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Glacial-interglacial changes in the surface water characteristics of the Andaman Sea: Evidence from stable isotopic ratios of planktonic foraminifera

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Abstract

Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses of the planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber) from a deep sea sediment core (GC-1) in the Andaman Sea show high glacial-to-Holocene δ18O amplitude of 2.1%o which is consistent with previously published records from this marginal basin and suggest increased salinity and/or decreased temperature in the glacial surface waters of this region. A pulse of18O enrichment during the last deglaciation can be attributed to a Younger Dryas cooling event and/or to a sudden decrease of fresh water influx from the Irrawady and Salween rivers into the Andaman Sea. High δ13C values observed during the isotopic stages 2 and 4 are probably due to the enhanced productivity during glacial times in the Andaman Sea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Geophysical Research Institute, Uppal Road, 500 007, Hyderabad, India

    S. M. Ahmad & D. J. Patil

  2. National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, 403 004, Goa, India

    P. S. Rao, B. N. Nath & B. R. Rao

  3. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 226 007, Lucknow, India

    G. Rajagopalan

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  1. S. M. Ahmad
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  2. D. J. Patil
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  3. P. S. Rao
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  4. B. N. Nath
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  5. B. R. Rao
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  6. G. Rajagopalan
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Ahmad, S.M., Patil, D.J., Rao, P.S. et al. Glacial-interglacial changes in the surface water characteristics of the Andaman Sea: Evidence from stable isotopic ratios of planktonic foraminifera. J Earth Syst Sci 109, 153–156 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02719159

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