Macerals analyses of sediment cores from the Laptev Sea, supplement to: Boucsein, Bettina; Fahl, Kirsten; Stein, Ruediger (2000): Variability of river discharge and Atlantic-water inflow at the Laptev Sea continental margin during the past 15,000 years: implications from maceral and biomarker records. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 89(3), 578-591

• Main Authors: Boucsein, Bettina, Fahl, Kirsten, Stein, Ruediger
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 2000
• Subjects: Kasten corer; Gravity corer Kiel type; ARK-IX/4; ARK-XI/1; Polarstern; Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions from Marine Sediments @ AWI AWI_Paleo; Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North QUEEN; Laptev Sea; laptev
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.711828; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.711828

In order to reconstruct the depositional environment from the Laptev Sea continental slope and shelf during the past ~15,000 years BP maceral analysis was carried out on two sediment cores (PS2458-4, PS2725-5) and compared with organic-geochemical parameters. During the transition from the Last Glacial to the Holocene the environment of the Laptev Sea shelf was controlled by the post-glacial sea level rise, variations in river discharge, surface-water productivity, and Atlantic-water inflow along the Eurasian continental margin. Based on our results, we identify the following significant changes of the environment: (a) at approximately 13,500 years BP the first step of deglaciation (Termination 1a) is documented by the deposition of marine and fresh-water organic matter; (b) at approximately 10,400 years BP the first post-glacial influence of Atlantic-water inflow along the Eastern Laptev Sea continental margin is indicated by an increase in marine organic matter; (c) at the beginning of the Holocene an increased fluvial supply is documented by an increase in fresh-water alginite; and (d) since ~9500-8000 years BP modern marine conditions are established at the Laptev Sea continental margin as documented in increased amounts of marine macerals, biomarkers (dinosterol, brassicasterol, short-chain fatty acids), and dinoflagellate cysts.