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Latitudinal and Downcore (0–750 ka) Changes in Nalkane Chain Lengths in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Keiji Horikawa ,
Masafumi Murayama ,
Masao Minagawa ,
Yoshihisa Kato  and
Takuya Sagawa
Keiji Horikawa*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, B200 Monobe, Nankoku 783-8502, Japan Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Masafumi Murayama
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, B200 Monobe, Nankoku 783-8502, Japan
Masao Minagawa
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
Yoshihisa Kato
Affiliation:
School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokai University, Shizuoka 424-8610, Japan
Takuya Sagawa
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, B200 Monobe, Nankoku 783-8502, Japan
*
*Corresponding author. Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. Fax: +81 52 789 3033.E-mail address:horikawa@nagoya-u.jp (K. Horikawa).
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Abstract

The n-alkane C31/(C29+C31) ratios from surface sediments in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) exhibit higher values to the north and lower values to the south across the southern edge (2–4°N) of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Since plants tend to synthesize longer chain length n-alkanes in response to elevated temperature and/or aridity, the higher C 31/(C29+C31) ratios at northern sites suggest a higher contribution of vegetation under hot and/or dry conditions. This is consistent with the observation that northern sites receive higher levels of plant waxes transported by northeasterly trade winds from northern South America, where hot and dry conditions prevail. Furthermore, from a sediment core covering the past 750 ka (core HY04; 4°N, 95°W) we found that C31/(C29+C31) ratios exhibit a long-term decrease from MIS (marine oxygen isotope stage) 17 to 13. During this period, the zonal SST (sea-surface temperature) gradient in the equatorial Pacific increased, suggesting an increase in Walker circulation. Such intensified Walker circulation may have enhanced moisture advection from the equatorial Atlantic warm pool to the adjacent northern South America, causing arid regions in northern South America to contract, which may explain long-term decrease in n-alkane chain lengths.

Keywords

n-alkaneVegetation changeMIS 13Eastern equatorial PacificMid-Pleistocene Transition
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 573 - 582
Copyright
University of Washington

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