Geochemical biomarker analyses on sediment cores PS51/154-11 and PS51/159-10 from the western Laptev Sea (Arctic Ocean) ...

• Main Authors: Hörner, Tanja, Stein, Ruediger, Fahl, Kirsten, Birgel, Daniel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2016
• Subjects: Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions from Marine Sediments @ AWI AWI_Paleo; Arctic Ocean; laptev; Laptev Sea; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.854067; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.854067

Multi-proxy biomarker measurements were applied on two sediment cores (PS51/154, PS51/159) to reconstruct sea ice cover (IP25), biological production (brassicasterol, dinosterol) and river run-off (campesterol, beta-sitosterol) in the western Laptev Sea over the last ~17 ka with unprecedented temporal resolution. The absence of IP25 from 17.2 to 15.5 ka, in combination with minimum concentration of phytoplankton biomarkers, suggests that the western Laptev Sea shelf was mostly covered with permanent sea ice. Very minor river run-off and restricted biological production occurred during this cold interval. From ~16 ka until 7.5 ka, a long-term decrease of terrigenous (riverine) organic matter and a coeval increase of marine organic matter reflect the gradual establishment of fully marine conditions in the western Laptev Sea, caused by the onset of the post-glacial transgression. Intensified river run-off and reduced sea ice cover characterized the time interval between 15.2 and 12.9 ka, including the ... : Supplement to: Hörner, Tanja; Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; Birgel, Daniel (2016): Post-glacial variability of sea ice cover, river run-off and biological production in the western Laptev Sea (Arctic Ocean) – A high-resolution biomarker study. Quaternary Science Reviews, 143, 133-149 ...