Trace elements and cathodoluminescence of detrital quartz in Arctic marine sediments – a new ice-rafted debris provenance proxy

The records of ice-rafted debris (IRD) provenance in the North Atlantic–Barents Sea allow the reconstruction of the spatial and temporal changes of ice-flow drainage patterns during glacial and deglacial periods. In this study a new approach to characterization of the provenance of detrital quartz g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Climate of the Past
Main Authors: Müller, A., Knies, J.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2013
Subjects:
article
Verlagsveröffentlichung
Arctic
Barents Sea
Barentsøya
Edgeøya
North Atlantic
Spitsbergen
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-2615-2013
https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00021052
https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00021007/cp-9-2615-2013.pdf
https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/9/2615/2013/cp-9-2615-2013.pdf
Description
Summary:The records of ice-rafted debris (IRD) provenance in the North Atlantic–Barents Sea allow the reconstruction of the spatial and temporal changes of ice-flow drainage patterns during glacial and deglacial periods. In this study a new approach to characterization of the provenance of detrital quartz grains in the fraction > 500 μm of marine sediments offshore of Spitsbergen is introduced, utilizing scanning electron microscope backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging, combined with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Based on their micro-inclusions, CL and trace element characteristics, the investigated IRD grains can be classified into five distinct populations. Three of the populations are indicative of potential IRD provenance provinces in the Storfjord area including Barentsøya and Edgeøya. The results imply that under modern (interglacial) conditions IRD deposition along the western Spitsbergen margin is mainly governed by the East Spitsbergen Current controlling the ice-drift pattern. The presence of detrital quartz from local provinces, however, indicates that variations in IRD supply from western Spitsbergen may be quantified as well. In this pilot study it is demonstrated that this new approach applied on Arctic continental margin sediments bears a considerable potential for the definition of the sources of IRD and thus of spatial/temporal changes in ice-flow drainage patterns during glacial/interglacial cycles.

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