Are seawater Sr/Ca variations preserved in Quaternary foraminifera?

High precision measurements of Sr/Ca in planktonic foraminifera for the last 150 ka reveal Sr/Ca variations of up to 12% on glacial/interglacial time scales. Although records showing the largest variations appear to be strongly influenced by selective dissolution, other records show Sr/Ca variations of 3–5% that do not covary with indicators of dissolution intensity and that are reproduced in sites of contrasting Quaternary dissolution histories. These systematic variations are characterized by high Sr/Ca ratios during glacial maxima, followed by steep decreases during deglaciation and gradual increases through interstadial periods, closely following dO curves. Foraminiferal Sr/Ca variations may reflect changes in the Sr/Ca ratio of seawater, or they may be due to kinetically or biologically induced changes in Sr partitioning. Coupled numerical models of the Sr and Ca budgets of the ocean reveal that sea level changes, together with large changes in river fluxes and carbonate accumulation rates, can produce seawater Sr/Ca variations that approximate both the shape and amplitude of foraminiferal Sr/Ca variations. However, such extreme changes in river and carbonate fluxes conflict with existing data on carbonate accumulation rates and Sr isotopic constraints on the magnitude of variations in the river flux. Smaller variations (1–3%) in the Sr/Ca ratio of seawater likely characterize Quaternary glacial cycles. Changes in Sr partitioning due to glacial-interglacial changes in the carbonate ion concentration and other environmental factors likely produce additional variation in the Sr/Ca record of planktonic foraminifera. Copyright © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd