Effects of Seawater Carbonate Chemistry on the Stable Isotope Geochemistry of Cultured Benthic Foraminifera

以往的研究表明，威德尔海海冰中的颗粒物有机质（POM）相对于海水中的POM具有较强的13C和15N富集。该项目将检验南大洋沉积物中的稳定同位素值受到冰藻输入的显著影响的假设，这可能被误解为养分利用和生产力的变化。该项目将检查地表沉积物的样带，以确定是否存在与假设一致的南北梯度，并将确定跨越最后一个冰期的几个岩心的稳定同位素变化，以跟踪冰藻输入的可能变化。

Previous work indicates that the particulate organic matter (POM) in sea ice of the Weddell Sea is strongly enriched in 13C and 15N relative to seawater POM. This project will test the hypothesis that stable isotopic values in Southern Ocean sediments are significantly affected by ice-algal input, which may have been misinterpreted as variations in nutrient utilization and productivity. The project will examine transects of surface sediments to determine if a north-south gradient exists consistent with the hypothesis, and will also determine stable isotope variations in several cores spanning the last glacial to track possible changes in ice-algal input.