Isotope analysis of a unique Arctic Ocean Sediment Core and Implications for Sea-Ice Change. Her advisor is Dr. Leonid Polyak.
Reconstruction of paleo-sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is critical for evaluating sea-ice retreat under modern, climate warming conditions. This retreat is especially prominent in the western Arctic Ocean, adjacent to the Pacific (Fig. 1). The Northwind Ridge (NR), longitudinally stretched north of Ala...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.681.249 http://www.gcssepm.org/scholarships/2011_scholarship_Best.pdf |
| Summary: | Reconstruction of paleo-sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is critical for evaluating sea-ice retreat under modern, climate warming conditions. This retreat is especially prominent in the western Arctic Ocean, adjacent to the Pacific (Fig. 1). The Northwind Ridge (NR), longitudinally stretched north of Alaskan margin, provides a strategically located seafloor structure for investigating the history of sedimentary and related climatic environments in the Pacific sector of the Arctic Ocean. Initial investigation indicates that sediments in cores recovered from the NR contain more calcareous microfossils (primarily foraminifers) than in many other areas of the Arctic Ocean, which makes these cores more valuable for paleo-proxy studies. More specifically, core P1-93ARP23 (Fig. 2) contains foraminifers in bottom sections of the core estimated to extend beyond Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 16 (-650 ka). This is significant, as these foraminifers are preserved below the level of usual calcite undersaturation in other Arctic cores and contain assemblages and extinct species found in no other core. Overall, foraminiferal data indicate lower sea-ice conditions in the early Quaternary, preceding the growth of a supersized Laurentide ice-sheet. Links between sea-ice, as determined by foraminifers and stable isotopes, and glacial development will be an integral part of the proposed study. |
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