Southern Ocean Planktonic Foraminifera Carbon Isotope Records from Sediment Traps

Carbon isotopic composition measurements for three species of planktonic foraminifera collected from Southern Ocean sediment traps. The data, from the western Pacific/Southern Australia sector, represent annual flux across Subtropical to Polar Frontal environments and were published by Geoscience Australia Data. The dataset includes comparisons to dissolved inorganic carbon and core-top samples to estimate the oceanic Suess effect.

Use Cases

• Calibrating foraminiferal d13C as a nutrient tracer based on correlation with seasonal nutrient changes mentioned for G. bulloides.
• Modeling latitudinal trends in carbon isotope disequilibrium between foraminifera and dissolved inorganic carbon.
• Quantifying the modern oceanic Suess effect by comparing sediment trap values to nearby core tops.
• Studying the relationship between temperature and isotopic disequilibrium in planktonic foraminifera.

Strengths

• Includes data for three distinct foraminifera species (Globigerina bulloides, Globorotalia inflata, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma).
• Covers a latitudinal gradient from Subtropical to Polar Frontal environments in the Southern Ocean.
• Enables comparison between seasonal sediment trap fluxes and long-term core-top records.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified despite the last updated date of 2026-04-20.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Measurements from sediment traps collecting annual foraminiferal flux.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:30:26.698314

Geography

Southern Ocean, western Pacific/Southern Australia sector, Subtropical to Polar Frontal environments.