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Calcium Carbonate dissolution History in Late Quaternary Deep-sea Sediments, Western Gulf of Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Robert C. Thunell
Robert C. Thunell*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA
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Abstract

Calcium carbonate dissolution has been studied in eight piston cores from the western Gulf of Mexico ranging in depth from 965 to 3630 m. The degree of dissolution throughout the cores was determined by studies of foraminiferal test fragmentation, benthonic foraminiferal abudance, calcium carbonate concentration, and various relationships between solution-resistant and solution-susceptible species. The paleoclimatic history recorded in these cores is similar to those defined previously in the Gulf of Mexico and equatorial Atlantic. Two mesgascopically distinct ash layers and well-defined planktonic foraminiferal subzones permit precise intercore correlation of dissolution horizons. All cores demonstrate intense dissolution during several subzones, especially during the early-middle Y, X1, and W1. Other less consistent dissolution horizons occur in various cores. Sedimentation rates increase while calcite concentrations decrease during glacial episodes suggesting increased dilution by terrigenous materials. Despite this, glacial episodes show greater dissolution and worse preservation of foraminiferal tests. Therefore, increased dissolution of calcium carbonate during glacial episodes must be a function of some mechanism that more than compensates for the increased rate of burial by terrigenous sediments. Dissolution is dissolution processes are not responsible for the observed effects. The oxidation of organic material may be the primary mechanism controlling the dissolution of calcium carbonate in the western Gulf of Mexico.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 1976 , pp. 281 - 297
Copyright
University of Washington

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