Oxygen isotopic analyses of individual planktic foraminifera species: implications for seasonality in the western Arabian Sea

Abstract. The variation of stable isotopes between individual shells of planktic foraminifera of a given species and size may provide short-term seasonal insight on Paleoceanography. In this context, oxygen isotope analyses of individual Globigerinoides sacculifer and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei were carried out from the Ocean Drilling Program Site 723A in the western Arabian Sea to unravel the seasonal changes for the last 22 kyr. δ¹⁸O values of single shells of G. sacculifer range from of 0.54 to 2.09‰ at various depths in the core which cover a time span of the last 22 kyr. Maximum inter-shell δ¹⁸O variability and high standard deviation is noticed from 20 to 10 kyr, whereas from 10 kyr onwards the inter shell δ¹⁸O variability decreased. The individual contribution of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) on the inter shell δ¹⁸O values of G. sacculifer were quantified. Maximum seasonal SST between 20 and 14 ka was caused due to weak summer monsoon upwelling and strong cold winter arid continental winds. Maximum SSS differences between 18 and 10 ka is attributed to the increase of net evaporation minus precipitation due to the shift of ITCZ further south. Overall, winter dominated SST signal in Greenland would be responsible to make a teleconnection between Indian monsoon and Greenland temperature. Thus the present study has wider implications in understanding wether the forcing mechanisms of tropical monsoon climate lies in high latitudes or in the tropics.