Can d44Ca be a Proxy for Paleoceanography? - A Case Study of Globigerinoides Sacculifer from Western Equatorial Atlantic

The δ 44Ca, δ 18O, and Mg/Ca ratios of fossil Globigerinoides sacculifer over the past 20 ka extracted from a Caribbean core, TT9108-1GC, have been measured in order to examine the possibility of using δ 44Ca as a proxy for paleoceanography. Our results indicate that the δ 44Ca of G. sacculifer varies as a function of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS). The Caribbean Sea SSS, reconstructed by combining the δ 18O and Mg/Ca ratios of G. sacculifer and sea level change data, shows significant fluctuations between 36.5 and 39.5 psu during the last 20 ka. After isolating the temperature effect, the δ 44Ca of G. sacculifer exhibits a positive correlation with SSS, ca 0.27±0.02 ‰ per 1 psu. On the other hand, no significant relationship is observed between δ 44Ca and seawater [CO3 -2]. Moreover, variation of G. sacculifer δ 44Ca can also be explained using a Rayleigh fractionation model. As a function of temperature and salinity, the metabolic rate may influence the utilization of vacuole Ca+2 in G. sacculifer, resulting in different δ 44Ca values. The results of this study are inconsistent with the "rate-controlled fractionation model" of Lemarchand et al. (2004), instead, the results are more in-line with the foraminiferal biomineralization model of Erez (2003), where δ 44Ca reflects the adjustments of temperature, salinity, and pH of seawater isolated in vacuoles during the growth of G. sacculifer.