Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography

Paleoceanographic proxies provide infonnation for reconstructions of the past, including climate changes, global and regional oceanography, and the cycles of biochemical components in the ocean. These prox­ ies are measurable descriptors for desired but unobservable environmental variables such as tempera­ ture, salinity, primary productivity, nutrient content, or surface-water carbon dioxide conc...