The purpose of this study was to estimate past sea-surface temperature in the Southeast Indian Ocean. The accumulation of diatom microplankton assemblages in sediments being the proxy for these records of climatic change.
A transfer function is a mathematical method that allows quantitative estimations of environmental parameters from past biogenic sedimentation. In this study, a diatom transfer function was established to relate biological species to selected environmental parameter of the ocean (sea-surface temp). These equations were then employed on observed fossil species from core samples to provide quantitative estimates of sea-surface temperature.
Estimates of sea-surface temperature (SST) are given here based on the assemblages of diatoms found in core MD88-787. The information provided gives the extrapolated age-scale through the core, and an estimate of August SST based on a diatom transfer function - DTF 109/24/6.