Temporal and spatial LGM variability of biomarker records in the Arctic Ocean ...

• Main Authors: Xiao, Xiaotong, Stein, Ruediger, Fahl, Kirsten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2015
• Subjects: Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions from Marine Sediments @ AWI AWI_Paleo; Arctic Ocean; Barents Sea; Phytoplankton; Sea ice; Svalbard; Svalbard margin
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.845021; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.845021

Using the sea ice proxy IP25 and phytoplankton-derived biomarkers (brassicasterol and dinosterol) Arctic sea-ice conditions were reconstructed for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 to 1 in sediment cores from the north of Barents Sea continental margin across the Central Arctic to the Southern Mendeleev Ridge. Our results suggest more extensive sea-ice cover than present-day during MIS 3, increasing sea-ice growth during MIS 2 and decreased sea-ice cover during the last deglacial. The summer ice edge sustained north of the Barents Sea even during extremely cold (i.e., Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)) as well as warm periods (i.e., Bølling-Allerød). During the LGM, the western Svalbard margin and the northern Barents Sea margin areas were characterized by high concentrations of both IP25 and phytoplankton biomarkers, interpreted as a productive ice-edge situation, caused by the inflow of warm Atlantic Water. In contrast, the LGM high Arctic proper (north of 84°N) was covered by thick permanent sea ice throughout the ... : Supplement to: Xiao, Xiaotong; Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten (2015): MIS 3 to MIS 1 temporal and LGM spatial variability in Central Arctic Ocean sea-ice cover: Reconstruction from biomarkers. Paleoceanography, 30(7), 969-983 ...