Calcification and shell chemistry response of Southern Ocean planktic foraminifers to ocean acidification and changing climates

Southern Ocean foraminifers will be cultured in controlled laboratory experiments to determine viability and future response of these important planktic calcifiers to ocean acidification with rising atmospheric pCO2, and to changing ocean nutrients and temperature. These same experiments will be used to calibrate proxies for seawater pH, carbonate ion and calcite saturation state, macronutrients and temperature, using unique microanalysis measurements of shell trace element and isotope chemistry. These proxies will be applied to deep-sea cores to understand past linked pCO2-climate change in the Southern Ocean and the response of these planktic calcifiers to that change.