Reviews and syntheses: Review of proxies for low-oxygen paleoceanographic reconstructions
Journal
Biogeosciences
Journal Volume
22
Journal Issue
4
Start Page
863
End Page
957
ISSN
1726-4189
Date Issued
2025-02-18
Author(s)
Hoogakker, Babette A.A.
Davis, Catherine
Wang, Yi
Kusch, Stephanie
Nilsson-Kerr, Katrina
Hardisty, Dalton S.
Jacobel, Allison
Reyes Macaya, Dharma
Glock, Nicolaas
Ni, Sha
Sepúlveda, Julio
Ren, Abby
Auderset, Alexandra
Hess, Anya V.
Meissner, Katrin J.
Cardich, Jorge
Anderson, Robert
Barras, Christine
Basak, Chandranath
Bradbury, Harold J.
Brinkmann, Inda
Castillo, Alexis
Cook, Madelyn
Costa, Kassandra
Choquel, Constance
Diz, Paula
Donnenfield, Jonas
Elling, Felix J.
Erdem, Zeynep
Filipsson, Helena L.
Garrido, Sebastián
Gottschalk, Julia
Govindankutty Menon, Anjaly
Groeneveld, Jeroen
Hallmann, Christian
Hendy, Ingrid
Hennekam, Rick
Lu, Wanyi
Lynch-Stieglitz, Jean
Matos, Lélia
Martínez-García, Alfredo
Molina, Giulia
Muñoz, Práxedes
Moretti, Simone
Morford, Jennifer
Nuber, Sophie
Radionovskaya, Svetlana
Raven, Morgan Reed
Somes, Christopher J.
Studer, Anja S.
Tachikawa, Kazuyo
Tapia, Raúl
Tetard, Martin
Vollmer, Tyler
Wang, Xingchen
Wu, Shuzhuang
Zhang, Yan
Zheng, Xin-Yuan
Zhou, Yuxin
Abstract
A growing body of observations has revealed rapid changes in both the total inventory and the distribution of marine oxygen over the latter half of the 20th century, leading to increased interest in extending oxygenation records into the past. The use of paleo-oxygen proxies has the potential to extend the spatial and temporal range of current records, constrain pre-anthropogenic baselines, provide datasets necessary to test climate models under different boundary conditions, and ultimately understand how ocean oxygenation responds beyond decadal-scale changes. This review seeks to summarize the current state of knowledge about proxies for reconstructing Cenozoic marine oxygen: sedimentary features, sedimentary redox-sensitive trace elements and isotopes, biomarkers, nitrogen isotopes, foraminiferal trace elements, foraminiferal assemblages, foraminiferal morphometrics, and benthic foraminiferal carbon isotope gradients. Taking stock of each proxy reveals some common limitations as the majority of proxies functions best at low-oxygen concentrations, and many reflect multiple environmental drivers. We also highlight recent breakthroughs in geochemistry and proxy approaches to constraining pelagic (in addition to benthic) oxygenation that are rapidly advancing the field. In light of both the emergence of new proxies and the persistent multiple driver problem, the need for multi-proxy approaches and data storage and sharing that adhere to the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR) is emphasized. Continued refinements of proxy approaches and both proxy-proxy and proxy-model comparisons are likely to support the growing needs of both oceanographers and paleoceanographers interested in paleo-oxygenation records.
Subjects
anthropogenic effect
Cenozoic
climate modeling
foraminifera
literature review
marine environment
oxygen
oxygenation
paleoceanography
proxy climate record
reconstruction
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Type
journal article