Assessing dissolution in the tests of planktonic foraminifera using computed tomography (CT): potential for improving paleoceanographic reconstructions

An empirical dissolution index for planktonic foraminifera, XDX, was established based on the appearance of tests in computed tomography (CT) scans (Chapter 4). Calibrations between XDX and Delta[CO32-], Delta-mass (mass lost to dissolution) and Delta Mg/Ca (reduction in Mg/Ca due to dissolution) allow estimates of deep ocean Delta[CO32-] and also dissolution-corrected test mass and Mg/Ca (Chapter 5). Delta[CO32-] reconstructed for the deep (4,157 m) tropical western Indian Ocean (WIND28K) increased by ~25 µmol/kg over Termination I and ~15 µmol/kg over Termination II while dissolution maxima coincided with transitions to colder stages (Chapter 6). XDX-corrected Mg/Ca-derived SSTs were coolest during MIS 3. Minimum test mass in the corrected record coincided with the lowest temperatures. Comparison of two methods of cleaning foraminiferal tests from a depth transect (Chapter 7) found no offset in Mg/Ca between methods for G. sacculifer and P. obliquiloculata. Mg/Ca was decreased by reductive cleaning by ~4% for G. ruber and ~10% for N. dutertrei. Offset in Mg/Ca between the two methods was insensitive to preservation state.