Temperature and Carbonate System Influences on the Test Chemistry of Deep-Sea Benthic Foraminifera: Laboratory Culture Studies

底栖有孔虫壳组成的岩芯记录可以提供过去深水温度和化学的宝贵记录。虽然基于实地的校准研究已经确定了壳化学和底层水条件之间的关系，但我们解释底栖有孔虫代用记录的能力继续受到挑战，因为环境和生物等多种因素可以影响壳化学的大多数方面。基于培养的研究为核心顶部校准提供了一个有希望的补充，因为在实验室中，可以改变单个环境变量，同时保持其他变量不变。这项研究建立在以前资助的文化工作，在这里重点展示钙化文化，繁殖和随后的增长文化，由Uvigerina和Cibicidoides物种，两个底栖有孔虫广泛用于古海洋学。从大西洋中部边缘采集的样品将在受控和监测的物理和化学条件下进行培养，以评估新形成的壳材料中有孔虫氧同位素值的一致性。主要的重点是有孔虫的生长和繁殖，这将奠定重要的基础，为未来的努力，在可变的环境条件下的代理校准。一名女博士后研究员将在该项目中发挥核心作用。其他更广泛的影响包括为来自非海洋学机构的本科志愿者提供航海经验。

Downcore records of benthic foraminiferal shell composition can provide valuable records of deep water temperature and chemistry in the past. While field based calibration studies have defined the relationships between shell chemistry and bottom water conditions, our ability to interpret benthic foraminiferal proxy records continues to be challenged by the fact that multiple factors-- environmental and biological-- can influence most aspects of shell chemistry. Culture-based studies offer a promising complement to core-top calibrations, because in the laboratory it is possible to vary a single environmental variable while holding others constant. This research builds on previously funded culture work, here focusing on demonstrating calcification in culture, and reproduction and subsequent growth in culture, by Uvigerina and Cibicidoides species, two benthic foraminifera widely used in paleoceanography. Samples collected from the mid-Atlantic margin will be cultured under controlled and monitored physical and chemical conditions in order to assess the consistency of foraminiferal oxygen isotope values from the newly-formed shell material. The main focus is on foraminiferal growth and reproduction, which will lay important groundwork for future efforts toward proxy calibrations under variable environmental conditions. A female postdoctoral researcher will have a central role in the project. Other broader impacts include providing sea-going experience for undergraduate volunteers from non-oceanographic institutions.