Analysis of the primary productivity in the Southern Ocean during the warming of the Middle Miocene using geochemical data

• Grant number: 23/05824-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Geological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Luigi Jovane
• Grantee: Tayná Lopes Florentino Pereira
• Supervisor: Isla S. Castañeda
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass Amherst), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/10275-3 - Analysis of the primary productivity of the Southern Ocean during the warming of the middle Miocene using geochemical data, BP.IC

Abstract

The Southern Ocean plays a crucial role in the world climate system, modulating air-sea heat and carbon exchange, via upwelling caused by the action of mid-latitude westerly winds, known as the westerlies. The process of upwelling influences significantly on the primary productivity, consequently, affecting the carbon cycle of the Southern Ocean. Reconstructing the primary productivity and tracing the influence of the westerlies during past warm periods such as Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO, ca. 17 - 14,7 Ma), in which atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was about 450 to 600 parts per million and temperatures were about 3 degrees Celsius higher than today, can improve our understanding of changes in the climate system as the temperature continues to warm. To investigate these effects, marine sediments from Site U1514 collected during expedition 369 of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) will be analyzed. Site U1514 was located on the Subantarctic front during the Early Miocene. The samples will be investigated through the measurement of magnetic properties of the sediment as a wind tracer, along with the quantification of biomarkers as a proxy for paleoproductivity. (AU)