Multispecies Planktonic and Benthic Foraminiferal Stable Isotopes from North Atlantic Subtropical Site 558: Thermocline Intensification During the Mid-Miocene Climate Transition

Abstract

We reconstruct the subtropical North Atlantic water column structure during the Miocene Climate Optimum warming (MCO; 17–14.8 Ma) and the Middle Miocene Climate Transition cooling (MMCT; 14.8–12.8 Ma) by analyzing δ18O and δ13C in four species of foraminifera (surface dwellers Dentoglobigerina altispira and Trilobatus quadrilobatus, thermocline dweller Dentoglobigerina venezuelana, and benthic Planulina wuellerstorfi) from Site 558 (37.8°N). At the end of the MCO, δ18O of surface and thermocline dwellers increased by >1‰, suggesting at least 2°C cooling in the upper ocean as ice growth increased global δ18Osw by ∼0.5‰. The difference in δ18O values between thermocline and surface-dwelling species increased during the MMCT, coinciding with the development of a largely permanent East Antarctic Ice Sheet, and persisted into the Late Miocene. We interpret this increase in vertical δ18O gradient as a strengthening of the thermocline due to intensification of subtropical gyre circulation in response to the MMCT cooling.