Current Research

Current Research Projects:

Dr. Tony Rathburn
Dr. Elena Pérez
Amanda Bahls
David Williams
Michelle Abriani                                            
Jared Kluesner
Jessica Adamic
Brian Wrightsman

1.) Interdisciplinary approach to understand stable isotopic disequilibrium in benthic foraminifera (A.E. Rathburn, J. M. Bernhard (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), and J. B. Martin (Univ. Florida) Co-PIs)

In July, 2007, using the ROV JASON II, we will collect precisely-placed samples from targeted environments in Monterey Bay, off the coast of California. Together with graduate and undergraduate students and a postdoctoral researcher, we plan to analyze the samples for the three-dimensional distribution of foraminifera in the sediment, their food preferences, the presence/absence of symbionts, and carbon isotopic composition using a variety of recently developed techniques. Foraminiferal chemistry and distribution will be compared with pore water chemical and isotopic composition. To examine a broad spectrum of isotopic environments, we propose a coupled study of both non-seep sediments and nearby cold methane seep environments, where steep geochemical gradients occur. The specific hypotheses to be tested are:

1) The carbon isotopic composition of foraminiferal carbonate is influenced by clustering of individuals within sub-millimeter seep microenvironments.
2) The carbon isotopic composition of foraminiferal carbonate is influenced by diet.

3) The carbon isotopic composition of benthic foraminiferal carbonate is influenced by prokaryotic, non-photosynthetic symbionts.

2) Seasonal ecology and stable isotope signatures of California margin foraminifera (A. E. Rathburn, PI) A time-series of seafloor samples collected at two sites in the Southern California Bight revealed differences in rose-Bengal stained foraminiferal assemblages between sites and seasonal samples that probably result from differences in surface productivity. Opportunistic species and assemblage abundances change with seasons. Seasonal changes in the stable isotopic composition of benthic foraminifera were not observed, but have been in other regions. Seasonal changes in the _13C of foraminiferal carbonate appear to be more subtle than originally thought.

3) Response of benthic foraminifera to catastrophic disturbance on the Aleutian Margin (A. E. Rathburn and Lisa Levin Co-PIs) Using JASON II on a cruise in July, 2004, we mapped and sampled the seafloor in an area of the Aleutian margin. Movement of seafloor sediments in the area were thought by some to be the cause of the 1946 tsunami that caused appreciable damage in Alaska and Hawaii. Our mapping efforts revealed no geological features indicative of the slide predicted by some Tsunami modelers, making the 1946 tsunami even more mysterious. We discovered new deep-sea coral habitats methane seeps, and sampled the mosaic of environments in this unexplored region. In collaboration with Jon Martin (Univ. of Florida), we will examine the Sr and stable isotope signatures of modern and fossil foraminifera collected on the cruise. We hope to understand the factors, including disturbance, which generate seafloor ecosystem mosaic in the submarine canyon systems. These data will also help further calibrate faunal and geochemical proxy information from benthic foraminifera. View Page

4) Ecology of foraminifera from the oxygen minimum zone off Peru (A. E. Rathburn and Lisa Levin Co-PIs) Examination of foraminiferal assemblages collected along a transect across the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) off Peru revealed noticeable differences in the percentages of calcareous and agglutinated taxa. The percentage of agglutinated taxa in the center of the OMZ is much lower than those outside of the OMZ. It is unclear why calcareous foraminifera are able to thrive in organic-rich OMZ environments while agglutinated taxa are not..

5) Ecology and distribution of benthic foraminifera from the Murray Canyons, Off Kangaroo Island, Australia (A. E. Rathburn, PI) In collaboration with Patrick De Deckker (Australian National University), and researchers from France and Germany, seafloor samples were collected from the Murray Canyons, offshore Kangaroo Island, Australia. The primary objective of this study is to provide faunal and geochemical information about modern foraminifera that can be used to assess changes in paleoproductivity from fossil records in the region.

6) Development of faunal and biogeochemical pollution proxies in the Venice Lagoon, Italy (part of an interdisciplinary Scripps team of Co-PIs) Together with a team of Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists, in 2005 we will begin experiments and seafloor sediments sampling of the Venice Lagoon in order to better understand the biogeochemical impacts of pollutants within the sediments. One goal is to develop microfaunal and biogeochemical indicators of contaminants in order to monitor pollution impact and recovery View Page

Dr. Tony Rathburn

Interests: Paleoceanography, Paleoecology, Micropaleontology, Geobiology and Biogeochemistry of methane seeps

Selected Publications

Martin, J. B., Day, S. A., Rathburn, A. E., Perez, M. E., Mahn, C, Gieskes, J., 2004. Relationships between the stable isotopic signatures of living and fossil foraminifera in Monterey Bay, California. Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems, 5, Q04004, doi:10.1029/2003GC000629.

Rathburn, A.E., Perez, M. E., Martin, J. B., Day, S. A., Gieskes, J., Mahn, C., Ziebis, W., Williams, D., Bahls, A. (2003) Relationships between the distribution and stable isotopic composition of living foraminifera and cold methane seep biogeochemistry in Monterey Bay, California. Geochemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems 4(12), 1106, doi:10.1029/2003GC000595.

Levin, L. A., Rathburn, A. E., Neira, C., Sellanes, J., Munoz, P., Gallardo, V., Salamanca, M., (2002) Benthic Processes on the Peru Margin: A transect across the oxygen minimum zone during the 1997-1998 El Ni?o, Progress in Oceanography 53: 1-27.

Rathburn, A. E., Perez, M. E., and Lange, C., 2001, Benthic-Pelagic Coupling in The Southern California Bight: Relationships Between Sinking Organic Material, Diatoms and Benthic Foraminifera: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 43, p. 261-271.

Rathburn, A. E., Levin, L. A., Held, Z. A., Lohmann, K. C., 2000, Benthic Foraminifera Associated with Cold Methane Seeps on the Northern Californian Margin: Ecology and Stable Isotopic Composition: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 38 p. 247-266.

Dr. Elena Pérez
Research Interests: Cenozoic paleoceanography and paleoclimatology based on deep-sea sediments; Ecology and paleoecology of marine microfauna; Biogeochemistry of methane seeps.

Recent Publications:

Berger, W.H., Lange, C.B., and Pérez, M.E., 2002. The early Matuyama diatom maximum off SW Africa: A conceptual model. Marine Geology, 180: 105-116.

Rathburn, A.E., Pérez, M.E., and Lange, C., 2001. Benthic-Pelagic Coupling in the Southern California Bight. Marine Micropaleontology, 43: 261-271.

Pérez, M.E., Charles, C., Berger, W.H., 2001. Late Quaternary productivity fluctuations in the Mid-Angola Basin: evidence from benthic foraminifera. In: Wefer, G., Berger, W.H., and Richter, C. (Eds.), Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 175 [Online]. Available from World Wide Web: <http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/175_SR/chap_19/chap_19.htm>

David S. Williams
(Undergraduate)

Research Interests: Biogeochemistry of benthic foraminifera associated with methane dissociation.

Recent Publications:

Anthony E. Rathburn, M. Elena Pérez, Jon B. Martin, Shelley Day, Chris Mahn, Joris Gieskes, Wiebke Ziebis, David Williams, Amanda Bahls.. Relationships between the distribution and stable isotopic signatures of living foraminifera and cold seep biogeochemistry in Monterey Bay, California. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. (in press), 2003.

Recent Abstracts:

Williams, David, Shepherd, Scott, Duncan, Amanda, Backherms, Aaron, Perez, Elena, Rathburn, Tony, Martin, Jon, Day, Shelley, Gieskes, Joris, and Mahn, Chris. 2003. Can Benthic Foraminifera be used as Indicators of Clathrate Dissociation? North-Central Section (37th) and Southeastern Section (52nd), GSA Joint Annual Meeting (March 24-5, 2003).

Backherms, Aaron, Williams, David, Shepherd, Scott, Duncan, Amanda, , Perez, Elena, Rathburn, Tony, Martin, Jon, Day, Shelley, Gieskes, Joris, and Mahn, Chris. 2003. Ecology and Paleoecology of Benthic Foraminifera Associated with Methane Seeps on the Northern California Margin. North-Central Section (37th) and Southeastern Section (52nd), GSA Joint Annual Meeting (March 24-5, 2003).

Wiliams, David, Duncan, Amanda, Backherms, Aaron1, Perez, M. Elena, Rathburn, Anthony E., Martin, Jonathan B., Day, Shelley, Gieskes, Joris, Mahn, Chris, and Ziebis, Wiebke, 2002. Stable Isotopic Compositions of Living Methane Seep Foraminifera: Applications for Paleoceanography. Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting (October 27-30, 2002), Denver, CO.

Williams, David S., Perez, M. Elena, Rathburn, Anthony E., Martin, Jonathan B., Day, Shelly, Gieskes, Joris, Mahn, Chris, and Ziebis, Wiebke, 2002. Clues to Modern and Ancient Methane Release: Living Benthic Foraminifera Associated with Cold Methane Seeps of Monterey Bay, California. North-Central Section (36th) and Southeastern Section (51st), GSA Joint Annual Meeting (April 3–5, 2002).

Michelle Abriani
(Undergraduate)

Research Interests: Paleoclimatology, Paleoceanography, Paleoecology, Murray Canyon (Australian) Benthic Foraminifera, oceanic influence on Quaternary climate change, Foraminiferal ecology, Cambrian and Mesozoic fauna and fossils, hiking, reading, cooking and my family

Mysite

Recent Abstracts:

Adamic, Jessica F., Pérez, M. Elena, Rathburn, Anthony E., Kluesner, Jared W., Basak, Chandranath,Abriani, Michelle A., Shepherd, Amanda S., Wrightsman, Brian K., Ziebis, Wiebke, Martin, Jon, Comparison of Vertical Distribution Patterns of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblages From an Alaskan Margin Cold Methane Seep and the Surrounding Seafloor. 2005 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting, May 2005, Minneapolis, MN. (Accepted)

Kluesner, Jared W., Rathburn, Anthony E., Pérez, M. Elena, Adamic, Jessica F. , Basak, Chandranath, Abriani, Michelle A., Shepherd, Amanda S., Wrightsman, Brian K., Ziebis, Wiebke, Gieskes, Joris M., Vertical Distribution Patterns of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminifera From The Aleutian Margin. 2005 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting, May2005, Minneapolis, MN. (Accepted)

Rathburn, A.E., Levin. L.A., Gieskes, J.M., Ziebis, W., Martin, J.B., Tryon, M.D., Fryer, G.J., McMurtry,G.M., Perez, M.E., Fodrie, J., Bahls. A., Abriani, M., Wrightsman, B., Adamic, J., McMillan, P.A., Neira, C.E., Mendoza, G.F., Leddick, J.E., Do, J., Of Tsunamis and Seafloor Dynamics: Initial Results of Research Off the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Joint Meeting of the15th Annual Argonne Symposium and CSUI, November 2004, Chicago, IL.

Abriani, M.A., Rathburn, A.E., Perez, M.E., and DeDeckker, P., Microhabitat Preferences of Benthic Foraminifera From Australia’s Murray Submarine Canyon Group. 2004 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 2004, Denver, CO. 2004 GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 5, p. 296.

Abriani, M.A., Rathburn, A.E., Perez, M.E., Bahls, A., and DeDeckker, P., Vertical Distribution Profiles of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminifera From Submarine Canyons Off Southwest Australia. 2004 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting, April 2004, St. Louis, MO. 2004 GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 37.

Abriani, M.A., Rathburn, A.E., Perez, M.E., Williams, D. and DeDeckker, P., The Ecology of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminifera From Offshore Kangaroo Island, Australia. 2003 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 2003, Seattle, WA. 2003 GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 35, No. 7, p. 416.

Jared W. Kluesner
(Undergraduate)

Research Interests: Paleoceanography, Paleoclimantology, Benthic Foraminifera assiociated with the Aleutian Margin off the gulf of Alaska and from the Venice lagoon. Seafloor Mapping, Fossils, minerals, reading, and web design.

My site

Recent Abstracts:

KLUESNER, Jared W., RATHBURN, Anthony E., PÉREZ, M. Elena, BASAK, Chandranath, GIESKES, Joris M., LIVING (ROSE BENGAL STAINED) BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM THE VENICE LAGOON, ITALY. Submitted: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, October 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah.

KLUESNER, Jared W.1, RATHBURN, Anthony E. 1, PÉREZ, M. Elena1, BASAK, Chandranath1, GIESKES, Joris M.2, WRIGHTSMAN, Brian1, THE ECOLOGY OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM THE VENICE LAGOON, ITALY. Submitted 2005: 16th Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, November 2005, Chicago Illinois.

KLUESNER, Jared W., RATHBURN, Anthony E., PÉREZ, M. Elena, ADAMIC, Jessica F., BASAK, Chandranath, ABRIANI, Michelle A., SHEPHERD, Amanda S., WRIGHTSMAN, Brian K., ZIEBIS, Wiebke, GIESKES, Joris M., Vertical Distribution of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminifera from the Aleutian Margin. Submitted: 2005 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting, May 2005, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

BASAK, Chandranath, RATHBURN, Anthony E., DE DECKKER, Patrick, EGGINS, Stephen M., KLUESNER, Jared, PEREZ, Elena, GIESKES, Joris. THE ECOLOGY AND GEOCHEMISTRY OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM THE VENICE LAGOON, ITALY. Submitted 2005: American Geophysical Union.

WRIGHTSMAN, Brian K, RATHBURN, A.E., KLUESNER, Jared.
Incorporating Ostracodes into the Classroom. Submitted 2005: 16th Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, November 2005, Chicago Illinois.

ADAMIC, Jessica F., PÉREZ, M. Elena, RATHBURN, Anthony E., KLUESNER, Jared W., BASAK, Chandranath, ABRIANI, Michelle A., SHEPHERD, Amanda S., WRIGHTSMAN, Brian, ZIEBIS, Wiebke, MARTIN, Jon, Comparison of Vertical Distributions Patterns of Living (Stained) Benthic Foraminifera Assemblages from an Alaskan Margin cold Methane Seep and the Surrounding Seafloor. Submitted: 2005 Geological Society of America North-Central Section Meeting, May 2005, Minneapolis, Minnesota

WRIGHTSMAN, Brian K., JELLINEK, Thomas, RATHBURN, Anthony E., KLUESNER, Jared, ADAMIC, Jessica, SWANSON, Kerry, DeDEKKER, Patrick. Ostracode Assemblages within the Murray Canyon System, Offshore Kangaroo Island, Australia. 2004 Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, November 2004, Denver, CO. 2004 GSA Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 36, No. 5, p. 296