The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study
In the nineties, cold-water coral mounds were discovered in the Porcupine Seabight (NE Atlantic, west of Ireland). A decade later, this discovery led to the drilling of the entire Challenger cold-water coral mound (Eastern slope, Porcupine Seabight) during IODP Expedition 307. As more than 50% of th...
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ftvliz:oai:oma.vliz.be:199046 2023-05-15T16:30:39+02:00 The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study Pirlet, H. Colin, C. Thierens, M. Latruwe, K. Van Rooij, D. Foubert, A. Frank, N. Blamart, D. Huvenne, V. A. I. Swennen, R. Vanhaecke, F. Henriet, J.-P. 2011 http://www.vliz.be/nl/open-marien-archief?module=ref&refid=199046 en eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/000290084800003 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.05.008 http://www.vliz.be/nl/open-marien-archief?module=ref&refid=199046 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess %3Ci%3EMar.+Geol.+282%281-2%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+13-25.+%3Ca+href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.margeo.2010.05.008%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttps%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.margeo.2010.05.008%3C%2Fa%3E info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2011 ftvliz https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.05.008 2022-05-01T09:21:28Z In the nineties, cold-water coral mounds were discovered in the Porcupine Seabight (NE Atlantic, west of Ireland). A decade later, this discovery led to the drilling of the entire Challenger cold-water coral mound (Eastern slope, Porcupine Seabight) during IODP Expedition 307. As more than 50% of the sediment within Challenger Mound consists of terrigenous material, the terrigenous component is equally important for the build-up of the mound as the framework-building corals. Moreover, the terrigenous fraction contains important information on the dynamics and the conditions of the depositional environment during mound development. In this study, the first in-depth investigation of the terrigenous sediment fraction of a cold-water coral mound is performed, combining clay mineralogy, sedimentology, petrography and Sr–Nd-isotopic analysis on a gravity core (MD01-2451G) collected at the top of Challenger Mound.Sr- and Nd-isotopic fingerprinting identifies Ireland as the main contributor of terrigenous material in Challenger Mound. Besides this, a variable input of volcanic material from the northern volcanic provinces (Iceland and/or the NW British Isles) is recognized in most of the samples. This volcanic material was most likely transported to Challenger Mound during cold climatic stages. In three samples, the isotopic ratios indicate a minor contribution of sediment deriving from the old cratons on Greenland, Scandinavia or Canada. The grain-size distributions of glacial sediments demonstrate that ice-rafted debris was deposited with little or no sorting, indicating a slow bottom-current regime. In contrast, interglacial intervals contain strongly current-sorted sediments, including reworked glacio-marine grains. The micro textures of the quartz-sand grains confirm the presence of grains transported by icebergs in interglacial intervals. These observations highlight the role of ice-rafting as an important transport mechanism of terrigenous material towards the mound during the Late Quaternary.Furthermore, elevated smectite content in the siliciclastic, glaciomarine sediment intervals is linked to the deglaciation history of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The increase of smectite is attributed to the initial stage of chemical weathering processes, which became activated following glacial retreat and the onset of warmer climatic conditions. During these deglaciations a significant change in the signature of the detrital fraction and a lack of coral growth is observed. Therefore, we postulate that the deglaciation of the BIIS has an important effect on mound growth. It can seriously alter the hydrography, nutrient supply and sedimentation processes, thereby affecting both sediment input and coral growth and hence, coral mound development. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Ice Sheet Iceland Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Open Marine Archive (OMA) Canada Greenland Porcupine Seabight ENVELOPE(-13.000,-13.000,50.500,50.500) Marine Geology 282 1-2 13 25 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ): Open Marine Archive (OMA) |
op_collection_id |
ftvliz |
language |
English |
description |
In the nineties, cold-water coral mounds were discovered in the Porcupine Seabight (NE Atlantic, west of Ireland). A decade later, this discovery led to the drilling of the entire Challenger cold-water coral mound (Eastern slope, Porcupine Seabight) during IODP Expedition 307. As more than 50% of the sediment within Challenger Mound consists of terrigenous material, the terrigenous component is equally important for the build-up of the mound as the framework-building corals. Moreover, the terrigenous fraction contains important information on the dynamics and the conditions of the depositional environment during mound development. In this study, the first in-depth investigation of the terrigenous sediment fraction of a cold-water coral mound is performed, combining clay mineralogy, sedimentology, petrography and Sr–Nd-isotopic analysis on a gravity core (MD01-2451G) collected at the top of Challenger Mound.Sr- and Nd-isotopic fingerprinting identifies Ireland as the main contributor of terrigenous material in Challenger Mound. Besides this, a variable input of volcanic material from the northern volcanic provinces (Iceland and/or the NW British Isles) is recognized in most of the samples. This volcanic material was most likely transported to Challenger Mound during cold climatic stages. In three samples, the isotopic ratios indicate a minor contribution of sediment deriving from the old cratons on Greenland, Scandinavia or Canada. The grain-size distributions of glacial sediments demonstrate that ice-rafted debris was deposited with little or no sorting, indicating a slow bottom-current regime. In contrast, interglacial intervals contain strongly current-sorted sediments, including reworked glacio-marine grains. The micro textures of the quartz-sand grains confirm the presence of grains transported by icebergs in interglacial intervals. These observations highlight the role of ice-rafting as an important transport mechanism of terrigenous material towards the mound during the Late Quaternary.Furthermore, elevated smectite content in the siliciclastic, glaciomarine sediment intervals is linked to the deglaciation history of the British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The increase of smectite is attributed to the initial stage of chemical weathering processes, which became activated following glacial retreat and the onset of warmer climatic conditions. During these deglaciations a significant change in the signature of the detrital fraction and a lack of coral growth is observed. Therefore, we postulate that the deglaciation of the BIIS has an important effect on mound growth. It can seriously alter the hydrography, nutrient supply and sedimentation processes, thereby affecting both sediment input and coral growth and hence, coral mound development. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pirlet, H. Colin, C. Thierens, M. Latruwe, K. Van Rooij, D. Foubert, A. Frank, N. Blamart, D. Huvenne, V. A. I. Swennen, R. Vanhaecke, F. Henriet, J.-P. |
spellingShingle |
Pirlet, H. Colin, C. Thierens, M. Latruwe, K. Van Rooij, D. Foubert, A. Frank, N. Blamart, D. Huvenne, V. A. I. Swennen, R. Vanhaecke, F. Henriet, J.-P. The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
author_facet |
Pirlet, H. Colin, C. Thierens, M. Latruwe, K. Van Rooij, D. Foubert, A. Frank, N. Blamart, D. Huvenne, V. A. I. Swennen, R. Vanhaecke, F. Henriet, J.-P. |
author_sort |
Pirlet, H. |
title |
The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
title_short |
The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
title_full |
The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
title_fullStr |
The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
title_full_unstemmed |
The importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: A case study |
title_sort |
importance of the terrigenous fraction within a cold-water coral mound: a case study |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://www.vliz.be/nl/open-marien-archief?module=ref&refid=199046 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-13.000,-13.000,50.500,50.500) |
geographic |
Canada Greenland Porcupine Seabight |
geographic_facet |
Canada Greenland Porcupine Seabight |
genre |
Greenland Ice Sheet Iceland |
genre_facet |
Greenland Ice Sheet Iceland |
op_source |
%3Ci%3EMar.+Geol.+282%281-2%29%3C%2Fi%3E%3A+13-25.+%3Ca+href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.margeo.2010.05.008%22+target%3D%22_blank%22%3Ehttps%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.margeo.2010.05.008%3C%2Fa%3E |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/000290084800003 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.05.008 http://www.vliz.be/nl/open-marien-archief?module=ref&refid=199046 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.05.008 |
container_title |
Marine Geology |
container_volume |
282 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
13 |
op_container_end_page |
25 |
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1766020377500188672 |