Observations of contrasted glacial-interglacial dissolution of foraminifera above the lysocline in the Bay of Bengal, northeastern Indian Ocean

Site U1446 (19°50′N, 85°44′E, at water depth 1 430 m) was drilled during Expedition 353 (Indian monsoon rainfall) of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). It is located in the Mahanadi offshore basin, on the northern Bay of Bengal. Sedimentation rates and contents of biocarbonates are high at this relatively shallow site. Using a micropaleontological approach, we examined planktonic and benthic foraminifera in the upper around 40 m of this site, spanning the last around 190 ka. A striking feature of the foraminiferal record is the occurrence of strong but varying dissolution although the site is located well above the modern lysocline. Such strong dissolution has never been reported in this area. We estimated the flux of foraminifera and quantified the ratio of benthic foraminifera over total foraminifera (benthic/total foraminifera) along with the foraminifer fragmentation index in order to characterize past changes in this above-lysocline dissolution. This study reveals a clear glacial-interglacial contrast, with a stronger dissolution during marine isotope stages (MISs) 1 and 5 than during MISs 2–4 and 6. Such a difference in preservation is likely to have a strong impact on geochemical proxies measured on foraminifera. Our new observations call for an in-depth study of the causes of such above-lysocline dissolution in the region, and an evaluation of its impact on the foraminifera-based proxies used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.