Past Ocean surface density from planktonic  foraminifera calcite <i>δ</i><sup>18</sup>O

Caley, Thibaut; Rieger, Niclas; Werner, Martin; Waelbroeck, Claire; Barathieu, Héloise; Happé, Tamara; Roche, Didier M.

doi:10.5194/cp-22-247-2026

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-247-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-22-247-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 2

Research article

|

05 Feb 2026

Research article |

| 05 Feb 2026

Past Ocean surface density from planktonic foraminifera calcite δ¹⁸O

Thibaut Caley, Niclas Rieger, Martin Werner, Claire Waelbroeck, Héloise Barathieu, Tamara Happé, and Didier M. Roche

Data sets

LGM and LH δ18Oc dataset of Caley et al. "Past Ocean surface density from planktonic foraminifera calcite δ18" Thibaut Caley https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18162496

Supplement to Waelbroeck et al. 2014 "Constraints on surface seawater oxygen isotope change between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Late Holocene'' Claire Waelbroeck et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.894229

Supplement to Tierney et al. 2020 "Glacial cooling and climate sensitivity revisited'' Jessica E. Tierney et al. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.920596

Model code and software

Predicting surface density sigma T from d18Oc (v1.0.0) from Caley et al. "Past Ocean surface density from planktonic foraminifera calcite δ18O", Niclas Rieger and Thibaut Caley https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18313774

Short summary

Density of seawater is a critical property that controls ocean dynamics. We developed the use of the δ¹⁸O_c of planktonic foraminifera as a surface paleodensity proxy for the ocean using Bayesian regression models calibrated to mean annual surface density. We reconstructed annual surface density during the last glacial maximum and late Holocene time periods. These results will be used to evaluate numerical climate models in their ability to simulate past ocean surface density.