Palaeoceanographic development in Storfjorden, Svalbard, during the deglaciation and Holocene: evidence from benthic foraminiferal records

• Published in: Boreas
• Main Authors: Rasmussen, Tine L., Thomsen, Erik
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2014
• Subjects: Svalbard; The ''Y''; Sea ice; Storfjorden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bor.12098; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fbor.12098; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bor.12098

Brines can have a profound influence on the relative abundance of calcareous and agglutinated foraminiferal faunas. Here we investigated the distribution of benthic foraminiferal species in four cores from a brine‐enriched environment in S torfjorden, S valbard. Stratigraphically, the cores comprise the last 15 000 years. The purpose of the study was to reconstruct changes in the palaeoecology and palaeoceanography of S torfjorden in relation to past climate changes, and to identify potential indicator species for brine‐affected environments. The benthic foraminifera in S torfjorden all have widespread occurrences in the A rctic realm. C alcareous species dominated S torfjorden during the deglaciation and early H olocene until c . 8200 a BP . However, agglutinated species increased in abundance whenever conditions became colder with more sea ice and stronger brine formation, such as during the O lder D ryas, the I ntra‐ A llerød C old P eriod and the Y ounger D ryas. Following a moderately cold period with numerous agglutinated foraminifera from c . 8200–4000 a BP , conditions became more changeable from c . 4000 a BP with repeated shifts between warmer periods dominated by calcareous species and colder periods dominated by agglutinated species. The warmer periods show a stronger influence of A tlantic W ater, with reduced brine formation and less corrosive conditions at the sea bottom. Conversely, the colder periods show a stronger influence of A rctic water, with higher brine production and more corrosive bottom water. The distribution patterns of the calcareous species are basically the same whether calculated relative to the total fauna (including agglutinated specimens) or relative to calcareous specimens alone. Moreover, the patterns are similar to the patterns found elsewhere along western S valbard in areas without the influence of brines. No particular species appear to be specifically linked to brine formation. However, the most persistent agglutinated species R . scorpiurus and A . glomerata are also ...