Late Quaternary calcium carbonate sedimentation and terrigenous input along the east Greenland continental margin
Nine large box cores collected in the western Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Sea were analyzed for calcium carbonate content and coarse fraction components. Stratigraphic control is based on oxygen isotope records performed on four of the cores. All cores were correlated using oxygen and carbon i...
| Published in: | Marine Geology |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
1993
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/35323/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/35323/1/Baumann.pdf https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(93)90037-V |
| Summary: | Nine large box cores collected in the western Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian (GIN) Sea were analyzed for calcium carbonate content and coarse fraction components. Stratigraphic control is based on oxygen isotope records performed on four of the cores. All cores were correlated using oxygen and carbon isotope data, fluctuations in calcium carbonate content, coarse terrigenous particle content and volcanic ash beds. Glacial and interglacial cycles are documented by a number of terrigenous particle events and differentiated calcium carbonate production which can be correlated to major paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic shifts. In the older core sections, extensive deposition of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) persisted until about oxygen isotope stage 9 and document a relatively stable environment in this area, strongly influenced by cold surface water masses. The following interval was characterized by variations in the general surface water circulation pattern, although high amounts of IRD are still present in Iceland Sea sediments. Pronounced shifts in terrigenous input and pelagic carbonate records were identified close to the oxygen isotope stage Full-size image (<1 K) and Full-size image (<1 K) boundaries, indicating massive melting of icebergs in the western GIN Sea. These enormous inputs of debris were followed by an increase in calcium carbonate production caused by maximum intrusion of warm Atlantic surface waters. Relatively high calcium carbonate contents also show that only little dilution by fine-grained material and a minimum of ice melting occurred during these warm phases. During oxygen isotope stage 5, conditions were more uniform indicating a less pronounced westward penetration of Atlantic waters as compared to the Holocene. The last glacial (stages 4-2) is characterized by the occurrence of “Heinrich”-like events, although high IRD contents were present throughout this interval. A distinct contrast between the northernmost cores and the cores in the south is indicative of a rather strong westward ... |
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