I thank the Co-Chief Scientists Timothy J. Bralower and Isabella Premoli Silva and all the scientific participants of ODP Leg 198 for their partnership during the cruise. I also warmly thank the crew members and the shipboard staff for their support. I am indebted and very grateful to Ursula Röhl, who kindly processed the foraminifer samples at the University of Bremen, Germany. Thanks also to Isabella Premoli Silva and Timothy J. Bralower, whose comments and suggestions significantly improved the manuscript. I gratefully acknowledge the critical and thorough reviews by R.K. Olsson and D. Clay Kelly. This research used samples and/or data provided by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP). ODP is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and participating countries under management of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI), Inc. Funding for this research was provided by MIUR-COFIN 2001 to I.P.S.