Reconstructing Holocene Upwelling Conditions Using Diatom Assemblage Abundance in Monterey Bay, CA

Alex Gama, United States, Amy J Wagner, California State University Sacramento, Department of Geology, Sacramento, United States, Jason A Addison, USGS, Geology, Minerals, Energy, & Geophysics Science Center, Menlo Park, CA, United States, John Arthur Barron, USGS, Menlo Park, CA, United States, Joseph A Carlin, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, United States and Valerie Schwartz, San Francisco State University, Cupertino, CA, United States
Abstract:
Upwelling along the eastern margin of the North Pacific is essential to the California Current System (CCS) by providing nutrient rich deep waters to the surface and helping to sustain the diverse marine ecosystem along the US West Coast. Previous work has suggested a potential increase in upwelling due to climate change although future predictions remain uncertain. Here we present a diatom assemblage record from a 155 cm long gravity core from the Pioneer Seamount, offshore Santa Cruz, California (PS1410). Preliminary analyses suggest a greater abundance of F. doliolus, a species commonly used as a proxy for decreased productivity and upwelling, occurs around 3,500 cal years BP. These results contribute to a greater understanding to how future oceanic conditions may change the marine ecosystem along the western coast of the US.
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