Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events
The so-called Heinrich layers, found in North Atlantic sediments, have been attributed to quasi-periodic discharges of armadas of icebergs originating from the Laurentide ice sheet. Using the distribution of biomarkers in a sediment core (BOFS 5K) we have attempted to provide more information about...
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1997
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ftucl:oai:eprints.ucl.ac.uk.OAI2:101383 2023-05-15T16:41:24+02:00 Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events RosellMele, A Maslin, MA Maxwell, JR Schaeffer, P 1997-04 http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/101383/ unknown PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC , 61 (8) 1671 - 1678. (1997) NORTH-ATLANTIC SEDIMENTS DIAROMATIC CAROTENOIDS U-37(K) INDEX CHLOROPHYLL ICEBERGS SEA ICE DEGRADATION CIRCULATION DISCHARGES Article 1997 ftucl 2016-01-15T02:34:56Z The so-called Heinrich layers, found in North Atlantic sediments, have been attributed to quasi-periodic discharges of armadas of icebergs originating from the Laurentide ice sheet. Using the distribution of biomarkers in a sediment core (BOFS 5K) we have attempted to provide more information about their origin and the effect of the Heinrich events on oceanic circulation and the climatic system. Estimates of sea surface temperature changes, via U-37(K) measurements, show that the surface ocean underwent significant cooling during the events, probably as a result of incoming iceberg meltwater. The low sea temperatures and the rapid variation in the accumulation of chlorophyll-derived pigments suggest that the events provoked a major change in oceanographic conditions, which may have affected the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. Within the most recent layers we have also found vanadyl alkyl porphyrins and aryl isoprenoid hydrocarbons, diagenetic products of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids, respectively). These components are not expected to occur in late Quaternary sediments, so their presence demonstrates a contribution to the layers of ancient, organic rich sedimentary material of continental origin. The presence of vanadyl porphyrins and absence of their nickel counterparts, and the distributional features of the aryl isoprenoids (e.g., presence of the C-40 reduced carotenoid isorenieratane of green sulphur bacterial origin) indicate the existence of anoxic conditions in the photic zone of a marine water column in the original depositional setting of the contributed ancient sediment. These results suggest that it should be possible, using a biomarker correlation approach, to determine the source area of the ancient sediment eroded by the icebergs. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice University College London: UCL Discovery |
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Open Polar |
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University College London: UCL Discovery |
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ftucl |
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topic |
NORTH-ATLANTIC SEDIMENTS DIAROMATIC CAROTENOIDS U-37(K) INDEX CHLOROPHYLL ICEBERGS SEA ICE DEGRADATION CIRCULATION DISCHARGES |
spellingShingle |
NORTH-ATLANTIC SEDIMENTS DIAROMATIC CAROTENOIDS U-37(K) INDEX CHLOROPHYLL ICEBERGS SEA ICE DEGRADATION CIRCULATION DISCHARGES RosellMele, A Maslin, MA Maxwell, JR Schaeffer, P Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
topic_facet |
NORTH-ATLANTIC SEDIMENTS DIAROMATIC CAROTENOIDS U-37(K) INDEX CHLOROPHYLL ICEBERGS SEA ICE DEGRADATION CIRCULATION DISCHARGES |
description |
The so-called Heinrich layers, found in North Atlantic sediments, have been attributed to quasi-periodic discharges of armadas of icebergs originating from the Laurentide ice sheet. Using the distribution of biomarkers in a sediment core (BOFS 5K) we have attempted to provide more information about their origin and the effect of the Heinrich events on oceanic circulation and the climatic system. Estimates of sea surface temperature changes, via U-37(K) measurements, show that the surface ocean underwent significant cooling during the events, probably as a result of incoming iceberg meltwater. The low sea temperatures and the rapid variation in the accumulation of chlorophyll-derived pigments suggest that the events provoked a major change in oceanographic conditions, which may have affected the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. Within the most recent layers we have also found vanadyl alkyl porphyrins and aryl isoprenoid hydrocarbons, diagenetic products of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids, respectively). These components are not expected to occur in late Quaternary sediments, so their presence demonstrates a contribution to the layers of ancient, organic rich sedimentary material of continental origin. The presence of vanadyl porphyrins and absence of their nickel counterparts, and the distributional features of the aryl isoprenoids (e.g., presence of the C-40 reduced carotenoid isorenieratane of green sulphur bacterial origin) indicate the existence of anoxic conditions in the photic zone of a marine water column in the original depositional setting of the contributed ancient sediment. These results suggest that it should be possible, using a biomarker correlation approach, to determine the source area of the ancient sediment eroded by the icebergs. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
RosellMele, A Maslin, MA Maxwell, JR Schaeffer, P |
author_facet |
RosellMele, A Maslin, MA Maxwell, JR Schaeffer, P |
author_sort |
RosellMele, A |
title |
Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
title_short |
Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
title_full |
Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
title_fullStr |
Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biomarker evidence for ''Heinrich'' events |
title_sort |
biomarker evidence for ''heinrich'' events |
publisher |
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/101383/ |
genre |
Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Ice Sheet North Atlantic Sea ice |
op_source |
GEOCHIM COSMOCHIM AC , 61 (8) 1671 - 1678. (1997) |
_version_ |
1766031825128390656 |