Organic biomarker records and dinoflagellate cyst concentrations from the Pliocene to earliest Quaternary of ODP Site 907, Iceland Sea ...

• Main Authors: Clotten, Caroline, Fahl, Kirsten, Stein, Ruediger, De Schepper, Stijn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2017
• Subjects: Ocean Drilling Program ODP; Arctic; Greenland; East Greenland; east greenland current; Iceland; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.877309; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.877309

Sea ice is a critical component in the Arctic and global climate system, yet little is known about its extent and variability during past warm intervals, such as the Pliocene (5.33-2.58 Ma). Here, we present the first multi-proxy (IP25, sterols, alkenones, palynology) sea ice reconstructions for the Late Pliocene Iceland Sea (ODP Site 907). Our interpretation of a seasonal sea ice cover with occasional ice-free intervals between 3.50-3.00 Ma is supported by reconstructed alkenone-based summer sea surface temperatures. As evidenced from brassicasterol and dinosterol, primary productivity was low between 3.50 and 3.00 Ma and the site experienced generally oligotrophic conditions. The East Greenland Current (and East Icelandic Current) may have transported sea ice into the Iceland Sea and/or brought cooler and fresher waters favoring local sea ice formation.Between 3.00 and 2.40 Ma, the Iceland Sea is mainly sea ice-free, but seasonal sea ice occurred between 2.81 and 2.74 Ma. Sea ice extending into the Iceland ... : Supplement to: Clotten, Caroline; Stein, Ruediger; Fahl, Kirsten; De Schepper, Stijn (2018): Seasonal sea ice cover during the warm Pliocene: Evidence from the Iceland Sea (ODP Site 907). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 481, 61-72 ...