Observations of elevated barium-to-calcium ratio (Ba/Ca) in Globorotalia truncatulinoides have been attributed to contaminant phases, deep calcification depth and diagenetic processes. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and their collaborators investigated intra- and inter-test Ba/Ca variability in the non-spinose planktic foraminifer, G. truncatulinoides, from a sediment trap time series (2009-2017) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (generally 27.5°N and 90.3°W) to gain insights into the environmental ...

This data release includes results of a high-resolution (1–2 weeks) and long-term sediment trap time series collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico. This dataset allows for a detailed assessment of the seasonal distribution, size, morphological variability and geochemistry of co-occurring pink and white chromotypes of the shallow-water foraminifera, Globigerinoides ruber. The flux of both chromotypes is highly correlated, and both represent mean annual conditions in the marine surface mixed layer. ...

Modern observations of planktic foraminifera from sediment trap studies help to constrain the regional ecology of paleoceanographically valuable species. Results from a weekly-resolved sediment trap time series (2008–2014) in the northern Gulf of Mexico demonstrate that 92% of Globorotalia truncatulinoides flux occurs in winter (January, February, and March), and that encrusted and non-encrusted individuals represent calcification in distinct depth habitats. Individual foraminiferal analysis (IFA) of G. ...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a sediment trap (McLane PARFLUX 78H) mooring in the northern Gulf of Mexico (27.5 °N and 90.3°W, water depth 1150 meters [m]) in January 2008 to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifers. The trap was positioned in the water column at a depth of 700 m on the mooring cable to enable the collection of deeper dwelling species of planktic foraminifera. The trap contains 21 collection cups that were programmed to ...

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope composition (δ18O and δ13C) and magnesium-to-calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios were measured in the tests of planktic foraminiferal species, Globigerinoides ruber (white variety), in a northwestern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) sediment core 2010-GB2-GC1 collected from the Garrison Basin (26.67°N, 93.92°W) at a water depth of 1776 meters (m), aboard the R/V Cape Hatteras in April 2010. These measurements are used to generate sub-centennial-scale reconstructions of sea surface temperature ...

In 2019, the magnesium-to-calcium (Mg/Ca) ratios were measured in the tests of planktic foraminiferal species, Globigerinoides ruber (white variety), in a subset of samples from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) sediment core U1146 from the Bay of Bengal drilled November 2014 to January 2015. For further information regarding data collection and/or processing methods, refer to the associated journal article (Clemens and others, 2021).