Publication Date:
2017-12-10
Description:
AtlanticWater (AW) advection plays an important
role in climatic, oceanographic and environmental conditions
in the eastern Arctic. Situated along the only deep connection
between the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans, the Svalbard
Archipelago is an ideal location to reconstruct the past AW
advection history and document its linkage with local glacier
dynamics, as illustrated in the present study of a 275 cm long
sedimentary record from Woodfjorden (northern Spitsbergen;
water depth: 171 m) spanning the last �15 500 years.
Sedimentological, micropalaeontological and geochemical
analyses were used to reconstruct changes in marine environmental
conditions, sea ice cover and glacier activity. Data
illustrate a partial break-up of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice
Sheet from Heinrich Stadial 1 onwards (until �14.6 ka).
During the Bølling–Allerød (�14.6–12.7 ka), AW penetrated
as a bottom water mass into the fjord system and contributed
significantly to the destabilization of local glaciers.
During the Younger Dryas (�12.7–11.7 ka), it intruded into
intermediate waters while evidence for a glacier advance is
lacking. A short-term deepening of the halocline occurred
at the very end of this interval. During the early Holocene
(�11.7–7.8 ka), mild conditions led to glacier retreat, a reduced
sea ice cover and increasing sea surface temperatures,
with a brief interruption during the Preboreal Oscillation
(�11.1–10.8 ka). Due to a �6000-year gap, the mid-
Holocene is not recorded in this sediment core. During the
late Holocene (�1.8–0.4 ka), a slightly reduced AW inflow
and lower sea surface temperatures compared to the early
Holocene are reconstructed. Glaciers, which previously retreated
to the shallower inner parts of the Woodfjorden system,
likely advanced during the late Holocene. In particular,
topographic control in concert with the reduced summer insolation
partly decoupled glacier dynamics from AW advection
during this recent interval.
Repository Name:
EPIC Alfred Wegener Institut
Type:
Article
,
isiRev
Permalink