APPLICATIONS OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN PALEOCEANOGRAPHY

Exploring ocean circulation patterns and variations in physical and chemical properties of seawater in the geological history through analyses on marine sediments is one of the important contents of paleoceanography. High sensitivity of deep-sea benthic foraminifera to environmental changes, and close correlation of their shell stable isotopes and trace elements with seawater properties make benthic foraminifera a useful tool of paleoceanography. However, the applications are restricted by several factors to a certain degree, such as vital effects, benthic foraminiferal regional distributions and factors from seawater. This review summarizes the applications of benthic foraminifera and their shell isotopes and trace elements in paleoceanog-raphy, and possible limiting factors in the process of application, to facilitate objective analyses in specific research, thus im-proving the reliability of paleoceanographic reconstructions.

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