Paleoclimatic Significance of Quartz/Illite Variations in Cores from the Eastern Equatorial North Atlantic

Bibliographic Data

ID24088378
AuthorsFrederick A Bowles (Office of Naval Research, corresponding author)
Year1975
Volume5
Issue2
Pages225-235
Publication date1975-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueQuaternary Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-5894 • E-ISSN: 1096-0287
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/0033-5894(75)90025-3
OpenAlexW2079510892
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited26

Detailed X-ray diffraction analysis of cores taken in the eastern equatorial Atlantic suggest that during approximately the last 600,000 yr a relatively constant background of clay mineral deposition has existed on which are superimposed large oscillations in quartz input (relative to illite). The quartz is transported from the Sahara Desert by the northeast trade winds and the quartz/illite oscillations appear to reflect past changes in the transporting effectiveness (intensity) of the trade winds. Comparison of the quartz/illite variations with paleotemperature variations for the northeast Atlantic suggests that major inputs of quartz correlate with cold periods and that warm periods correlate with low quartz input. The parallelism between the curves indicates a fundamental link between trade wind intensity and past climatic fluctuations, and further suggests that the changes of intensity are closely atuned to temperature fluctuations in the northern latitudes. The relationship between the quartz/illite variations and wind intensity is complicated by the fact that other climatically controlled factors may also affect quartz deposition in the equatorial Atlantic.

Deposition (geology) · Geochemistry · Geodesy · Illite · Intensity (physics) · Latitude · Quartz · Sediment · Aeolian processes and effects · Geological and Geochemical Analysis · Geology · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Oceanography · Paleontology