Reconstructing Holocene palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography in Ìsafjarðardjúp, northwest Iceland, from two fjord records overprinted by relative sea‐level and local hydrographic changes

• Published in: Journal of Quaternary Science
• Main Authors: Quillmann, Ursula, Jennings, Anne, Andrews, John
• Other Authors: NSF, University of Colorado
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2010
• Subjects: Ísafjarðardjúp; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1395; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjqs.1395; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jqs.1395

Abstract We reconstruct palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography of the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord system from two cores – one from the inner fjord and one near the fjord mouth – while separating the potential overprinting of relative sea‐level (RSL) and local fjord hydrographic changes on these records. The inner fjord core (B997‐339) reflects local fjord hydrography; the outer fjord core (MD99‐2266) reflects the regional oceanic signal. Glacial marine conditions ended at ca. 10 200 cal. a BP, indicated by both ice‐rafted debris records. The other proxy records show spatial and temporal variability within the fjord system. At the inner fjord site (B997‐339) foraminiferal assemblages and the δ 18 O record indicate lowered RSL between ca. 10 600 and 8900 cal. a BP and document the onset of fjord water overturning at ca. 8900 cal. a BP, which obscured the climate record. At the fjord mouth (MD99‐2266) mass accumulation rates suggest lowered RSL between ca. 10 200 and 5500 cal. a BP and local freshwater and/or reduced salinities of the Irminger Current water masses affected the δ 18 O signal between ca. 10 200 and 7900 cal. a BP. At MD99‐2266, foraminiferal fauna record the Holocene Thermal Maximum between ca. 8000 and 5700 cal. a BP and the onset of modern oceanic circulation at ca. 7000 cal. a BP. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.