New paper out by @willerstorfi et al. in #GCA documenting the evaluation of planktic foraminiferal Na/Ca as a proxy for ocean salinity using plankton tows, sediment traps, and core tops: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016703723001187?
Take home message: looks like this proxy can be quite complex due to varying Na-bearing phases of the foraminiferal calcite, even though the Na/Ca in some of these phases may be strongly correlated to salinity. The authors conclude instead that due to the effect of [CO₃²⁻], foraminiferal Na/Ca over Cenzoic timescales may be a better proxy for major ion chemistry than salinity changes in the ocean.
@willerstorfi Super cool work man! Congrats!
@kau thanks for the nice summary Kau! the formatted version of the paper is now online and should be freely available at the link below for the next 50 days:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1glqF3p4ZUTLZ