Organic Geochemical Signals of Short-Term Climatic and Environmental Cycles in the California Borderland and Gulf of California

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Climate changes have an impact on the faunal and floral remains in marine sediments. The variation in the organic chemistry of these sedimentary remains then, can be used as indices of the fauna and flora and the climate in which these organisms lived. This project will examine a large number of samples from the varved sediments of the Santa Barbara and Guaymas Basins for alkenone and dinosterol content. The unsaturation ratio of the alkenones will be used to address temperature fluctuations and the dinosterol content will be used to assess the dinoflagellate bloom conditions associated with El Ninyo (El Nino) events. The samples have been chosen to optimize the expected temporal variations and to insure preservation of the organic signals in varved sediments. This research will provide unique information about the plankton productivity and temperature variations associated with short term El Ninyo events.