GLACIAL AND HOLOCENE STABLE-ISOTOPE DISTRIBUTIONS IN THE SOUTHEASTERNINDIAN-OCEAN

We have reconstructed glacial-interglacial variations in Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi delta(13)C and delta(18)O in the southeastern Indian Oce an using depth transects of cores from off western and southern Austra lia. We compare these new results with published stable isotope record s to constrain glacial-interglacial changes in Indian Ocean chemistry and circulation. The strong last glacial maximum (LGM) deep water C-13 depletions previously observed for the northeastern Indian Ocean did not extend throughout the low-latitude glacial Indian Ocean. We observ e only a small LGM-delta(13)C decrease off southern Australia, in mark ed contrast to the strong LGM C-13 depletions observed in many cores f rom the Atlantic and western Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean. It is not yet clear whether the very low LGM delta(13)C values in the dee p northern and southwestern Indian Ocean are an artifact of surface oc ean productivity or whether they reflect real gradients in deep water chemistry.