Late Quaternary stable isotope record of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi from the Ontong Java Plateau

We present oxygen and carbon isotope records for benthic foraminifers from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 805 and 806 for the last 650,000 yr. Comparison of these records (Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi) with similar records from elsewhere shows that they are of excellent quality. The oxygen isotope patterns provide no evidence for substantial deep-water cooling in the western equatorial Pacific during glacial times (in contrast to the eastern Pacific and to the deep Atlantic). The carbon isotope record largely reflects global patterns and is influenced by the changing production rate of NADW (as evidenced in Pacific-Atlantic delta13C differences). Changes in planktonic-benthic delta13C differences in these records provide support for increased productivity during glacial periods in the western equatorial Pacific, in agreement with other evidence.