Planktonic foraminifera as signal carriers in paleoceanography: from modern biology to proxy application in the western South Atlantic

Abstract

Proxies derived from planktonic foraminifera shell chemistry and assemblage composition allowed to assess past changes in surface hydrography. However, the usefulness of these planktonic foraminifera proxies relies on the understanding of their biology and species-specific environmental preferences. Despite the importance of these evaluations regarding foraminiferal biology, informations about the species reproductive cycle, calcification depth and seasonal fluxes still not well constrained. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the assessment of planktonic foraminiferal biology (e.g. reproduction and calcification depth) and on paleoceanographic application of proxies derived from these organisms in marine archives located at the western South Atlantic, which is a key region due to the presence of boundary currents that transport heat to high latitudes.