Southern Ocean Planktonic Foraminifera Carbon Isotope Records from Sediment Traps

Carbon isotopic composition (d13C) is measured 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. Geoscience Australia Data published this dataset, last updated on 2026-04-30.

Use Cases

• Quantify the oceanic Suess effect based on modern depletion in foraminiferal d13C compared to core tops.
• Calibrate foraminiferal d13C as a nutrient tracer based on correlation with seasonal nutrient changes described for G. bulloides.
• Model disequilibrium effects between foraminiferal d13C and dissolved inorganic carbon across latitudinal gradients.
• Validate laboratory-derived temperature-disequilibrium relationships with field data from the Southern Ocean.

Strengths

• Includes data for three distinct foraminifera species (Globigerina bulloides, Globorotalia inflata, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s.)).
• Covers a latitudinal transect from Subtropical to Polar Frontal environments in the Southern Ocean.
• Enables flux-weighted comparison between sediment trap values and nearby core top samples.

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 2026-04-30 update timestamp.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Measurements from sediment traps collecting annual flux of planktonic foraminifera.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 14:41:15.339706.

Geography

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