In a new study, RU scientists looked at chemical signatures of planktonic foraminifera. Specifically, the team looked at the iodine and calcium. These signatures are used to detect low oxygen zones over geologic time. The data collected in the eastern Pacific Ocean showed the chemical signature of the foraminifera reflected the chemistry of ocean and the cellular ecology of the organism.
Anya V. Hess, Yair Rosenthal, Xiaoli Zhou, Kaixuan Bu, The I/Ca paleo-oxygenation proxy in planktonic foraminifera: A multispecies core-top calibration, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 2025, ISSN 0016-7037,
DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2025.01.018.