Holocene changes in sea-ice cover and polynya formation along the eastern North Greenland shelf: New insights from biomarker records.

Syring, Nicole, Stein, Ruediger, Fahl, Kirsten, Vahlenkamp, Maximilian, Zehnich, Marc, Spielhagen, Robert F. and Niessen, Frank (2020) Holocene changes in sea-ice cover and polynya formation along the eastern North Greenland shelf: New insights from biomarker records. Open Access Quaternary Science Reviews, 231 (Article number 106173). DOI 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106173.

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Abstract

Highlights

• Highly variable sea-ice conditions off eastern North Greenland during the Holocene.
• The mid to late Holocene is characterized by seasonal to marginal sea-ice conditions.
• Seasonal formation of the Northeast-Water (NEW) Polynya during the last 1 ka.

Understanding the processes controlling the natural variability of sea ice in the Arctic, one of the most dynamic components of the climate system, can help to constrain the effects of future climate change in this highly sensitive area. For the first time, a high-resolution biomarker study was carried out to reconstruct past sea-ice variability off eastern North Greenland. This area is strongly influenced by cold surface waters and drift ice transported via the East Greenland Current, meltwater pulses from the outlet glaciers of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream and the build-up of landfast ice. The well-dated Holocene sedimentary section of Core PS93/025 provides insights into variations of the sea-ice conditions (regional and local sea-ice signal), oceanic and atmospheric circulation and the biotic response to these changes. These biomarker records show a reduced to variable sea-ice cover during the early Holocene between 10.2 and 9.3 ka, followed by a steady increase in sea-ice conditions during the mid Holocene. During the last 5–6 ka, sea-ice conditions remained more stable representing a seasonal to marginal sea-ice situation. Based on our biomarker records, stable sea-ice edge conditions, with a fully developed polynya situation occurred since the last 1 ka.

Document Type: Article
Additional Information: The studied samples and data were provided by AWI (Grant No. AWI-PS93.1_01 ).
Keywords: SURFACE OCEAN CONDITIONS; HIGH-RESOLUTION RECORD; ARCTIC-OCEAN; WATER POLYNYA; FRAM STRAIT; COLD EVENT; TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY; ICELANDIC SHELF; CLIMATE-CHANGE; BARENTS SEA
Research affiliation: HGF-AWI
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-P-OZ Paleo-Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Elsevier
Related URLs:
Projects: PACES-II, CATS
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 10 Feb 2020 09:40
Last Modified: 08 Feb 2023 09:25
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/48954

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