This thesis examines the calcareous nannofossil record of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 1090 (South-Atlantic) and 1172 (South-Pacifi c) for the Plio-Pleistocene (3.5-1.8 Ma) time interval. Calcareous nannofossils (coccolithophores) are an excellent tool to monitor the surface water conditions of the Southern Ocean since they are sensitive to various environmental factors such as light, temperature, nutrient concentration. The records have been compared with the benthic isotope records to reconstruct the paleoceanographic changes of the Southern Ocean during the study interval. The main objectives of this study are: (i) to characterize the Plio-Pleistocene calcareous nannofossil assemblage of the Subantarctic Ocean, (ii) to identify changes in the Plio-Pleistocene Southern ocean circulation through the nannofossil record and (iii) to look for signifi cant changes/anomalies in the record that can be related to the Eltanin impact instead of being explained by orbital variations. The fragmentation of the coccoliths found in the sediments was related to dissolution and different dissolution proxies were calculated: (1) DL based on the disarticulation of Calcidiscus leptoporus, (2) DP based on the fragmentation Coccolithus pelagicus, (3) NF based on the number of fragments per fi eld of view and (4) SF based on the size of the fragments. These dissolution proxies confi rm that the nannofossil signal is not Contents Aims and structure of the thesis I. General Framework II. Objectives III. Structure of the thesis