This study will assess the Holocene dynamics of oceanographic processes on the Southeast Brazilian Bight (western South Atlantic), a region affected by a western boundary equatorial current, ENSO/SOI-related coastal runoffs, and shelf-break and coastal upwelling events. The PIs will exploit advances in AAR (reverse-phase HPLC for analyzing sub-milligram shell aliquots for asparitic acid D/L ratios) and automated sampling/analytical techniques, to develop multiple stable isotope and elemental time-series of dated brachiopods and bivalves from time-averaged shell accumulation sites across the inner shelf, outer shelf, and continental slope of the Southeast Brazilian Bight. The objectives of this project will be to evaluate multi-centennial to multi-millennial changes in (1) the frequency of short-term events (ENSO/SOI, upwelling); (2) the strength and position of the South Brazil Current; and (3) shellfish bio-productivity in order to evaluate hypotheses regarding the long-term stability of heat-transfer by ocean currents, changes in frequency of ENSO-related coastal runoff in the South Atlantic, and volatility of shelf-break and coastal upwelling as they respond to global-scale climatic processes. This research will support a post-doctoral scientist, involve students and generate new international synergies. This project was co-funded with support from the Office of International Science and Engineering.
