The effect of carbonate chemistry on trace element incorporation in high-Mg calcitic foraminifera

Abstract

The sodium-to-calcium ratio (Na/Ca) of biogenic CaCO3 has recently been introduced as a proxy for past seawater Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+sw]) as demonstrated by a positive correlation between seawater and shell Na/Ca with a minor influence of salinity. In the present study, we investigate the effect of carbonate chemistry on the Na/Ca proxy by conducting a set of experiments in which pH and the concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were independently varied. In addition to Na+, the incorporation of Li+, Mg2+, and Sr2+ into the shells of the large benthic high-Mg calcitic foraminifer Operculina ammonoides was assessed by culturing under constant DIC (∼2170 µmol kg−1) with varying pH (7.5–8.4 NBS scale), and under varying DIC (830–2470 µmol kg−1) with constant pH (∼7.9). Foraminiferal growth rate correlates linearly with calcite saturation state (Ω) of the experimental seawater (SW). The lowest pH and DIC experiments were characterized by low population growth rates, and some of these specimens died and their shells partially dissolved.