Planktonic foraminiferal and alkenone records of the last deglaciation from the Eastern Arabian Sea

The oxygen isotope record of planktonic foraminifera from tropical core MD77194 (Eastern Arabian Sea) exhibits a clear two-step deglaciation with a brief delta(18)O transient event. In the tropics, this delta(18)O maximum could correspond to a cooling or to a change in the delta(18)O content of sea water. In this study, past sea-surface temperature (SST) and primary production (PP) are reconstructed from foraminiferal transfer functions and compared to values estimated from alkenone measurements. SST and PP records from both proxies indicate a 1.5-2.5 degrees C deglacial warming, coupled with a PP decrease, and a 0.5-1 degrees C cooling during the Younger Dryas (YD). A detailed comparison between independent micropaleontological and geochemical proxies helps us identify potential biases and thus strengthen the paleo-reconstructions. (C) 1999 University of Washington.