Barium peaks at glacial terminations in sediments of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean - Relicts of deglacial productivity pses?

Abstract

In sediment cores recovered from oligotrophic settings of the western and eastern north-equatorial Atlantic Ocean, Ceará Rise and Sierra Leone Rise, distinct peaks of excess barium were detected at glacial/interglacial transitions. These Ba maxima are unrelated to any other potential productivity proxy, e.g. organic carbon, carbonate or opal. Moreover, they coincide with minima in organic carbon contents. Despite the lack of correlation between excess barium and organic carbon. we ascribe these Ba spikes to pulses of productivity that occurred during glacial/interglacial transitions, The discrepancy between barium and organic carbon in these transitional sediment intervals is attributed to t..