EUCAMPIA INDEX AS AN INDICATOR OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE OSCILLATIONS OF THE WINTER SEA-ICE EXTENT AT THE ODP LEG 119 SITE 745B AT THE KERGUELEN PLATEAU

A new paleoenvironmental proxy, Eucampia Index, was used to trace the Late Pleistocene oscillations of winter ice extent at ODP Leg 119, Sit e 745B (59 degrees 35.71' S and 85 degrees 51.60' E) on the Kerguelen Plateau. The index is calculated as the ratio of winter terminal to in tercalary valves of the diatom Eucampia antarctica sensu lato. During the early Brunhes the winter sea-ice edge was positioned south from Si te 745. It started expanding northward, closer to the site location so on after 0.4 Ma and progressed in a manner of a several wide oscillati ons. For approximately the last 0.1 Ma the winter sea-ice edge oscilla ted less and retained similar range of oscillations. The ice edge osci llated in periods which correspond closely to that of Milankovitch osc illations of Earth obliquity, although the significance of individual periods appears to vary in time.