Planktonic foraminifera organic carbon isotopes as archives of upper ocean carbon cycling

Babette A. A. Hoogakker; Caroline Anderson; Tommaso Paoloni; Andrew Stott; Helen Grant; Patrick Keenan; Claire Mahaffey; Sabena Blackbird; Erin L. McClymont; Ros Rickaby; Alex Poulton; Victoria L. Peck

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0

Planktonic foraminifera organic carbon isotopes as archives of upper ocean carbon cycling

Babette A. A. Hoogakker, Caroline Anderson, Tommaso Paoloni, Andrew Stott, Helen Grant, Patrick Keenan, Claire Mahaffey, Sabena Blackbird, Erin L. McClymont, Ros Rickaby, Alex Poulton, Victoria L. Peck

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

10 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The carbon cycle is a key regulator of Earth’s climate. On geological time-scales, our understanding of particulate organic matter (POM), an important upper ocean carbon pool that fuels ecosystems and an integrated part of the carbon cycle, is limited. Here we investigate the relationship of planktonic foraminifera-bound organic carbon isotopes (δ¹³C_org-pforam) with δ¹³C_org of POM (δ¹³C_org-POM). We compare δ¹³C_org-pforam of several planktonic foraminifera species from plankton nets and recent sediment cores with δ¹³C_org-POM on a N-S Atlantic Ocean transect. Our results indicate that δ¹³C_org-pforam of planktonic foraminifera are remarkably similar to δ¹³C_org-POM. Application of our method on a glacial sample furthermore provided a δ¹³C_org-pforam value similar to glacial δ¹³C_org-POM predictions. We thus show that δ¹³C_org-pforam is a promising proxy to reconstruct environmental conditions in the upper ocean, providing a route to isolate past variations in δ¹³C_org-POM and better understanding of the evolution of the carbon cycle over geological time-scales.

Original language	English
Article number	4841
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	13
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0
Publication status	Published - 17 Aug 2022

Keywords

Atlantic Ocean
Carbon/analysis
Carbon Cycle
Carbon Isotopes/analysis
Ecosystem
Foraminifera
Particulate Matter
Plankton

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General
Physics and Astronomy(all)
Chemistry(all)
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0Licence: CC BY

Download pdf
© The Author(s) 2022.
Final published version, 734 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{46318ace322046a985b2cfcb7f91870f,

title = "Planktonic foraminifera organic carbon isotopes as archives of upper ocean carbon cycling",

abstract = "The carbon cycle is a key regulator of Earth{\textquoteright}s climate. On geological time-scales, our understanding of particulate organic matter (POM), an important upper ocean carbon pool that fuels ecosystems and an integrated part of the carbon cycle, is limited. Here we investigate the relationship of planktonic foraminifera-bound organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg-pforam) with δ13Corg of POM (δ13Corg-POM). We compare δ13Corg-pforam of several planktonic foraminifera species from plankton nets and recent sediment cores with δ13Corg-POM on a N-S Atlantic Ocean transect. Our results indicate that δ13Corg-pforam of planktonic foraminifera are remarkably similar to δ13Corg-POM. Application of our method on a glacial sample furthermore provided a δ13Corg-pforam value similar to glacial δ13Corg-POM predictions. We thus show that δ13Corg-pforam is a promising proxy to reconstruct environmental conditions in the upper ocean, providing a route to isolate past variations in δ13Corg-POM and better understanding of the evolution of the carbon cycle over geological time-scales.",

keywords = "Atlantic Ocean, Carbon/analysis, Carbon Cycle, Carbon Isotopes/analysis, Ecosystem, Foraminifera, Particulate Matter, Plankton",

author = "Hoogakker, {Babette A. A.} and Caroline Anderson and Tommaso Paoloni and Andrew Stott and Helen Grant and Patrick Keenan and Claire Mahaffey and Sabena Blackbird and McClymont, {Erin L.} and Ros Rickaby and Alex Poulton and Peck, {Victoria L.}",

note = "Funding Information: The work was supported by a UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/K00087X/1, a UKRI Future Leaders Grant MR/S034293/1, and a Philip Leverhulme Prize (to BAAH). Thanks to Simon Chenery and Elliot Hamilton for analysing the Mg/Ca of the glacial ODP 1088 sample. We are grateful to Nick McCave for making sample material from RAPiD and BOFS14K available. This research used samples and/or data provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). ODP is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and participating countries (Natural Environment Research Council in UK) under management of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), Inc. The UK Ocean Acidification research programme was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the NERC and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (NE/H017267/1, NE/H017097/1). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

day = "17",

doi = "10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Planktonic foraminifera organic carbon isotopes as archives of upper ocean carbon cycling

AU - Hoogakker, Babette A. A.

AU - Anderson, Caroline

AU - Paoloni, Tommaso

AU - Stott, Andrew

AU - Grant, Helen

AU - Keenan, Patrick

AU - Mahaffey, Claire

AU - Blackbird, Sabena

AU - McClymont, Erin L.

AU - Rickaby, Ros

AU - Poulton, Alex

AU - Peck, Victoria L.

N1 - Funding Information: The work was supported by a UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) grant NE/K00087X/1, a UKRI Future Leaders Grant MR/S034293/1, and a Philip Leverhulme Prize (to BAAH). Thanks to Simon Chenery and Elliot Hamilton for analysing the Mg/Ca of the glacial ODP 1088 sample. We are grateful to Nick McCave for making sample material from RAPiD and BOFS14K available. This research used samples and/or data provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). ODP is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and participating countries (Natural Environment Research Council in UK) under management of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), Inc. The UK Ocean Acidification research programme was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the NERC and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (NE/H017267/1, NE/H017097/1). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022/8/17

Y1 - 2022/8/17

N2 - The carbon cycle is a key regulator of Earth’s climate. On geological time-scales, our understanding of particulate organic matter (POM), an important upper ocean carbon pool that fuels ecosystems and an integrated part of the carbon cycle, is limited. Here we investigate the relationship of planktonic foraminifera-bound organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg-pforam) with δ13Corg of POM (δ13Corg-POM). We compare δ13Corg-pforam of several planktonic foraminifera species from plankton nets and recent sediment cores with δ13Corg-POM on a N-S Atlantic Ocean transect. Our results indicate that δ13Corg-pforam of planktonic foraminifera are remarkably similar to δ13Corg-POM. Application of our method on a glacial sample furthermore provided a δ13Corg-pforam value similar to glacial δ13Corg-POM predictions. We thus show that δ13Corg-pforam is a promising proxy to reconstruct environmental conditions in the upper ocean, providing a route to isolate past variations in δ13Corg-POM and better understanding of the evolution of the carbon cycle over geological time-scales.

AB - The carbon cycle is a key regulator of Earth’s climate. On geological time-scales, our understanding of particulate organic matter (POM), an important upper ocean carbon pool that fuels ecosystems and an integrated part of the carbon cycle, is limited. Here we investigate the relationship of planktonic foraminifera-bound organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg-pforam) with δ13Corg of POM (δ13Corg-POM). We compare δ13Corg-pforam of several planktonic foraminifera species from plankton nets and recent sediment cores with δ13Corg-POM on a N-S Atlantic Ocean transect. Our results indicate that δ13Corg-pforam of planktonic foraminifera are remarkably similar to δ13Corg-POM. Application of our method on a glacial sample furthermore provided a δ13Corg-pforam value similar to glacial δ13Corg-POM predictions. We thus show that δ13Corg-pforam is a promising proxy to reconstruct environmental conditions in the upper ocean, providing a route to isolate past variations in δ13Corg-POM and better understanding of the evolution of the carbon cycle over geological time-scales.

KW - Atlantic Ocean

KW - Carbon/analysis

KW - Carbon Cycle

KW - Carbon Isotopes/analysis

KW - Ecosystem

KW - Foraminifera

KW - Particulate Matter

KW - Plankton

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136062756&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0

DO - 10.1038/s41467-022-32480-0

M3 - Article

C2 - 35977937

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 13

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 4841

ER -

Planktonic foraminifera organic carbon isotopes as archives of upper ocean carbon cycling

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this