Potential role of giant marine diatoms in sequestration of atmospheric CO2 during the Last Glacial Maximum: δ13C evidence from laminated Ethmodiscus rex mats in tropical West Pacific

Giant marine diatoms, blooming or aggregating within deep chlorophyll maxima under stratified conditions, can generate substantial production and a large export flux of organic carbon from surface waters. However, their role in regulating glacial-interglacial variation in atmospheric pCO2 remains unclear. Here, we report the organic carbon isotopic compositions of Ethmodiscus rex diatoms (δ13CE. rex) and bulk sediments (δ13Corg) from a sediment core in the eastern Philippine Sea dated to ~ 19.5–31.0 kyr B.P. and consisting of (from youngest to oldest) (1) laminated E. rex diatom mats (LDM), (2) diatomaceous clay (DC), and (3) pelagic clay (PC). Our results suggest that δ13CE. rex provides a better record of palaeoceanographic processes during LDM and DC deposition than δ13Corg because of reduced differential vital effects in near-monospecific E. rex fractions. We used the isotopic composition of the coarse E. rex fraction (δ13CE. rex (> 154 μm)) to calculate the CO2 partial pressure of eastern Philippine Sea surface waters (pCO2-sw) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our pCO2-sw records suggest that the eastern Philippine Sea switched from being a strong CO2 source during DC deposition to a weak CO2 sink during LDM deposition. The role of the eastern Philippine Sea as a CO2 sink during the LGM was promoted by elevated primary production and, to a lesser extent, intensified water-column stratification. These observations highlight the potential role of giant marine diatoms in the sequestration of atmospheric CO2 during the LGM and, hence, support changes in biogenic silica fluxes as a potential cause of lower glacial atmospheric CO2. Our findings are consistent with an eolian source of silica, as proposed by the ‘silica hypothesis’ and the ‘silicon-induced alkalinity pump hypothesis’ but not by the ‘silicic acid leakage hypothesis.’