Tracking the Recent and late Pleistocene Azores front by the distribution of planktic foraminifers
Schiebel, R.; Schmuker, B.; Alves, M.; Hemleben, Ch. (2002). Tracking the Recent and late Pleistocene Azores front by the distribution of planktic foraminifers. J. Mar. Syst. 37(1-2): 213-227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0924-7963(02)00203-8
In: Journal of Marine Systems. Elsevier: Tokyo; Oxford; New York; Amsterdam. ISSN 0924-7963; e-ISSN 1879-1573, more
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| Keywords |
Foraminifera
Fronts > Oceanic fronts
Geological time > Phanerozoic > Geological time > Cenozoic > Quaternary > Pleistocene
Layers > Discontinuity layers > Lysocline
Palaeo studies > Oceanography > Palaeoceanography
Palaeo studies > Palaeontology > Micropalaeontology
Population dynamics
Sedimentation
Globorotalia scitula (Brady, 1882) [WoRMS]
ANE, Azores [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
micropalaeontology; faunal analysis; planktic foraminifers; lysocline;oceanic fronts; paleoceanography; North Atlantic; Azores |
| Authors | | Top |
- Schiebel, R.
- Schmuker, B.
- Alves, M.
- Hemleben, Ch.
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| Abstract |
South of the Azores Islands, the population dynamics and sedimentation of planktic foraminifers are significantly influenced by the hydrography of the Azores Front Current System (AFCS). Planktic foraminifers collected from the water column during seasonal cruises across the Azores Front, record the temporal and spatial scale of hydrographic and faunal dynamics within this area. Surface sediment analysis reveals the presence of a large number of pteropod shells indicating preservation of aragonite and, therefore, little alteration of the calcitic foraminiferal tests. Consequently, most of the seasonal and spatial variability of the Azores Front is expected to be recorded by the planktic foraminiferal assemblages present within the surface sediment. In particular, Globorotalia scitula, a subsurface-dwelling species, decreases significantly in abundance to the south of the Azores Front, and shows fine-scale changes at the glacial/interglacial time scale. Enhanced faunal proportions of G. scitula in a sediment core that is located to the south of the modern Azores Current indicate a southward shift of the Azores Front Current System during the glacials and the presence of a transitional water mass at the Azores region. |
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