ALBERT

Description: The North Atlantic Current transports warm and salty water into the Nordic Seas and continues northwards into the Arctic Ocean as the West Spitsbergen Current. This current flows along the west coast of the Svalbard archipelago and into the fjords and troughs on the Svalbard shelf. We have investigated a core (NP05-11-21GC) from the Kongsfjorden trough, which spans the last 12 ka. The core site presently experiences seasonal inflow of Atlantic Water masses, and may therefore provide a record of past variations in Atlantic Water inflow to the Arctic. Lithological analysis and benthic foraminifera have been used to reconstruct the palaeoceanographic development in the area. The results show that cold and harsh conditions prevailed during the late part of the Younger Dryas and that the site was in proximity to glaciers. After 11.8 ka BP the first influence of Atlantic Water is seen in the fauna. This was followed by changes in glacial activity at 11.5 ka BP. During the period 11.5-10.6 ka BP the fauna indicate increased influence of Atlantic Water and the final deglaciation of the fjord after the Younger Dryas period. These initial ameliorated conditions were interrupted by a 250-year long cooling starting at 11.3 ka BP, corresponding to the Preboreal Oscillation. After 10.6 ka BP a marked change from an ice proximal to ice distal environment occurred accompanied by the strong influence of Atlantic Water masses. In the Mid-Holocene at 7 ka BP, the influence of Atlantic Water diminished but no sign of an immediate response of the glaciers to this are found in the core. The evidence suggests that intensification of glacial activity started as late as c. 3.5 ka BP. Comparing the core from Kongsfjorden trough with two shelf records from Svalbard generally shows similar faunal development although some differences exist. These are assumed to be related to the distance of each record to the position of the Arctic front.