The Mid Pleistocene transition: did marine biological productivity lead to pCO2 changes?
Final Report Abstract
The aim of the project is to test the greenhouse forcing hypothesis: was marine biological productivity globally enhanced in glacial and interglacial periods during the MPT leading to storage of carbon in deep ocean basins? Did terrestrial input of nutrients and organic detritus during this period of a shift in global aridity foster productivity, lead to lighter δ13C in foraminiferal shells and drop in pCO2atm? We hypothesize that the Late Miocene "Biogenic Bloom" period may be considered as an analogon to the MPT, in that during a shift to more negative carbon isotope values marine productivity increased in parallel with increasing continental aridity and dust input. The present project had asked for funds for a preliminary study. These first results are promising and form a basis for a better understanding of the productivity proxies and the history of marine biological productivity during the Mid Pleistocene transition.
