Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing the suitability of benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups to reconstruct paleomonsoon from Bay of Bengal

  • Published:
Journal of Earth System Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Temporal changes in benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups were suggested as an effective proxy to reconstruct past monsoon intensity from the Arabian Sea. Here, in order to test the applicability of temporal variation in morpho-groups to reconstruct past monsoon intensity from the Bay of Bengal, we have documented recent benthic foraminiferal distribution from the continental shelf region of the northwestern Bay of Bengal. Based on the external morphology, benthic foraminifera were categorized into rounded symmetrical (RSBF) and angular asymmetrical benthic foraminifera (AABF). Additionally, a few other dominant groups were also identified based on test composition (agglutinated, calcareous) and abundance (Asterorotalids and Nonions). The relative abundance of each group was compared with the ambient physico-chemical conditions, including dissolved oxygen, organic matter, salinity and temperature. We report that the RSBF are abundant in comparatively warm and well oxygenated waters of low salinity, suggesting a preference for high energy environment, whereas AABF dominate relatively cold, hypersaline deeper waters with low dissolved oxygen, indicating a low energy environment. The agglutinated foraminifera, Asterorotalids and Nonions dominate shallow water, low salinity regions, whereas the calcareous benthic foraminiferal abundance increases away from the riverine influx regions. Food availability, as estimated from organic carbon abundance in sediments, has comparatively less influence on faunal distribution in the northwestern Bay of Bengal, as compared to dissolved oxygen, temperature and salinity. We conclude that the factors associated with freshwater influx affect the distribution of benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups in the northwestern Bay of Bengal and thus it can be used to reconstruct past monsoon intensity from the Bay of Bengal.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alve E 2010 Benthic foraminiferal responses to absence of fresh phytodetritus: A two-year experiment; Mar. Micropaleontol. 76 67–75. doi: 10.1016/j.marmicro.2010.05.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernhard J M and Sen Gupta B 1999 Foraminifera of oxygen-depleted environments; In: Modern Foraminifera (ed.) Sen Gupta B K (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Press), pp. 201–216.

  • Bhalla S N 1968 Recent foraminifera from Vishakhapatnam beach sands and its relation to the known foram-geographical provinces in the Indian Ocean; Bull. Nat. Inst. Sci., India 38 376–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boltovskoy E and Wright R 1976 Recent Foraminifera; The Hague, 8 233p.

  • Buzas M A, Culver S J and Jorissen F J 1993 A statistical evaluation of the microhabitats of living (stained) infaunal benthic foraminifera; Mar. Micropaleontol. 20 311–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulle C, Koho K A, Mojtahid M, Reichart G J and Jorissen F J 2013 Live foraminiferal faunas (Rose Bengal stained) from the northern Arabian Sea: Links with bottom-water oxygenation; Biogeosci. Discuss. 10 15257–15304. doi: 10.5194/bgd-10-15257-2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulle C, Koho K A, Mojtahid M, Reichart G J and Jorissen F J 2014 Live (Rose Bengal stained) foraminiferal faunas from the northern Arabian Sea: Faunal succession within and below the OMZ; Biogeosci. 11 1155–1175 . doi: 10.5194/bg-11-1155-2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulle C, Mojtahid M, Gooday A J, Jorissen F J and Kitazato H 2015 Living (Rose-Bengal stained) benthic foraminiferal faunas along a strong bottom-water oxygen gradient on the Indian margin (Arabian Sea); Biogeosci. 12 5005–5019. doi: 10.5194/bg-12-5005-2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chamarthi S and Rao A D 2007 Effect of River Discharge on Bay of Bengal Circulation; OCEANS 2006 – Asia Pacific, doi: 10.1109/OCEANSAP.2006.4393978.

  • Clarke K R and Warwick R M 2001 Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation, 2nd edn, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, UK, Chapter 7, pp. 3–4.

  • Corliss B H and Fois E 1990 Morphotype analysis of deep-sea benthic foraminifera from the northwest Gulf of Mexico; Palaios 5 589–605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen J L 1981 Microfossil evidence for changing salinity patterns in the Bay of Bengal over the last 20,000 years; Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 35 315–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullen J L and Duplessy J C 1979 Changes in monsoonal circulation over the last ice-age cycle: Microfossil evidence from the Bay of Bengal; Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Prog. 11 408.

    Google Scholar 

  • den Dulk M, Reichart G J, Memon G M, Roelofs E M P, Zachariasse W J and van der Zwaan G J 1998 Benthic foraminiferal response to variations in surface water productivity and oxygenation in the northern Arabian Sea; Mar. Micropaleontol. 35 43–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz R J and Rosenberg R 2008 Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems; Science 321 926–929. doi: 10.1126/science.1156401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duijnstee I, De Lugt I, Vonk Nordegraaf H and Van Der Zwaan B 2004 Temporal variability of foraminiferal densities in the northern Adriatic Sea; Mar. Micropaleontol. 50 125–148. doi: 10.1016/S0377-8398(03)00069-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duplessy J C 1982 Glacial to interglacial contrasts in the northern Indian Ocean; Nature 295 494–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durand F F, Papa A and Rahman Bala S K 2011 Impact of Ganges–Brahmaputra interannual discharge variations on Bay of Bengal salinity and temperature during 1992–1999 period; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 120 859–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontanier C, Jorissen F J, Licari L, Alexandre A, Anschutz P and Carbonel P 2002 Live benthic foraminiferal faunas from the Bay of Biscay: Faunal density, composition, and microhabitats; Deep-Sea Res. 49 751–785. doi: 10013/epic.15528.d001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fontanier C, Jorissen F J, Lansard B, Mouret A, Buscail R, Schmidt S, Kerhervé P, Buron F, Zaragosi S, Hunault G, Ernoult E, Artero C, Anschutz P and Rabouille C 2008 Live foraminifera from the open slope between Grand Rhône and Petit Rhône Canyons (Gulf of Lions, NW Mediterranean); Deep-Sea Res. 55 1532–1553. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr.2008.07.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh B K 1966 Asterorotalia trispinosa (Thalmann), a spinose rotalid form Digha Beach, southeastern Bengal; Contr. Cushman Found. Foraminiferal Res. 17 104–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh S K and Bhattacharjee D 1993 Depositional events interpreted from Holocene records in the sediment cores off Paradeep, Bay of Bengal; Indian Minerals 47 293–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glock N, Schonfeld J, Eisenhauer A, Hensen C, Mallon J and Sommer S 2013 The role of benthic foraminifera in the benthic nitrogen cycle of the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone; Biogeosci. 10 4767–4783. doi: 10.5194/bg-10-4767-2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goineau A, Fontanier C, Jorissen F J, Lansard B, Buscail R, Mouret A, Kerherve P, Zaragosi S, Ernoult E, Artero C, Anschutz P, Metzger E and Rabouille C 2011 Live (stained) benthic foraminifera from the Rhone Prodelta (Gulf of Lion, NW Mediterranean): Environmental controls on a river-dominated shelf; J. Sea Res. 65 58–75. doi: 10.1016/j.seares.2010.07.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goineau A, Fontanier C, Jorissen F, Buscail R, Kerherve P, Cathalot C, Prusk A, Lantoine M F, Bourgeois S, Metzger E, Legrand E and Rabouille C 2012 Temporal variability of live (stained) benthic foraminiferal faunas in a river-dominated shelf – Faunal response to rapid changes of the river influence (Rhone prodelta, NW Mediterranean); Biogeosci. 9 1367–1388. doi: 10.5194/bg-9-1367-2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomes H R, Goes J I and Saino T 2000 Influence of physical processes and freshwater discharge on the seasonality of phytoplankton regime in the Bay of Bengal; Cont. Shelf Res. 20 313–330. doi: 10.1016/S0278-4343(99)00072-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gooday A J 1993 Deep-sea benthic foraminiferal species which exploit phytodetritus: Characteristic features and controls on distribution; Mar. Micropaleontol. 22 187–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gooday A J 2003 Benthic foraminifera (Protista) as tools in deep-water palaeoceanography: Environmental influences on faunal characteristics; Adv. Mar. Biol. 46 3–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gooday A J and Rathburn A E 1999 Temporal variability in living deep-sea benthic foraminifera: A review; Earth Sci. Rev. 46 187–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gooday A J, Levin L A, Aranda da Silva A, Bett B J, Cowie G, Dissard D, Gage J D, Hughes D J, Jeffreys R, Lamont P A, Larkin K E, Murty S J, Schumacher S, Whitcraft C and Woulds C 2009 Faunal responses to oxygen gradients on the Pakistan margin: A comparison of foraminiferans, macrofauna and megafauna; Deep-Sea Res. II 56 488–502. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.10.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward B W and Hollis C J 1994 Brackish foraminifera in New Zealand: A taxonomic and ecologic review; Micropaleontol. 40 185–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hedges J I, Keil R G and Benner R 1997 What happens to terrestrial organic matter in the ocean? Org. Geochem. 27 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Islam S N and Gnauck A 2008 Mangrove wetland ecosystems in Ganges–Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh; Front. Earth Sci. China 2 439–448. doi: 10.1007/s11707-008-0049-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jannink N T, Zachariasse W J and Van der Zwaan G J 1998 Living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera from the Pakistan continental margin (northern Arabian Sea); Deep-Sea Res. I 45 1483–1513. doi: 10.1016/S0967-0637(98)00027-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jayaraju N and Reddy K R 1997 Effect of river discharge on test morphology of benthic foraminifera, south east coast of India; J. Geol. Soc. India 50 435–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorissen F J 1999 Benthic foraminifera microhabitats below the sediment–water interface; In: Modern Foraminifera (ed.) Gupta B K S, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 161–179.

  • Jorissen F J, Barmawidjaja B M, Puskaric S and van der Zwaan G J 1992 Vertical distribution of benthic foraminifera in the northern Adriatic Sea: The relation with the organic flux; Mar. Micropaleontol. 19 131–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jorissen F J, de Stigter H C and Widmark J G V 1995 A conceptual model explaining benthic foraminiferal microhabitats; Mar. Micropaleontol. 26 3–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jorissen F J, Fontanier C and Thomas E 2007 Paleoceanographical proxies based on deep-sea benthic foraminiferal assemblage characteristics; In: Proxies in Late Cenozoic Paleoceanography: Pt. 2: Biological tracers and biomarkers (eds) Hillaire-Marcel C and de Vernal A, Elsevier, pp. 263–326.

  • Kemp W M and Boynton W R 1992 Benthic–pelagic interactions: Nutrient and oxygen dynamics; In: Oxygen dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay – A synthesis of recent research (eds) Smith D E, Leffler M and Mackiernan G, OMaryland Sea Grant College, Maryland, pp. 149–222.

  • Khare N, Chaturvedi S K and Mazumder A 2007 An overview of foraminiferal studies in near shore regions off eastern coast of India, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Indian J. Mar. Sci 36 288–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitazato H, Shirayamab Y, Nakatsukac T, Fujiwaraa S, Shimanagad M, Katoe Y, Okadae Y, Kandaa J, Yamaokaa A, Masuzawaf T and Suzuki K 2000 Seasonal phytodetritus deposition and responses of bathyal benthic foraminiferal populations in Sagami Bay, Japan: Preliminary results from ‘Project Sagami 1996–1999’; Mar. Micropaleontol. 40 135–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohrenz S E, Fahnenstiel G L, Redalje D G, Lang G A, Chen X and Dagg M J 1997 Variations in primary production of northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf waters linked to nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River; Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 155 45–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackensen A and Hald M 1988 Cassidulina teretis Tappan and C. laevigata d’Orbigny: Their modern and late Quaternary distribution in northern seas; J. Foram. Res. 18 16–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mackensen A, Sejrup H P and Jansen E 1985 The distribution of living benthic foraminifera on the continental margin and rise off southwest Norway; Mar. Micropaleontol. 9 275–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazumder A and Nigam R 2014 Bathymetric preference of four major genera of rectilinear benthic foraminifera within oxygen minimum zone in Arabian Sea off central west coast of India; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 123 633–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milliman J D and Meade R H 1983 World-wide delivery of river sediment to the oceans; J. Geol. 91 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mojtahid M, Jorissen F, Lansard B, Fontanier C, Bombled B and Rabouille C 2009 Spatial distribution of live benthic foraminifera in the Rhône prodelta: Faunal response to a continental–marine organic matter gradient; Mar. Micropaleontol. 70 177–200, doi: 10.1016/j.marmicro.2008.12.006.

  • Mojtahid M, Jorissen F, Lansard B and Fontanier C 2010 Microhabitat selection of benthic foraminifera in sediments off the Rhône River mouth (NW Mediterranean); J. Foram. Res. 40 231–246. doi: 10.2113/gsjfr.40.3.231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moodley L, van der Zwaan G J, Herman P M J, Kempers L and van Breugel P 1997 Differential response of benthic meiofauna to anoxia with special reference to Foraminifera (Protista: Sarcodina); Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 158 151–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray J W 1991 Ecology and Palaeoecology of Benthic Foraminifera; Longman, Harlow, Essex, pp. 288, 289.

  • Murray J W 2006 Ecology and Applications of Benthic Foraminifera; Cambridge University Press, 426p.

  • Murray J W and Alve E 2011 The distribution of agglutinated foraminifera in NW European seas: Baseline data for the interpretation of fossil assemblages; Palaeontol. Elect. 14 14A:41p, palaeo-electronica.org/2011_2/248/index.html.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray J W, Alve E and Cundy A 2003 The origin of modern agglutinated foraminiferal assemblages: Evidence from a stratified fjord; Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 58 677–697. doi: 10.1016/S0272-7714(03)00179-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagy J, Reolid M and Rodríguez-Tovar F J 2009 Foraminiferal morphogroups in dysoxic shelf deposits from the Jurassic of Spitsbergen; Polar Res. 28 214–221. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00112.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi S W A, De Sousa S N, Fondekar S P and Reddy C V G 1979 Distribution of dissolved oxygen in the western Bay of Bengal; Mahasagar 12 25–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi S W A, Naik H and Narvekar P V 2003 The Arabian Sea; In: Biogeochemistry of Marine Systems (eds) Black K and Shimmield G B, Oxford UK, pp. 157–207.

  • Neira C, Sellanes J, Levin L A and Arntz W E 2001 Meiofaunal distributions on the Peru margin: Relationship to oxygen and organic matter availability; Deep-Sea Res. I 48 2453–2472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R 1993 Foraminifera and changing pattern of monsoon rainfall; Curr. Sci. 64 935–937.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R and Khare N 1994 Effect of river discharge on the morphology of benthic foraminiferal test; J. Geol. Soc. India 43 457–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R and Khare N 1999 Spatial and temporal distribution of foraminifera in sediments off the central west coast of India and use of their test morphologies for the reconstruction of paleomonsoonal precipitation; Micropaleontol. 45 285–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Khare N and Borole D V 1992 Can benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups be used as indicators of paleomonsoonal precipitation; Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 34 533–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Khare N and Nair R R 1995 Foraminiferal evidences for 77-year cycles of draught in India and its possible modulation by the Gleissberg cycle; J. Coast. Res. 11 1099–1107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Khare N and Mayenkar D N 2000 Can bathymetry be a discriminatory factor for the distribution of benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups in modern marine sediments? ONGC Bull. 37 47–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Saraswat R and Kurtarkar S R 2006 Laboratory experiment to study effect of salinity variations on benthic foraminiferal species – Pararotalia nipponica (Asano) ; J. Geol. Soc. India 67 41–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Mazumder A, Henriques P J and Saraswat R 2007 Benthic foraminifera as proxy for oxygen depleted conditions off the central west coast of India; J. Geol. Soc. India 70 1047–1054.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Kurtarkar S R, Saraswat R, Linshy V N and Rana S S 2008 Response of benthic foraminifera Rosalina leei to different temperature and salinity, under laboratory culture experiment; J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. UK 88 699–704. doi: 10.1017/S0025315408001197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigam R, Prasad V, Mazumder A, Garg R, Saraswat R and Henriques P J 2009 Late Holocene changes in hypoxia off the west coast of India Micropalaeontological evidences; Curr. Sci. 96 708–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panchang R and Nigam R 2012 High resolution climatic records of the past ∼489 years from Central Asia as derived from benthic foraminiferal species, Asterorotalia trispinosa; Mar. Geol. 307–310 88–104. doi: 10.1016/j.margeo.2012.01.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panchang R, Nigam R, Raviprasad G V, Rajagopalan G, Ray D K and Yi H. U K. 2008 Relict faunal testimony for sea-level fluctuations off Myanmar (Burma) ; J. Palaeontol. Soc. India 53 185–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasanna Kumar S, Narvekar J, Nuncio M, Kumar A, Ramaiah N, Sardessai S, Gauns M, Fernandes V and Paul J 2010 Is the biological productivity in the Bay of Bengal light limited? Curr. Sci. 98 1331–1339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qasim S Z 1977 Biological productivity of the Indian Ocean; Indian J. Mar. Sci. 6 122–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramette A 2007 Multivariate analyses in microbial ecology; FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 62 142–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rana S S and Nigam R 2009 Cyclicity in late Holocene monsoonal changes from the western Bay of Bengal: Foraminiferal approach; J. Paleontol. Soc. India 54 165–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rana S S, Nigam R and Panchang R 2007 Relict benthic foraminifera in surface sediments off central east coast of India as indicator of sea level changes; Indian J. Mar. Sci. 36 355–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao C K, Naqvi S W A, Kumar M D, Varaprasad S J D, Jayakumar D A, George M D and Singbal S Y S 1994 Hydrochemistry of the Bay of Bengal: Possible reasons for a different water-column cycling of carbon and nitrogen from the Arabian Sea; Mar. Chem. 47 279–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao R N, Jayaprakash M and Velmurugan P M 2013 The ecology of Asterorotalia trispinosa – New insights from Muthupet Lagoon, southeast coast of India; J. Foramin. Res. 43 14–20. doi: 10.2113/gsjfr.43.1.14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saraswat R, Nigam R and Barreto L 2005 Paleoceanographic implications of abundance and mean proloculus diameter of benthic foraminiferal species Epistominella exigua in sub-surface sediments from distal Bay of Bengal Fan ; J. Earth Syst. Sci. 114 453–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarin M M, Krishnaswami S, Dilli K, Somayajulu B L K and Moore W S 1989 Major ion chemistry of the Ganga–Brahmaputra river system: Weathering processes and fluxes to the Bay of Bengal; Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 53 997–1009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma V V S S, Krishna M S, Viswanadham R, Rao G D, Rao V D, Sridevi B, Kumar B S K, Prasad V R, Subbaiah C., Acharyya T and Bandopadhyay D 2013 Intensified oxygen minimum zone on the western shelf of Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon: Influence of river discharge; J. Oceanogr. 69 45–55. doi: 10.1007/s10872-012-0156-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlitzer R 2015 Ocean Data View; http://odv.awi.de.

  • Schumacher S, Jorissen F J, Dissard D, Larkin K E and Gooday A J 2007 Live (Rose Bengal stained) and dead benthic foraminifera from the oxygen minimum zone of the Pakistan continental margin (Arabian Sea); Mar. Micropaleontol. 62 45–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sen Gupta B K and Machain-Castillo M L 1993 Benthic foraminifera in oxygen-poor habitats; Mar. Micropaleontol. 20 3–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sengupta D, Bharath Raj G N and Shenoi S S C 2006 Surface freshwater from Bay of Bengal runoff and Indonesian throughflow in the tropical Indian Ocean; Geophys. Res. Lett. 33 L22609. doi: 10.1029/2006GL027573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Setty M G A P and Nigam R 1982 Foraminiferal assemblages and organic carbon relationship in benthic marine ecosystem of western Indian continental shelf; J. Mar. Sci. 11 225–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Severin K P 1983 Test morphology of benthic foraminifera as a discriminator of biofacies; Mar. Micropalaeontol. 8 65–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shetye S R 1993 Movement and implications of Ganges–Brahmaputra run off on entering the Bay of Bengal; Curr. Sci. 64 32–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shetye S R, Shenoi S S C, Gouveia A D, Michael G S, Sundar D and Nampoothiri G 1991 Wind-driven coastal upwelling along the western boundary of the Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon; Cont. Shelf Res. 11 1397–1408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturdivant S K, Díaz R J and Cutter G R 2012 Bioturbation in a declining oxygen environment, in situ observations from Wormcam; PLoS One 7 e34539. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ter Braak C J F 1986 Canonical correspondence analysis: A new eigenvector technique for multivariate direct gradient analysis; Ecology 67 1167–1179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger D, Ittekkot V, Schafer P, Tiemann J and Reschke S 2003 Seasonality and inter-annual variability of particle fluxes to the deep Bay of Bengal: Influence of riverine input and oceano-graphic processes; Deep-Sea Res. II 50 897–923.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Varkey M J, Murty V S N and Suryanarayana A 1996 Physical oceanography of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea; Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 34 1–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahyudi C and Minagawa M 1997 Response of benthic foraminifera to organic carbon accumulation rates in the Okinawa trough; J. Oceanogr. 53 411–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyrtki K 1971 Oceanographic Atlas of the International Indian Ocean Expedition; Natl. Sci. Found. Washington DC, pp 53t.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Director, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa for his kind permission to publish this work. We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions, that helped to significantly improve the earlier version of the manuscript. The financial support from the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) (sanctioned to RN) and University Grant Commission (JRF/SRF to MM) are highly acknowledged. Dr C Prakash Babu and Dr V Ramaswamy are thanked for CN and Coulometer analysis. We thank Dr Sanitha K Sivadas, NIO, Goa and Dr Priya M D’Costa, Goa University, for their help in performing cluster and CCA analysis. We also thank Dr Nagender Nath for leading the cruise in which the samples were collected.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Micropaleontology Laboratory, Geological Oceanography Division, CSIR – National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India.

    M MANASA, RAJEEV SARASWAT & RAJIV NIGAM

Authors
  1. M MANASA
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. RAJEEV SARASWAT
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. RAJIV NIGAM
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M MANASA.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

MANASA, M., SARASWAT, R. & NIGAM, R. Assessing the suitability of benthic foraminiferal morpho-groups to reconstruct paleomonsoon from Bay of Bengal. J Earth Syst Sci 125, 571–584 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-016-0677-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-016-0677-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation