Coccoliths as Paleoclimatic Indicators of Pleistocene Glaciation

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Abstract
Selected species of Coccolithophoridae from recent sediments and mid-Wisconsin glacial sediments of the North Atlantic were examined in an attempt to determine cooling effects. All species showed a definite shift southward during the glacial period. The average shift in this planktonic population was 15 degrees of latitude, with the greatest change in the eastern Atlantic. A paleoisotherm map can be drawn on the basis of the temperature boundaries of coccolithophorids. The species boundaries indicate a possible shift in position of the subtropical gyral to a glacial position roughly parallel to the 33-degree line of latitude.