Sedimentology on cores from the east Greenland continental margin
High-resolution stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses and detailed sedimentological and geochemical investigations were performed in order to i) reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleoceanography of the Greenland Sea associated with late Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, and ii) to link the...
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| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
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PANGAEA
2009
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| Online Access: | https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.729661 https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.729661 |
| Summary: | High-resolution stable oxygen and carbon isotope analyses and detailed sedimentological and geochemical investigations were performed in order to i) reconstruct the paleoclimate and paleoceanography of the Greenland Sea associated with late Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles, and ii) to link the terrestrial and deep-sea climatic records. The reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental history of the East Greenland margin and the correlation between the terrestrial and deep sea records are major objectives of the ESF-PONAM-Programme (European Science Foundation - Polar North Atlantic Margins). For this study 16 gravity and 2 box cores were recovered along the East Greenland continental margin between 69°N and 72°N on three W-E transects running from the shelf to the deep sea. The glaciomarine sediments recovered from the heavily ice-covered East Greenland continental margin reflect changes associated with the glacial/interglacial climatic cycles of the last 240 ka. The glaciomarine sediments are characterised by a dominance of terrestrially derived components and a lower content of biogenic components. Glaciomarine sedimentation processes, terrigenous sediment input, and biogenic productivity in the study area are strongly influenced by fluctuations in the extent of the Greenland Ice Sheet, extent of the sea-ice cover, rate of iceberg drifting, meltwater input, and changes in the East Greenland Current (EGC). The relatively low carbonate content (<10 %) and the dominant occurrence of N. pachyderma sin. (>95 %) throughout the sediment sequences indicate a low biological productivity in the surface water resulting from the extensive sea-ice cover and the strong influence of cold and low-saline polar waters of the EGC. An increase in the surface-water productivity, on the other hand, occurred during certain periods within interglacial and glacial stages. This indicates that the sea ice along the Western margin of the Greenland Sea was at least seasonally reduced during these time intetvals. Based on the ... |
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