The Mid Pleistocene transition: did marine biological productivity lead to pCO2 changes?

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Liselotte Diester-Haass
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2014 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 255886300

This small project aims at preparing a large project about the Mid Pleistocene transition. I want to wash and sieve samples from the 5 ODP locations, that should be studied in the planned project, in order to find out whether enough of those benhtic foraminiferal species are available that form the basis for Caroline Lear's geochemical work (Mg/ca, Li/Ca, U/Ca). These data will contribute to the reconstruction of marine productivity besides micropaleontological studies of accumulation rates of benthic foraminifera and of stable isotopes. The planned large project will study whether an increase in marine biological productivity contributed to the drop in pCO2 atm. during the Mid Pleistocene Transition.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 527: Bereich Infrastruktur - "International Ocean Discovery Program" (IODP)
• International Connection: United Kingdom, USA
• Participating Persons: Professorin Dr. Katharina Billups; Professorin Dr. Caroline Lear