Major Diatom Microfossils from the Arctic Region: A Review
Authors
-
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Headland Sada, Vasco da Gama - 403 804
Harikrishnan Guruvayoorappan -
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Headland Sada, Vasco da Gama - 403 804
Rahul Mohan
Keywords:
No KeywordsAbstract
Diatoms-the unicellular, eukaryotic, photosynthetic phytoplankton belonging to Class Bacillariophyceae are an excellent tool to understand past ocean surface conditions, especially in high latitude regions. Along with sea surface temperature and sea ice, which they are primarily sensitive to, diatom assemblages could potentially be used to record runoff from melting glaciers and atmospheric teleconnections such as North Atlantic Oscillations (NAO) in Arctic fjords. However, understanding the ecology and geographical distribution of diatoms is extremely important before they can be used for palaeoceanographic reconstructions. In this study, four significant Arctic diatoms namely Bacterosira bathyomphala, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, Fragilaripsis oceanica and Thalassiosira antarctica var. borealis resting spores (R.S.) have been reviewed to understand their current status in their use for palaeoceanographic reconstructions. These four diatoms have been selected as they represent a typical Arctic environment. Numerous studies in the past thirty years had classified these diatoms into different assemblage groups, indicating specific ocean surface conditions. Here, we review the previous studies and to present the up-to-date classification of these species. We also compared the change in abundance of these four species through mid to late Holocene and modern period to their respective sea surface temperature and sea ice reconstructions, to show the robustness of their usage in palaeoceanographic reconstructions. The findings of this study will help to understand the up-to-date ecological characteristics of Arctic diatoms used in palaeoceanographic as well as palaeoecological reconstructions and the gap areas in diatom research such as a requirement for pan Arctic Sea ice diatom dataset.
Downloads
Metrics
Issue
Section
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
References
Abelmann, A. (1992) Diatom assemblages in Arctic sea ice-indicator for ice drift pathways. Deep-Sea Res., v.39, Supplement 2, pp.525-38
Andersen, C.N., Koç, N. and Moros, M. (2004) A highly unstable Holocene climate in the subpolar North Atlantic: evidence from diatoms. Quaternary Sci. Rev., v.23, pp.2155–2166.
Cremer, H. (1999) Distribution patterns of diatom surface sediment assemblages in the Laptev Sea (Arctic Ocean). Mar. Micropaleo., v.38, pp.39-67.
Crosta, X. and Koç, N. (2007) Proxies in Late Cenozoic Paleoceanography. In: Hillaire-Marcel, C. and de Vernal, A. (Eds.), Developments in Marine Geology. Elsevier, v.1, pp.327.
De Seve, M.A. (1999) Transfer function between surface sediment diatom assemblages and sea-surface temperature and salinity of the Labrador Sea. Mar. Micropaleo. v.36, pp.249–267.
Edwards, M., Beaugrand, G., Kleparski, L., Helaouet, P. and Philip, C. Reid (2022) Climate variability and multi-decadal diatom abundance in the Northeast Atlantic. Commun. Earth Environ., v.3, pp.162
Guruvayoorappan, H., Miettinen, A., Divine, D.V., Moros, M., Orme, L.C. and Mohan, R. (2020) Ocean surface warming in Krossfjorden, Svalbard, during the last 60 years. Arktos., v.6, pp.1–13
Hasle, G.R. and Syvertsen, E.E. (1996) Marine diatoms. In: Tomas, C.R. (Ed.), Identifying marine phytoplankton. Academic Press, California, pp.5–385.
Jensen, K.G., Kuijpers, A., Koç, N. and Heinemeier, J. (2004) Diatom evidence of hydrographic changes and ice conditions in Igaliku Fjord, South Greenland, during the past 1500 years. The Holocene. v.14, pp.152–164.
Jiang, H., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Knudsen, K.L. and Eiriksson, J. (2001) Diatom surface sediment Assemblages around Iceland and their relationship to oceanic environmental variables. Mar. Micropaleo., v.41, pp.73–96.
Jiang, H., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Knudsen, K.L. and Eiríksson, J. (2002) Late- Holocene summer sea-surface temperatures based on a diatom record from the north Icelandic shelf. The Holocene. v.12 (2), pp.137–147.
Justwan, A. and Koç, N. (2008) A diatom based transfer function for reconstructing sea ice concentrations in the North Atlantic. Mar. Micropaleo., v.66, pp.264–278.
Koc Karpuz, N. and Schrader, H. (1990) Surface sediment diatom distribution and Holocene paleotemperature variations in the Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian Sea. Paleoceanography, v.5, pp. 557–580.
Koc, N. and Jansen, E. (1994) Response of the high-latitude Northern Hemisphere to orbital climate forcing: evidence from the Nordic Seas. Geology, v.22, pp.523–526.
Koc, N., Klitgaard-Kristensen, D., Hasle, K., Forsberg, C.F. and Solheim, A. (2002) Late glacial paleoceanography of Hinlopen Strait, northern Svalbard. Polar Res., v.21(2), pp.307–314.
Krawczyk, D.W., Witkowski, A., Lloyd, J., Moros, M., Harff, J. and Kuijpers, A. (2013) Late-Holocene diatom derived seasonal variability in hydrological conditions off Disko Bay, West Greenland. Quaternary Sci. Rev., v.67, pp.93–104.
Krawczyk, D.W., Witkowski, A., Moros, M., Lloyd, J., Kuijpers, A. and Kierzek, A. (2010) Late-Holocene diatom- inferred reconstruction of temperature variations of the West Greenland Current from Disko Bugt, central West Greenland. The Holocene, v.20(5), pp.659–666.
Krawczyk, D.W., Witkowski, A., Moros, M., Lloyd, J.M., Høyer, J.L., Miettinen, A. and Kuijpers, A. (2016) Quantitative reconstruction of Holocene sea ice and surface temperature off West Greenland from the first regional diatom data set. Paleoceanography, v.32(1), pp.18–40.
Limoges, A., Weckstrom, K., Ribeiro, S., Georgiadis, E., Hansen, K.E., Martinez, P., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Giraudeau, J., Crosta, J., and Masse, G. (2020) Learning from the past: Impact of the Arctic Oscillation on sea ice and marine productivity off northwest Greenland over the last 9,000 years. Glob. Change Biol., v.26, pp.6767– 6786
Mann, D. G. (1999) The species concept in diatoms. Phycologia, v.38, pp.437– 495
Miettinen, A. (2018) Diatoms in Arctic regions. Potential tools to decipher environmental changes. Polar Sci., v.18, pp. 220-226
Miettinen, A., Divine, D.V., Husum, K., Koç, N. and Jennings, A. (2015) Exceptional Ocean surface conditions on the SE Greenland shelf during the medieval climate Anomaly. Paleoceanography, v.30, pp.1657–1674.
Oksman, M., Juggins, S., Miettinen, A., Witkowski, A. and Weckström, K. (2019) The biogeography and ecology of common diatom species in the northern North Atlantic, and their implications for paleoceanographic reconstructions. Mar. Micropaleo., v.148, pp.1–28.
Oksman, M., Kvorning B. A., Larsen, S. H., Kjeldsen, K. K., Mankoff, K D., Colgan, W., Andersen, T J., Norgaard-Pedersen, T., Seidenkrantz, M-S., Mikkelsen, N. and Ribeiro, S. (2022) Impact of freshwater runoff from the southwest Greenland Ice Sheet on fjord productivity since the late 19th century. The Cryosphere, v.16, pp.2471-2491
Oksman, M., Weckström, K., Miettinen, A., Ojala, A.E.K. and Salonen, V.P. (2017a) Late Holocene shift towards enhanced oceanic variability in a High Arctic Svalbard fjord (79°N). Arktos, v.3, pp.4.
Oksman, M., Weckström, K., Miettinen, A., Juggins, S., Divine, D.V., Jackson, R., Telford, R., Korsgaard, N.J. and Kucera, M. (2017b) Younger Dryas ice margin retreat triggered by ocean surface warming in central-eastern Baffin Bay. Nat. Commun., v.8, pp.1017.
Orme, L. C., Miettinen, A., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Tuominen, K., Pearce, C., Divine, D. V., Oksman, M. and Kuijpers, A. (2021) Mid to late-Holocene sea-surface temperature variability off north-eastern Newfoundland and its linkage to the North Atlantic Oscillation. The Holocene, v.31(1), pp.3–15.
Ren, J., Jiang, H., Seidenkrantz, M.-S. and Kuijpers, A. (2009) A diatom- based reconstruction of Early Holocene hydrographic and climate change in a southwest Greenland fjord. Mar. Micropaleo., v.70, pp.166–176.
Round, F.E., Crawford, R.M. and Mann, D.G. (1990) The diatoms. Biology and morphology of the genera. Cambridge University Press, 747p.
Sancetta, C. (1982) Distribution of diatom species in surface sediments of Bering and Okhotsk seas. Micropaleo., v.28, pp.221-57
Sha, L., Jiang, H., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Knudsen, K.L., Olsen, J., Kuijpers, A. and Liu, Y. (2014) A diatom-based sea- ice reconstruction for the Vaigat Strait (Disko Bugt, West Greenland) over the last 5000 yr. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol., v.403, pp.66–79.
Sha, L., Jiang, H., Seidenkrantz, M.-S., Li, D., Andresen, C.S., Knudsen, K.L., Liu, Y. and Zhao, M. (2017) A record of Holocene sea-ice variability off West Greenland and its potential forcing factors. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol., v.475, pp.115–124.
von Quillfeldt, C.H. (2000). Common diatom species in Arctic spring blooms: their distribution and abundance. Bot. Mar., v. 43, pp.499–516.
von Quillfeldt, C.H. (2001) Identification of some easily confused diatom species in Arctic spring blooms. Bot. Mar., v.44, pp.375–389.
von Quillfeldt, C.H. (2004). The diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus and its potential as an indicator species for cold water rather than for sea ice. Vie Milieu, v.54 (2–3), pp.137–143.
Weckstrom, K., Redmond Roche, B.H., Miettinen, A., Krawczyk, D.W., Limoges, A., Juggins, S., Ribeiro, S. and Heikkila, M. (2020) Improving the paleoceanographic proxy tool kit – On the biogeography and ecology of the sea ice-associated species Fragilariopsis oceanica, Fragilariopsis reginae-jahniae and Fossula arctica in the northern North Atlantic. Mar. Micropaleo., v.157, pp.101860.
Witak, M., Wachnicka, A., Kuijpers, A., Troelstra, S., Prins, M.A. and Witkowski, A. (2005) Holocene North Atlantic surface circulation and climatic variability: evidence from diatom records. The Holocene, v.15(1), pp.85–96.
