Analysis of Nd isotope, REE and oxygen isotope ratios on water samples across Fram Strait ...

• Main Authors: Laukert, Georgi, Frank, Martin, Bauch, Dorothea, Hathorne, Ed C, Rabe, Benjamin, von Appen, Wilken-Jon, Wegner, Carolyn, Zieringer, Moritz, Kassens, Heidemarie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2017
• Subjects: Global marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and their isotopes GEOTRACES; Arctic Ocean; Fram Strait; Greenland; Nordic Seas; Polarforschung
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.871520; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871520

The water masses passing the Fram Strait are mainly responsible for the exchange of heat and freshwater between the Nordic Seas and the Arctic Ocean (the Arctic Mediterranean, AM). Disentangling their exact sources, distribution and mixing, however, is complex. This work provides new insights based on a detailed geochemical tracer inventory including dissolved Nd isotope (e-Nd), rare earth element (REE) and stable oxygen isotope (d18O) data along a full water depth section across Fram Strait.We find that Nd isotope and REE distributions in the open AM primarily reflect lateral advection of water masses and their mixing. Seawater-particle interactions exert important control only above the shelf regions, as observed above the NE Greenland Shelf. Advection of northward flowing warm Atlantic Water (AW) is clearly reflected by an e-Nd signature of -11.7 and a Nd concentration ([Nd]) of 16 pmol/kg in the upper ~500 m of the eastern and central Fram Strait. Freshening and cooling of the AW on its way trough the AM ... : Supplement to: Laukert, Georgi; Frank, Martin; Bauch, Dorothea; Hathorne, Ed C; Rabe, Benjamin; von Appen, Wilken-Jon; Wegner, Carolyn; Zieringer, Moritz; Kassens, Heidemarie (2017): Ocean circulation and freshwater pathways in the Arctic Mediterranean based on a combined Nd isotope, REE and oxygen isotope section across Fram Strait. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 202, 285-309 ...