraminiferal communities were cultured at different temperatures (6, 12, and 18℃) and salinities (15, 20, 25, and 30 psu) for 10 weeks. In total, 2616 living (stained) specimens were obtained and analyzed. Foraminiferal abundance ranged from 9 to 202 individuals/10 g wet weight of sediment. The highest abundance was obtained at 12℃, 25 psu and the lowest at 6℃, 15 psu. Statistical results demonstrated that temperature affected foraminiferal community more significantly than salinity. Most foraminiferal community parameters (abundance, species richness, Margalef index, and Shannon-Wiener diversity) were significantly positively correlated to temperature, but not to salinity, whereas Pielou's evenness was significantly negatively correlated to both temperature and salinity. The interactive effect of temperature and salinity on foraminiferal abundance was significant. In addition, with increasing temperature, the species composition shifted from hyaline Rotaliida to porcellaneous Miliolida. The abundance of dominant species (e.g., Ammonia aomoriensis, A. beccarii, and Quinqueloculina seminula) showed significant positive correlations to temperature. Our study indicated that the intertidal foraminiferal community responds sensitively and rapidly to the changes of salinity and, especially,temperature by shifting foraminiferal species composition and altering the community parameters.

Astronomical tuning and magnetostratigraphy of Neogene biogenic reefs in Xisha Islands, South China Sea

Biogenic reefs are one of two major depositional types in the South China Sea, and are constructed by coral, algae and bryozoa. The West Pacific is a major area of biogenic reef development and plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle. However, the lack of geochronological studies in previous works inhibits our understanding of their contributions. Herein, we conduct a cyclostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic study on Neogene biogenic reefs using the XK–1 core that was drilled at the Shidao Island,Xisha(Paracel) Islands. The main findings of this study are:(1) the establishment of reliable magentostratigraphy for Ledong, Huangliu, Meishan and Sanya Formations;(2) the magnetic susceptibility variation can be inferred as growth index and tuned to the 405–ka long eccentricity cycle;(3) the astronomical geochronology suggests that the bottom ages for Ledong, Yinggehai, Huangliu, Meishan,and Sanya Formations are 2.2 Ma, 5.7 Ma, 10.4 Ma, 16.6 Ma, and 24.3 Ma, respectively; and (4) Earth's eccentricity and obliquity played predominant roles in biogenic reef establishment on orbital to tectonic timescales. Thus, the reported geochronology offers an opportunity to test the contributions of various factors and hypothesize their roles in the global carbon cycle in future.

Potential paleoceanographic application of cold-water bamboo coral in the South China Sea

Recent deep-diving expeditions in the South China Sea(SCS)discovered abundant indigenous cold-water corals[1].Cold-water corals,preferentially inhabiting the low-latitude intermediate and deep waters with hard substrates and a cool water temperature,have great potential to be applied in researches of the ocean interior by providing high-resolution records[2,3].

Changing structure of benthic foraminiferal communities due to declining pH:Results from laboratory culture experiments

The ocean absorbs large amounts of CO_2 emitted from human activities, which results in a decrease in seawater p H.Marine calcifying organisms such as foraminifera, are most likely to be affected by this declining pH. In this study, we collected sediments from five stations of different depths(34–73 m) in a continental shelf of the Yellow Sea. The entire benthic foraminiferal communities together with sea sediments were cultured under three constant pHs(8.3, 7.8, and 7.3) for 6 and 12 weeks in the laboratory to study their responses to pH or incubation time. The microcosm's experimental results obtained showed that most of the foraminiferal community parameters(abundance, species richness, Margalef index, and Shannon-Wiener diversity) decreased significantly(p<0.05) with the decline in pH in all the tested stations. The responses of foraminifera to the decline in p H were species-specific, for instance, Protelphidium tuberculatum and Cribroelphidiumfrigidum were highly sensitive to declining pH and were finally eliminated at low pH, while some species(e.g., Lagenammina atlantica, Verneuilinulla advena, V. propinqua, Haplophragmoides applanata, and H. canariensis) could tolerate low pH and acted as pH-tolerant species. In addition, the proportion of hyaline taxa showed a significant(p<0.05) positive correlation with pH, while agglutinated type showed a negative response. Furthermore, different incubation times(6 and 12 weeks) showed significant effects on the nearshore communities other than the offshore treatments, which were, however, entirely declined after 6 weeks' incubation under low p H manipulation. Our results indicated that nearshore foraminiferal communities showed rather a resilience to the declining p H and the offshore foraminifera, especially those in the central area of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass were found to be more sensitive to the decline in pH in the continental shelf sediments of the Yellow Sea.