Southern Ocean Foraminifera Oxygen Isotope Records from Five Sediment Traps

Australian Ocean Data Network provides oxygen isotope (d18O) records from three species of planktonic foraminifera (Globigerina bulloides, Globorotalia inflata, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma) collected from five sediment traps moored in the Southern Ocean and Southwest Pacific. The dataset captures seasonal flux patterns and isotopic values across subtropical to polar frontal environments, with analysis comparing records to established paleoclimate equations. The data was last updated on 2026-04-10.

Use Cases

• Calibrating paleotemperature equations based on the comparison of foraminiferal d18O to predicted calcite d18O.
• Reconstructing seasonal surface ocean conditions based on the seasonal range in d18O values for G. bulloides and N. pachyderma.
• Investigating foraminiferal habitat depth based on isotopic offsets between species like G. inflata and others.
• Assessing the preservation of seasonal climate signals in sedimentary records by comparing trap flux-weighted values to surface sediments.
• Analyzing latitudinal gradients in foraminiferal ecology based on species-specific flux patterns across the trap sites.

Strengths

• Data spans a latitudinal gradient from subtropical to polar frontal environments in the Southern Ocean.
• Includes the first analysis of seasonal foraminiferal d18O records from these latitudes.
• Compares records against multiple established paleoclimate equations (Epstein et al., 1953 and Kim and O'Neil, 1997).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Analysis of oxygen isotopic records from foraminifera collected by five sediment traps.

Time Range

Seasonal records, specific years not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 20:09:59.683127; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Ocean and Southwest Pacific, from subtropical to polar frontal zones.