Process length variation in cysts of the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum, from surface sediments of the Baltic–Kattegat–Skagerrak estuarine system: a regional salinity proxy

Kenneth Neil Mertens, Barrie Dale , Marianne Ellegaard, Ida-Maria Jansson, Anna Godhe, Anke Kremp, Stephen Louwye

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Results are presented from a regional comparison of average process length variation in cysts of Protoceratium reticulatum and Lingulodinium polyedrum, extracted from surface sediments in the Skagerrak-Kattegat-Baltic estuarine system, with the environmental variables of seawater temperature and salinity. Although too few cysts of Lingulodinium polyedrum were recovered from the sediments to make reliable correlations, cysts of Protoceratium reticulatum were well represented, and average process length was correlated significantly with both salinity and temperature. Owing to dominant summer surface production, and regional covariation between salinity and density, we propose the use of the significant correlation with summer sea surface salinity (SSSsummer) by the equation SSSsummer=3.16 × average process length -0.84 (R2=0.8). Application of this equation down-core in Limfjord (northern Denmark) shows its usefulness as a regional palaeosalinity proxy.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBoreas
Volume40
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)242-255
Number of pages14
ISSN0300-9483
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2011

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