Benthic foraminifera from Pine Island and Ferrero bays, Amundsen Sea

Twenty one core tops from the central part of Pine Island Bay and nearby Ferrero Bay were collected in early 2010. They originate from a poorly studied area of the Amundsen Sea influenced at greater depths by relatively warm Circumpolar Deep Water. Almost all samples came from water−depths between 550 and 900 m and yield benthic foraminiferal assemblages of moderate variability with a significant decrease in calcareous forms with increasing water−depth. In total, 93 benthic taxa, belonging to 71 genera, are identified at the species level. They share a greater percentage of common species with the Ross Sea than with South Shetland Islands, most likely due to stronger climatic dissimilar− ity with the latter. Interestingly, the assemblages from Pine Island Bay, share the greatest numbers of taxa with assemblages described from Lützow−Holm Bay in East Antarctica, where the influence of Circumpolar Deep Water has been also recognized.

[1]  J. Turner,et al.  Antarctic Peninsula climate variability and its causes as revealed by analysis of instrumental records , 2013 .

[2]  H. Hellmer,et al.  The Amundsen Sea and the Antarctic Ice Sheet , 2012 .

[3]  Stephen F. Ackley,et al.  Antarctic sea ice—A polar opposite? , 2012 .

[4]  John B. Anderson,et al.  Post-LGM deglaciation in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica , 2012 .

[5]  S. Jacobs,et al.  Stronger ocean circulation and increased melting under Pine Island Glacier ice shelf , 2011 .

[6]  John B. Anderson,et al.  Geological record of ice shelf break-up and grounding line retreat, Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica , 2011 .

[7]  Huw J. Griffiths,et al.  Antarctic Marine Biodiversity – What Do We Know About the Distribution of Life in the Southern Ocean? , 2010, PloS one.

[8]  E. Braga,et al.  Recent benthic foraminiferal distribution and related environmental factors in Ezcurra Inlet, King George Island, Antarctica , 2010, Antarctic Science.

[9]  W. Majewski,et al.  Morphologic and molecular diversity of the foraminiferal genus Globocassidulina in Admiralty Bay, King George Island , 2010, Antarctic Science.

[10]  David M. Holland,et al.  Modelling Circumpolar Deep Water intrusions on the Amundsen Sea continental shelf, Antarctica , 2008 .

[11]  Eric Rignot,et al.  Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling , 2008 .

[12]  S. Jacobs,et al.  Bathymetry of the Amundsen Sea continental shelf: Implications for geology, oceanography, and glaciology , 2007 .

[13]  M. Brandon,et al.  Oceanic heat transport onto the Amundsen Sea shelf through a submarine glacial trough , 2007 .

[14]  V. Mikhalevich.  The general aspects of the distribution of Antarctic foraminifera , 2004 .

[15]  John B. Anderson,et al.  Reconstruction of the West Antarctic ice sheet in Pine Island Bay during the Last Glacial Maximum and its subsequent retreat history , 2002 .

[16]  Eric Rignot,et al.  Mass Balance of Polar Ice Sheets , 2002, Science.

[17]  M. Fukuchi,et al.  Bathymetric distribution of fossil foraminifera within marine sediment cores from the eastern part of Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica, and its paleoceanographic implications , 2001 .

[18]  E. Domack,et al.  Oceanographic controls on benthic foraminifers from the Bellingshausen margin of the Antarctic Peninsula , 1994 .

[19]  A. Mackensen,et al.  Benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the eastern Weddell Sea between 68 and 73°S: Distribution, ecology and fossilization potential , 1990 .

[20]  W. Berger,et al.  Paleoproductivity: The benthic/planktonic ratio in foraminifera as a productivity index , 1988 .

[21]  Alfred R. Loeblich,et al.  Foraminiferal Genera and Their Classification , 1988 .

[22]  J. Bernhard.  Foraminiferal biotopes in Explorers Cove, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica , 1987 .

[23]  P. Vella,et al.  Distribution and ecology of benthic foraminifera in McMurdo sound, antarctica , 1987 .

[24]  G. Mead.  Recent benthic foraminifera in the Polar Front region of the Southwest Atlantic , 1985 .

[25]  B. Haq,et al.  Assessment of quantitative techniques in paleobiogeography , 1982 .

[26]  J. Lipps,et al.  Foraminiferal decimation and repopulation in an active volcanic caldera, Deception Island, Antarctica , 1981 .

[27]  T. B. Kellogg,et al.  Recent benthic foraminiferal distributions from the Ross Sea, Antarctica; relation to ecologic and oceanographic conditions , 1979 .

[28]  R. Fillon.  Late Cenozoic foraminiferal paleoecology of the Ross Sea, Antarctica , 1974 .

[29]  W. Majewski.  Benthic foraminifera from West Antarctic fiord environments: An overview , 2010 .

[30]  F. Sinniger,et al.  Monothalamous foraminifera from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, West Antarctica , 2007 .

[31]  W. Majewski.  Benthic foraminiferal communities: distribution and ecology in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, West Antarctica , 2005 .

[32]  M. Mayer.  Zur Ökologie der Benthos-Foraminiferen der Potter Cove (King George Island, Antarktis) = Ecology of benthic foraminifera in the Potter Cove (King George Island, Antarctica) , 2000 .

[33]  Gregory C. Johnson,et al.  Circulation, mixing, and production of Antarctic Bottom Water , 1999 .

[34]  D. Violanti.  Taxonomy and distribution of recent benthic foraminifers from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica), Oceanographic Campaign 1987/1988 , 1996 .

[35]  J. Bernhard,et al.  Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Explorers Cove, Antarctica: A shallow-water site with deep-sea characteristics , 1996 .

[36]  R. Thunell,et al.  Seasonality of living benthic Foraminifera from the San Pedro Basin, California Borderland , 1996 .

[37]  D. Haman.  THE TROCHAMMINACEA OF THE DISCOVERY REPORTS. , 1989 .

[38]  D. Kellogg,et al.  Microfossil distributions in modern Amundsen Sea sediments , 1987 .

[39]  B. Ward.  Distribution of Modern Benthic Foraminifera of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica , 1984 .

[40]  B. Corliss.  Taxonomy of Recent Deep-Sea Benthonic Foraminifera from the Southeast Indian Ocean , 1979 .