Planktonic Foraminifera Isotope and Flux Data from Sargasso Sea Sediment Traps

Thirty-one sediment trap deployments collected time-series data on fluxes, average weights, and stable oxygen and carbon isotopes of three perennially abundant planktonic foraminifera species in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda. The data were collected by Dr. W. G. Deuser of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution between April 1978 and May 1984, funded by multiple NSF grants. This dataset provides a multi-year record of planktonic foraminifera properties from two depths above the sea floor.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal and interannual variability in planktonic foraminifera fluxes to the deep sea.
• Calibrating paleoceanographic proxies by linking foraminifera stable isotope ratios (oxygen and carbon) to modern ocean conditions.
• Studying the life history and calcification of specific species like Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerinella aequilateralis, and Orbulina universa.
• Investigating the relationship between foraminifera shell weight and ocean carbonate chemistry over a six-year period.
• Modeling particulate organic carbon export using sediment trap flux data from 1000-m and 3200-m above the sea floor.

Strengths

• Contains a six-year continuous time series from April 1978 to May 1984.
• Provides species-level data for three distinct planktonic foraminifera forms.
• Includes multiple measured variables: fluxes, average weights, and stable oxygen and carbon isotopes.
• Data originates from a respected oceanographic institution (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) under peer-reviewed NSF grants.

Limitations

• The exact column names, row count, and data size are unknown from the provided sources.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: one lists 1984-05-17, while another lists 2026-03-05 (likely a metadata refresh).
• The original data format was a floppy disk, which may imply legacy formatting or potential data recovery challenges.

Provenance

Source

Dr. W. G. Deuser, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Collection Method

Collected via thirty-one sediment trap deployments at 3200-m and 1000-m above the sea floor.

Time Range

April 1978 to May 1984

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:56:39.113291

Geography

Sargasso Sea, near Bermuda, North Atlantic Ocean.