The Pliocene and Pleistocene periods are known for the onset and consequent amplification of glacial-interglacial cycles. The California margin, situated in the mid-latitudes of the northern Pacific Ocean, is expected to be one of the most interesting regions for Pliocene to Pleistocene paleoceanography because this area occupies a unique position in the ocean-atmosphere system over the region. In this study, we investigated paleoceanographic history, using fossil diatoms, since the Brunhes/Matuyama (B/M) paleomagnetic boundary in which glacial and interglacial periods began to alternate in 100-yr cycles. In Hole 1018A, to a depth corresponding to the beginning of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (late Pliocene), we investigated the responses of the ocean-atmosphere system to stepwise cooling in the California margin. Although the work is still continuing, this data report shows that fossil diatoms of Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments significantly changed both in quality and quantity and implies a possible relationship to global climatic changes.
1Lyle, M., Koizumi, I., Richter, C., and Moore, T.C., Jr. (Eds.), 2000. Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 167 [Online]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/167_SR/167sr.htm>. [Cited YYYY-MM-DD]
2Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0818, Japan. Correspondence author: itaru@ep.sci.hokudai.ac.jp
Date of
initial receipt: 19 October 1998
Date of acceptance: 25 August 1999
Ms 167SR-231