Abstract
To obtain clues about how coastal primary production might be affected by interannual and interdecadal changes in climate, we studied marine laminated sediments from the center of the Santa Barbara Basin. We report here a large decrease in the flux of diatoms between the periods 1954–1972 and 1973–1986, by a factor of five, and sustained reductions from 1973 to 1978 by a factor of ten below the pre-1972 period. Planktonic foraminifera flux shows a consistent trend of decrease with lowest values from 1981 to 1984. On the whole, the 1954–1972 period is considerably cooler than the 1973–1986 period, over the entire North Pacific. The decrease in biological production in this coastal system is accompanied by an overall intensification of the Aleutian Low in the North Pacific over the past 14 years, providing for a weakening of the California Current, and an overall reduction of mixing and upwelling. The possibility that the low coastal production could provide positive feedback to global warming through reduction of CO2-uptake, and its relation to the greenhouse effect is considered. On a shorter time-scale, the effects of El Niño phenomena are clearly seen in the sediments of this basin, as decreases in total diatom flux and increases in the relative abundance of certain warm-water diatoms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References and Notes
Berger, W. H., Smetacek, V. S., and Wefer, G.: 1989, Productivity of the Oceans: Present and Past, Dahlem Konferenzen, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.
Eppley, R. W. and Holm-Hansen, O.: 1986, ‘Primary Production in the Southern California Bight’, in R. W. Eppley, (ed.), Plankton Dynamics of the Southern California Bight, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 176–215.
Jones, P. D., Wigley, T. M. L., and Wright, P. B.: 1986, ‘Global Temperature Variations’, Nature 322, 430.
Ramanathan, V.: 1988, ‘The Greenhouse Theory of Climate Change: A Test by an Inadvertent Global Experiment’, Science 240, 293.
Venrick, E. L., McGowan, J. A., Cayan, D. R., and Hayward, T. L.: 1987, ‘Climate and Chlorophyll a: Long-Term Trends in the Central North Pacific Ocean’, Science 238, 70.
Julliet-Leclerc, A. and Schrader, H.: 1987, ‘Variations of Upwelling Intensity Recorded in Varved Sediments from the Gulf of California During the Past 3000 Years’, Nature 329, 146.
Sundquist, E. T. and Broecker, W. S.: 1985, The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric CO 2: Natural Variations Archean to Present, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C.
Berger, W. H. and Labeyrie, L. D.: 1987, Abrupt Climatic Change. Evidence and Implications, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, Holland.
Hülsemann, J. and Emery, K. O.: 1961, ‘Stratification in Recent Sediments of Santa Barbara Basin as Controlled by Organisms and Water Character’, J. Geol. 69, 279.
Berger, W. H. and Soutar, A.: 1970, ‘Preservation of Plankton Shells in an Anaerobic Basin off California’, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 81, 275.
Soutar, A. and Crill, P.: 1977, ‘Sedimentation and Climatic Patterns in the Santa Barbara Basin During the 19th and 20th Centuries’, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 88, 1161.
Pisias, N. G.: 1978, ‘Paleo-oceanography of the Santa Barbara Basin During the Last 8000 Years’, Quat. Res. 10, 366.
Dunbar, R. B.: 1983, ‘Stable Isotope Record of Upwelling and Climate from Santa Barbara Basin, California’, in J. Thiede and E. Suess, (eds.), Coastal Upwelling, its Sedimentary Record, Part B, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 217–246.
Lange, C. B., Berger, W. H., Burke, S. K., Casey, R. E., Schimmelmann, A., Soutar, A., and Weinheimer, A. L.: 1987, ‘El Niño in Santa Barbara Basin: Diatom, Radiolarian and Foraminiferan Responses to the “1983 El Niño” event’, Mar. Geol. 78, 153.
Reid, J. L., Roden, G. I., and Wyllie, J. G.: 1958, ‘Studies of the California Current System’, Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Progr. Rep., 1 July 1956–1 January 1958, 27.
Reid, J. L.: 1960, ‘Oceanography of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean During the Last Ten Years’, Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Rep. 7, 77.
Berger, W. H. and Soutar, A.: 1967, ‘Planktonic Foraminifera: Field Experiment on Production Rate’, Science 156, 1495.
see Roesler, C. S. and Chelton, D. B.: 1987, ‘Zooplankton Variability in the California Current, 1951–1982’, Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Rep. 28, 59; and references therein.
Sholkovitz, E. R. and Gieskes, J. M.: 1971, ‘A Physical-Chemical Study of the Flushing of the Santa Barbara Basin’, Limn. Oceanogr. 16, 479.
Age estimates within the 19th and 20th centuries (approx. 1820–1971) were derived from radionuclides 228Th and 210Pb, and from correlation between varve thickness and precipitation record (see [11] and [21] for a review). Until 1971 our time scale is identical with Soutar and Crill's (the last varve they dated corresponds to the 1971 varve). We extend the sedimentary record to 1987 by varve counts on X-radiographs, and by dating specific layers using microfossil indicators, as described elsewhere (Schimmelmann, A., Lange, C. B., and Berger, W. H., in press, ‘Climatically Controlled Marker Layers in Santa Barbara Basin Sediments, and Fine Scale Core-to-Core Correlation’, Limnol. Oceanogr.).
Soutar, A.: 1975, ‘Historical Fluctuations of Climatic and Bioclimatic Factors as Recorded in a Varved Sediment Deposit in a Coastal Area’, WMO/IAMAP Symposium on Long-term Climatic Fluctuations, Norwich, Proc. WMO 421, 147.
Oguri, M. and Kanter, R.: 1971, ‘Primary Productivity in the Santa Barbara Channel’, in D. Straughan, (ed.), Biological and Oceanographical Survey of the Santa Barbara Channel Oil Spill 1969–1970, Alan Hancock Foundation, Univ. Southern Calif., Los Angeles, pp. 17–48.
Namias, J.: 1979, ‘Northern Hemisphere Seasonal 700 mb Height and Anomaly Charts, 1947–1978, and associated North Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies’, Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. Atlas 27, p. 275.
Hamilton, K. and Emery, W. J.: 1985, ‘Regional Atmospheric Forcing of Interannual Surface Temperature and Sea Level Variability in the Northeast Pacific’, in W. S. Wooster and D. L. Fluharty, (eds.), El Niño North, Washington Sea Grant Prog., Univ. Washington, pp. 22–30.
Namias, J. and Huang, J. C. K.: 1972, ‘Sea Level at Southern California: A Decadal Fluctuation’, Science 177, 351.
Chaetoceros is one of the genera which dominate the highest productivity stage in the seasonal diatom succession, but because the vegetative cells are weakly silicified they are seldom preserved in the sediment. In turn, Chaetoceros resting spores are robust and may function as benthic stages. In general, there is a correspondence in the timing of events such as phytoplankton peaks, nutrient depletion, and resting spore formation. In the Santa Barbara basin sediments the diatom assemblage is dominated by Chaetoceros spores (>40% of the total assemblage). Preliminary results of a seasonal study in the basin show their highest abundance values during spring and summer (Lange, pers. obs.).
Jackson, G. A.: 1986, ‘Physical Oceanography of the Southern California Bight’, in R. W. Eppley (ed.), Plankton Dynamics of the Southern California Bight, Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 13–52.
Tont, S. A.: 1976, ‘Short-Period Climatic Fluctuations: Effects on Diatom Biomass’, Science 194, 942.
Bakun, A.: 1973, ‘Coastal Upwelling Indices, West Coast of North America, 1946–1971’, NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS SSRF-671, U.S. Dep. Commer., Seattle, p. 103.
Mason, J. E. and Bakun, A.: 1986, ‘Upwelling Index Update, U.S. West Coast, 33° N-48° N latítude’, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS SWFC-67, U.S. Dep. Commer., Monterey, p. 81.
Philander, S. G. H.: 1983, ‘El Niño Southern Oscillation Phenomena’, Nature 302, 295.
see Deser, C. and Wallace, J. M.: 1987, ‘El Niño Events and their Relation to the Southern Oscillation: 1925–1986’, J. Geophys. Res. 92 (C13), 14189; and references therein.
Quinn, W. H., Neal, V. T., and Antunez de Mayolo, S. E.: 1987, ‘El Niño Occurrences over the Past Four and a Half Centuries’, J. Geophys. Res. 92 (C13), 14449.
see Chelton, D. B.: 1981, ‘Interannual Variability of the California Current - Physical Factors’, Calif. Coop. Oceanic Fish Rep. 22, 34; and references therein.
Gornitz, V., Lebedeff, S., and Hansen, J.: 1982, ‘Global Sea Level Trend in the Past Century’, Science 215, 1611.
Baumgartner, T., Ferreira-Bartrina, V., Schrader, H., and Soutar, A.: 1985, ‘A 20-Year Varve Record of Siliceous Phytoplankton Variability in the Central Gulf of California’, Mar. Geol. 64, 113.
see Schneider, S. H.: 1989, ‘The Greenhouse Effect: Science and Policy’, Science 243, 771; and references therein.
Eppley, R. W. and Peterson, B. J.: 1979, ‘Particulate Organic Matter Flux and Planktonic New Production in the Deep Ocean’, Nature 282, 677.
Schlesinger, M. E.: 1986, ‘Equilibrium and Transient Climatic Warming Induced by Increased Atmospheric CO2’, Climate Dynamics 1, 35.
Schlesinger, M. E. and Jiang, X.: 1988, ‘The Transport of CO2-Induced Warming into the Ocean: An Analysis of Simulations by the OSU Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model’, Climate Dynamics 3, 1.
Flohn, H.: 1982, ‘Oceanic Upwelling as a Key for Abrupt Climatic Change’, J. Meteorol. Soc. Japan 60, 268.
Hummel, J. and Reck, R. A.: 1978, ‘A Global Surface Albedo Model’, General Motors Res. Publ., GMR-2607, p. 47.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lange, C.B., Burke, S.K. & Berger, W.H. Biological production off Southern California is linked to climatic change. Climatic Change 16, 319–329 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00144507
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00144507