Jennifer Fehrenbacher
Graduate Student
E-mail: jsf1 at uchicago.edu
My research interest is in the area of climate change. My current project involves using the Mg/Ca ratio of planktonic foraminifera as a proxy for dissolution in deep waters driven by changes in carbonate ion concentration. Using changes in the ratio down depth and down core we are able to generate paleo-carbonate ion concentrations (during the LGM) and reconstruct a paleo-delta carbonate ion concentration gradient. Carbonate ion concentration is associated with both the pH of seawater and dissolved CO2 thus we can use a paleo-gradient to infer changes in the carbon cycle and ocean circulation over time. Our data is gathered from ocean cores on the Ceara Rise in the western equatorial Atlantic and on the Ontong Java Plateau in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Currently we have gathered data for the Atlantic and are working on analyzing the Pacific samples. Sample preparation includes disaggregating core samples, picking "bugs", cleaning samples, and analysis by ICMPS.
