Significance of variability in Turborotalita quinqueloba (Natland) test size and abundance for paleoceanographic interpretations in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Biometric analyses on shells of Turborotalita quinqueloba (Natland) reflect the paleoceanographic conditions in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea (NGS). Both median and mean size variations exhibit a steady increase after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). After Termination I the size eventually reaches a constant level with only minor fluctuation. In contrast, peak abundances of specimens occur somewhat later, during the Holocene climatic optimum and rapidly decrease again in the youngest sediments. Test sizes are larger at the Vøring Plateau in the vicinity of incoming Atlantic water than in water further to the west. Turborotalita quinqueloba first appeared in the southwestern part of the NGS with a preliminary major peak in abundance and size well below the Younger Dryas. This species was present in sizes < 125 μm in this area during almost entire oxygen isotopic Stage 2. This was not observed in the more easterly located cores. It seems likely that size variations as a ‘tool’ for NGS paleoceanographic interpretations are not only valuable for the time since the LGM, but can also be applied to older isotopic stages where abundances of T. quinqueloba are low or absent in the > 125 μm size-fractions but are high in the 63–125 μm fraction (e.g. Stages 7, 9 and 11)

Monitoring Termination II at high latitude: anomalies in the planktic foraminiferal record

Microfaunal studies of planktic foraminifera carried out on 21 sediment cores from the Norwegian-Greenland Sea (NGS) reveal the spatial and lateral distribution as well as meltwater implication of today's non-polar/subpolar species Beella megastoma (Earland). Previous findings are verified in that this foraminifera is characteristic only of the deglaciation phases of Termination II, III, and VI and not the ensuing interglacial optima, thus, rendering this species a ‘meltwater’ indicator. Its distribution is restricted to cores from the central, i.e., more ‘pelagic’, part of the NGS covering an area as far north as 77 ° latitude. A detailed investigation of Termination II indicates that B. megastoma first appeared in the southwest of the NGS at ~131 ka and then about 6 kyr later in the eastern and northern parts of the NGS. For the entire duration B. megastoma always coincided with the deposition of distinct ice-rafted detritus (IRD) suggesting the presence of drifting icebergs during this period. Two different oceanographic models, each with a two-stepped evolution of the post-Saalian surface water circulation, are proposed to account for this time transgressive character. The mechanism of brine formation as possible oceanic phenomenon forcing Atlantic water northwards is suggested for being responsible for the occurrence of B. megastoma in the NGS during early Termination II. The presence of B. megastoma always ceased with the culmination of the interglacial optimum, oxygen isotopic Substage 5.51 (Eemian), when the subpolar foraminiferal fauna reached highest abundances and a general lack of IRD is observed

Arctic Siberian shelf environments : an introduction

1. Why study the Arctic? 2. The Siberian shelf seas as sensitive “environmental recorder” 3. Outloo

Surface water changes in the Norwegian Sea during last deglacial and Holocene times

Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of the polar planktic foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral from sediment cores of the Norwegian Sea reveal several anomalous 13C and δ18O depletions in the surface water during the last glacial to interglacial transition and during the later Holocene. The depletions that are observed between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the end of the main deglacial phase were caused by massive releases of freshwater from thawing icebergs, which consequently resulted in a stratification of the uppermost surface water layer and a non-equilibrium between the water below and the atmosphere. At ~8.5 ka (14C BP) this strong iceberg melting activity ceased as defined by the cessation of the deposition of ice-rafted detritus. After this time, the dominant polar and subpolar planktic foraminiferal species rapidly increased in numbers. However, this post-deglacial evolution towards a modern-type oceanographic environment was interupted by a hitherto undescribed isotopic event (~7–8 ka) which, on a regional scale, is only identified in eastern Norwegian Sea surface water. This event may be associated with the final pulse of glacier meltwater release from Fennoscandia, which affected the onset of intensified coastal surface water circulation off Norway during a time of regional sea-level rise. All these data indicate that surface water changes are an integral part of deglacial processes in general. Yet, the youngest observed change noted around 3 ka gives evidence that such events with similar effects occur even during the later Holocene when from a climatic point of view relativelystable conditions prevailed

Glacial-interglacial records of the reflectance of sediments from the Norwegian-Greenland-Iceland Sea (Nordic seas)

 The reflectance of sediments (gray level) were measured on 11 sediment cores from the Norwegian–Greenland–Iceland Sea (Nordic seas). The analyzed time interval covers the past five glacial–interglacial cycles. Although the results demonstrate that the gray-level method has a potential for stratigraphic purposes, it is indicated that gray-level changes in the Nordic seas are not necessarily driven by variations in the content of biogenic calcite. A detailed comparison of gray-level values with contents of total CaCO3 (carbonate) and total organic carbon (TOC) reveals no overall causal link between these proxies. However, specific glacial core sections with layers containing organic-rich sediment clasts as a consequence of iceberg-rafting seem to correlate well with law gray-level values. Of those cores which show relatively high and comparable carbonate values in the last three main interglacial intervals (stages 11, 5.5, and 1), stage 11 is always marked by the highest gray-level values. A close inspection of the surface structure of the foraminiferal tests as well as the conduction of reflectance measurements on these tests leads to the conclusion that enhanced carbonate corrosion occurred during stage 11. The test corrosion not only affected the reflectance of the tests by making them appear whiter, it also seems responsible for the comparatively high gray-level values of the total sediment in stage 11. In contrast, the relatively low gray-level values found in stages 5.5, and 1 are not associated with enhanced test corrosion. This observation implies that variable degrees of carbonate corrosion can have a profound effect on total sediment reflectance

Comparison of glacial and interglacial conditions between the polar and the subpolar North Atlantic Region over the past five climate cycles

A multiparameter-based interpretation of sediment records from the northeast Atlantic and the western Nordic seas suggests that during the last 500,000 years only in marine isotopes stage (MIS) 11, 5e, and 1 were there somewhat comparable interglacial boundary conditions in both regions, i.e., strongly reduced occurrence of iceberg-rafted debris (IRD) and high carbonate bioproductivity. Although the northeast Atlantic experienced such conditions during all peak interglaciations, with the exception of MIS 7, planktic foraminiferal δ18O from this region would still indicate that significantly colder sea surface temperatures (SST) prevailed during MIS 11 than during MIS 9, 5e, and 1. This assumption is corroborated by a continuous input of IRD into the western Nordic seas during MIS 11, implying a much steeper SST gradient between the polar and subpolar region and an overall reduced thermohaline activity in the polar latitudes. The iceberg proxy also reveals that maximum IRD discharge always happened during the final phase of glaciation and into early deglaciation (terminations). As these IRD records from the two regions are characterized by a high time coherency, it is concluded that short-term variability is a persistent feature of the glacial climate system

Ostracod species of the genus <em>Cytheropteron</em> from late Pleistocene-Holocene and recent sediments of the Laptev Sea (Arctic Siberia)

Sixteen species of the genus Cytheropteron from the Laptev Sea Late Pleistocene, Holocene deposits and Recent surface sediments have been described. Analysis of the literature on this subject and the collections of O.M.Lev from St. Petersburg, together with our own material from the Laptev Sea, allowed us to introduce certain changes in the taxonomy of this genus. One species Cytheropteron laptevensis Stepanova sp. nov. is described as new

Beella megastoma (Earland) in late Pleistocene Norwegian-Greenland Sea sediments; stratigraphy and meltwater implication

Prior to this work, the planktic foraminiferal genus Beella Banner and Blow (1960) has never been described from Pleistocene sediments from the Norwegian-Greenland Sea (NGS). The general characteristics of this species agree well with the most recent emendation of the genus Beella. Accordingly, the described species is considered to be Beella megastoma (Earöamd). Test sizes range from 200-700 μm, but specimens are mainly confined to the 250-500 μm mesh-size fraction. Interpretations of stable isotopes, sedimentological, and other micropaleontological data indicate that this species is not simply a "warm-water form" and, despite its low abundances, it is a species of major paleoceanographic significance. Stratigraphically, it is confined to meltwater events of Termination II, III, and VI (oxygen isotopic stage boundary 5/6, 7/8, and 15/16) and not to the ensuing interglacial maximum. Hence, these "Beella-events" represent a particular oceanographic phenomenon and are designated in accordance with the present numerical system of deglacial terminations as Event B2, B3, and B6 respectively