Controls on Sr/Ca, S/Ca, and Mg/Ca in Benthic Foraminifera: Implications for the Carbonate Chemistry of the Pacific Ocean Over the Last 350 ky

Abstract

Abstract Boron to calcium (B/Ca) records in benthic foraminifera, used for reconstructing the carbonate ion saturation state (ΔCO3) of the deep ocean, suggest that carbon sequestration in the Southern Pacific contributed to lowering atmospheric CO2 during the last glacial interval. However, the spatial and temporal extent of this storage is debated due to limited ΔCO3 records. To increase available ΔCO3 records, we explored using strontium and sulfur to calcium (Sr/Ca, S/Ca) in Planulina wuellerstorfi as additional proxies for ΔCO3 based on comparison with paired B/Ca down‐core records from Pacific Sites U1486 (1,332 m depth) and U1487 (874 m depth) cored during the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 363. The Sr/Ca and S/Ca records from P. wuellerstorfi closely covary with the B/Ca‐derived ΔCO3 records. Temperature, reconstructed using Uvigerina peregrina magnesium to calcium (Mg/Ca), has no discernible effect on Sr/Ca, whereas S/Ca also varies with Mg/Ca in both U. peregrina and P. wuellerstorfi, suggesting an additional temperature effect. Mg/Ca records from P. wuellerstorfi are affected by both temperature and ΔCO3. We assess calibrations of Sr/Ca to ΔCO3 for the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and recommend using the down‐core rather than core‐top calibrations as they yield consistent sensitivity, though with offsets, in all ocean basins. Reconstructing Pacific ΔCO3 records from sites U1486, U1487, and DSDP 593, we demonstrate the benefit of using Sr/Ca as an additional ΔCO3 proxy to assess the contribution of the Southern Pacific to the increase of atmospheric CO2 at glacial terminations.

Keywords

• foraminiferal B/Ca, Sr/Ca, S/Ca, Mg/Ca
• carbonate ion proxies
• glacial‐interglacial CO2