Measurements of the U₃₇ K’ index and the absolute abundance of alkenones in marine sediments are increasingly used in paleoceanographic research as proxies of past sea surface
temperature and haptophyte (mainly coccolith-bearing species) primary productivity, respectively. An
important aspect of these studies is to be able to compare reliably data...
We conducted isothermal (15°C) batch culture experiments with the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (strain NEPCC 55a) to evaluate the extent to which nutrient and light stress contribute to variability in the alkenone unsaturation index U₃₇ᴷ'. Alkenone content and composition were constant throughout exponential growth in both experiments when nutrients (nitrate and...
Laboratory culture experiments were performed to establish the range of growth conditions where ¹³C labeling of di- and tri-unsaturated C₃₇ methyl ketones yields reliable growth rates for alkenone-producing algae. Results document that even at low growth rates and short time intervals, ¹³C labeling of the di-unsaturated C₃₇ alkenone provides reasonable...
The shallow sections of most holes drilled during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 139 contain alkenones derived from prymnesiophyte algae. The alkenones indicate a paleotemperature of the photic zone in the upper ocean during primary carbon fixation of 7°-15°C, with an average of 10.7°C. Based on laboratory hydrous pyrolyses these alkenones...
Sea surface temperature (SST) estimates were made using data for C37‐39 alkenones analyzed in modern and glacial‐age intervals of sediment cores collected along an east‐west (∼42°N from 125° to 132°W) and a north‐south (41°–33°N) transect of the California Current system (CCS). The prymnesiophyte biomarker results suggest that surface waters warmed...
Seasonal alkenone concentrations, production rates, and unsaturation patterns (U₃₇ᴷ') were measured at station ALOHA in the oligotrophic subtropical North Pacific. Highest alkenone concentration and production rates were found in (winter and fall) or just below (summer) the surface mixed layer. Lowest alkenone concentration and production rates were found within the...
Carbon isotopically based estimates of CO₂ levels have been generated from a record of the photosynthetic fractionation of ¹³C (≡εp) in a central equatorial Pacific sediment core that spans the last ~255 ka. Contents of ¹³C in phytoplanktonic biomass were determined by analysis of C37 alkadienones. These compounds are exclusive...