Atlantic Water advection versus sea-ice advances in the eastern Fram Strait during the last 9 ka - multiproxy evidence for a two-phase Holocene.

Werner, Kirstin, Spielhagen, Robert F., Bauch, Dorothea , Hass, H. Christian and Kandiano, Evgeniya (2013) Atlantic Water advection versus sea-ice advances in the eastern Fram Strait during the last 9 ka - multiproxy evidence for a two-phase Holocene. Open Access Paleoceanography, 28 . pp. 283-295. DOI 10.1002/palo.20028.

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Supplementary data:

Abstract

A sediment core from the West Spitsbergen continental margin was studied to reconstruct climate and paleoceanographic variability during the last ~9 ka in the eastern Fram Strait. Our multiproxy evidence suggests that the establishment of the modern oceanographic configuration in the eastern Fram Strait occurred stepwise, in response to the postglacial sea-level rise and the related onset of modern sea-ice production on the shallow Siberian shelves. The late Early and Mid Holocene interval (9 to 5 ka) was generally characterized by relatively unstable conditions. High abundance of the subpolar planktic foraminifer species Turborotalita quinqueloba implies strong intensity of Atlantic Water (AW) inflow with high productivity and/or high AW temperatures, resulting in a strong heat flux to the Arctic. A series of short-lived cooling events (8.2, 6.9. and 6.1 ka) occurred superimposed on the warm late Early and Mid Holocene conditions. Our proxy data imply that simultaneous to the complete postglacial flooding of Arctic shallow shelves and the initiation of modern sea-ice production, strong advance of polar waters initiated modern oceanographic conditions in the eastern Fram Strait at ~5.2 ka. The Late Holocene was marked by the dominance of the polar planktic foraminifer species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, a significant expansion of sea ice/icebergs, and strong stratification of the water column. Although planktic foraminiferal assemblages as well as sea surface and subsurface temperatures suggest a return of slightly strengthened advection of subsurface Atlantic Water after 3 ka, a relatively stable cold-water layer prevailed at the sea surface and the study site was probably located within the seasonally fluctuating marginal ice zone during the Neoglacial period.

Document Type: Article
Additional Information: WOS:000322013900007
Keywords: Holocene; Fram Strait; Atlantic Water; sea-ice extent; stable isotopes; planktic foraminifers
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-P-OZ Paleo-Oceanography
HGF-AWI
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union), Wiley
Projects: HOVAG, Transdrift, Laptev Sea System
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 17 May 2013 10:21
Last Modified: 23 Sep 2019 18:43
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/21278

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