Examining surface water conditions over the past 250,000 years off the coast of Namibia: exploring the diverse impacts of Agulhas Leakage and Benguela Upwelling

The Southeast Atlantic Ocean plays a crucial role in the overall circulation of the world's oceans facilitating the transfer of heat and salt into the Atlantic and hosting the productive Benguela Upwelling System. Heat and salt are introduced to the South Atlantic via the Agulhas leakage and thus this leakage is considered important in controlling the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). In this study we reconstruct sea surface temperatures and salinities using coupled Mg/Ca and δ18Ο of Globigerina bulloides shells from site GeoB 1710-3 offshore Namibia. Our goal is to investigate the paleoceanography and surface ocean circulation patterns in this area during the late Pleistocene (0-250 ka). Furthermore, the chemical investigation is complemented by X-ray μCT measurements of the foraminifera specimens for dissolution assessment, aiding in the interpretation of a perplexing pattern in the G. bulloides shell weight record during the penultimate glaciation.