Title Diatom assemblages in surface sediments of the northwestern Weddell Sea, Antarctic Peninsula
Author Buffen, A.; Leventer, A.; Rubin, A.; Hutchins, T.
Author Affil Buffen, A., Colgate University, Department of Geology, Hamilton, NY
Source Marine Micropaleontology, 62(1), p.7- 30, . Publisher: Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands. ISSN: 0377-8398
Publication Date Jan. 10, 2007
Notes In English. 100 refs. Ant. Acc. No: 83507. GeoRef Acc. No: 282480
Index Terms algae; ecology; ice; marine deposits; plant ecology; sediments; statistical analysis; Antarctica--Antarctic Peninsula; Southern Ocean--Weddell Sea; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; applications; assemblages; Bacillariophyceae; biofacies; cluster analysis; coastal environment; diatoms; marine geology; marine sediments; modern; modern analogs; paleo-oceanography; Plantae; principal components analysis; productivity; sea ice; seasonal variations; Southern Ocean; Weddell Sea
Abstract A study of 42 surface sediment samples from the northwestern Weddell Sea documents the relationship between the modern distribution of diatom assemblages and present oceanographic conditions in the region. Three diatom assemblages were identified using R- mode principal components analysis and cluster analysis, while Q-mode cluster analysis was used to distinguish two geographically distinct biofacies. Based on the relative abundance of diatom species, the biofacies of the former Larsen A Ice Shelf (LAIS) is more closely associated with a sea ice diatom assemblage, while the biofacies of the Prince Gustav Channel/Northern Peninsula (PGC/NP) is associated with two open coastal diatom assemblages. This division is consistent with variance observed in the current oceanographic setting, whereby the LAIS is generally characterized by a longer seasonal duration of sea ice coverage and lower primary productivity relative to the PGC/NP which is marked by a shorter seasonal duration of sea ice coverage and greater surface water productivity. This relationship is further reflected in the distribution of the paleoenvironmentally significant diatom species Fragilariopsis curta, Thalassiosira antarctica, and Chaetoceros subg. Hyalochaete spp. as well as in absolute abundance data. (mod. journ. abst.)
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10.1016/j.marmicro.2006.07.002
Publication Type journal article
Record ID 62000748