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Geology topics

T. Kamiya

Publications and source records attributed to T. Kamiya.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Ecology and shell chemistry of Loxoconcha matagordensis

Studies of the seasonal ecology and shell chemistry of the ostracode Loxoconcha matagordensis and related species of Loxoconcha from regions off eastern North America reveal that shell size and trace elemental (Mg/Ca ratio) composition are useful in paleothermometry using fossil populations. Seasonal sampling of populations from Chesapeake Bay, augmented by samples from Florida Bay, indicate that shell size is inversely proportional to water temperature and that Mg/Ca ratios are positively correlated with the water temperature in which the adult carapace was secreted. Microprobe analyses of sectioned valves reveal intra-shell variability in Mg/Ca ratios but this does not strongly influence the utility of whole shell Mg/Ca analyses for paleoclimate application.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age and 20th century temperature variability from Chesapeake Bay

We present paleoclimate evidence for rapid (< 100 years) shifts of ~2-4 o C in Chesapeake Bay (CB) temperature ~2100, 1600, 950, 650, 400 and 150 years before present (years BP) reconstructed from magnesium/calcium (Mg/Ca) paleothermometry. These include large temperature excursions during the Little Ice Age (~1400-1900 AD) and the Medieval Warm Period (~800-1300 AD) possibly related to changes in the strength of North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC). Evidence is presented for a long period of sustained regional and North Atlantic-wide warmth with low-amplitude temperature variability between ~450 and 1000 AD. In addition to centennial-scale temperature shifts, the existence of numerous temperature maxima between 2200 and 250 years BP (average ~70 years) suggests that multi-decadal processes typical of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are an inherent feature of late Holocene climate. However, late 19th and 20th century temperature extremes in Chesapeake Bay associated with NAO climate variability exceeded those of the prior 2000 years, including the interval 450-1000 AD, by 2-3 o C, suggesting anomalous recent behavior of the climate system.

Maryland

Late Pliocene climate change 3.4-2.3 Ma: paleoceanographic record from the Yabuta Formation, Sea of Japan

Late Pliocene paleoceanographic changes in the Sea of Japan between 3.4 and2.3 Ma were investigated through study of molluscs, diatoms, and ostracodes from the Yabuta Formation in Toyama Prefecture. The period 3.4-2.7 Ma was characterized by relatively high sea level and cool water benthic faunas. A progressive paleoceanographic shift towards colder oceanic conditions and lower sea level occurred beginning near 2.7 Ma, intensifying about 2.5 Ma, when important changes in ostracode and molluscan faunas occurred. Between 2.7 and 2.3 Ma, eight glacial events can be inferred based on drops in sea level of 50-60 m and increasing proportions of cold, shallow water ostracode species whose modern ecology and zoogeography indicate colder winter water temperatures (3-4??C). The glacial events between 2.5 and 2.3 Ma were the most intense. Preliminary interpretation of the faunal and oceanographic events of the Yabuta Formation suggests that they correspond to Northern Hemispheric cooling also known from North Atlantic deep-sea oxygen isotope, IRD, and planktic foraminiferal records, North Pacific diatom and radiolarian record, and the Chinese loess sequences. The eight glacial events may record a 41,000-yr obliquity cycle which characterized other late Pliocene climate proxy records. Inferred sea level drops near 2.5-2.3 Ma of about 50-60 m provide direct evidence from an ocean margin setting that supports deep sea oxygen isotopic evidence indicating major changes in global ice volume changes.

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology