This project is an investigation into the paleoclimatic variations of The Southern Ocean since the late Miocene (the most recent 10 million years) through the examination of climatically sensitive parameters from undisturbed piston cores obtained in the northeastern Weddell Sea on Leg 114 of the Ocean Drilling Program. Core recovery at this site was nearly continuous, and has already yielded a detailed magnetic stratigraphy to 6.5 million years before present, so that accurate dating of observed events can be expected. Identifying the climatic changes that have occurred, and understanding the responses of the antarctic current system to these changes is one of the major objectives of marine paleoenvironmental research. Such understanding is based on the detailed study of the sedimentation history of the region, which includes the location of modern surface and bottom current pathways, the examination of closely spaced samples from high quality sediment cores, and the regional correlation of environmental events. The climate related parameters to be measured include stable isotopes, percent carbonate and organic matter, silicoflagellates, and radiolarian census data. Paleotemperature estimates will be made from diatom assemblages, N. pachyderma coiling ratios, and silicoflagellate species ratios. These have been quite successful when applied to a somewhat later time frame in the subantarctic region.
