Paleoceanographic variations in the Santos Bifurcation: molecular organic markers as indicators of seawater temperature and organic matter input

• Grant number: 23/17753-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Chemical Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Márcia Caruso Bícego
• Grantee: Cristian Taboada Timoszczuk
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/14356-5 - The Santos Bifurcation: present and past, AP.TEM

Abstract

Despite having a fundamental role in the meridional circulation, the Antarctic Intermediate Water is still little studied in relation to its temporal variability and behavior when it reaches the eastern margin of the South Atlantic, in what is described as the Santos Bifurcation. The objective of this project is to evaluate oceanographic and climatic variations in the Bifurcação de Santos (BFS) region during the last 20 thousand years, related to changes in the temperature of surface water and seabed and the input of terrigenous and marine organic matter. This assessment will be carried out through the analysis of molecular organic markers, in this case alkenones, GDGTs and hydroxy fatty acids to assess seawater temperature, and n-alkanes, n-alcohols, sterols and fatty acids to assess the origin of organic matter. It is expected that it will be possible to diagnose changes in the deposition of organic matter in the study region, associating them with variations in the transport of water masses in the region and in the Santos Bifurcation itself.