The Maldives and IODP Expedition 359

Foraminifera and carbonates as archives of sea level changes

We are presently involved in the shore-based investigation of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 359 Maldives Monsoon and Sea Level. The overall objectives of this project are to: produce detailed bio- isotope stratigraphies of the drift deposit recovered during the Expedition 359 and thus improve existing time scales; test if sea level changes documented in the Atlantic Ocean can be also traced in the Indian Ocean; test if the processes producing regional seismic reflectors were modulated by the same alternation of pelagic versus neritic/periplatform sedimentation and linked to eustatic sea level rises; reconstruct a paleoceanographic scenario that will contribute to understand the current circulation pattern and the influence of the Indian Monsoon in the Indian Ocean.

Images courtesy of Stephanie Stainbank