Living planktonic foraminifera in the Fram Strait (Arctic): absence of diel vertical migration during the midnight sun

The timing of vertical migration in planktonic foraminifera (ex. ontogenetic, diel) is still an open debate. This work aims to investigate the diel vertical migration (DVM) of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (N. pachyderma) and Turborotalita quinqueloba (T. quinqueloba) in the Arctic during the midnight sun. N. pachyderma and T. quinqueloba dominate the total assemblage in the cold Polar Water and warmer North Atlantic Water masses, respectively. Foraminifera were collected at several depths along the Fram Strait. Afterwards sampling was performed at the same station for 24 h at continuous and discrete time intervals. Results show no evidence of planktonic foraminifera DVM since there was no significant variability in the abundance and size distribution during the 24-h collection period. This finding provides information to improve the interpretation of foraminifera in paleoclimatic works. This is especially relevant in the Fram Strait as paleoclimatic studies in this region are fundamental to investigating the history of the Atlantic water inflow into the Arctic Ocean

Geophysical constraints on the dynamics and retreat of the Barents Sea ice sheet as a paleobenchmark for models of marine ice sheet deglaciation

Our understanding of processes relating to the retreat of marine-based ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and tidewater-terminating glaciers in Greenland today, is still limited. In particular, the role of ice-stream instabilities and oceanographic dynamics in driving their collapse are poorly constrained beyond observational timescales. Over numerous glaciations during the Quaternary, a marine-based ice sheet has waxed and waned over the Barents Sea continental shelf, characterized by a number of ice streams that extended to the shelf edge and subsequently collapsed during periods of climate and ocean warming. Increasing availability of offshore and onshore geophysical data over the last decade has significantly enhanced our knowledge of the pattern and timing of retreat of this Barents Sea Ice Sheet (BSIS), particularly so from its Late Weichselian maximum extent. We present a review of existing geophysical constraints that detail the dynamic evolution of the BSIS through the last glacial cycle, providing numerical modelers and geophysical workers with a benchmark dataset with which to tune ice-sheet reconstructions, and explore ice-sheet sensitivities and drivers of dynamic behavior. Although constraining data are generally spatially sporadic across the Barents and Kara seas, behaviors such as ice-sheet thinning, major ice-divide migration, asynchronous and rapid flow switching, and ice stream collapses are all evident. Further investigation into the drivers and mechanisms of such dynamics within this unique paleo analogue is seen as a key priority for advancing our understanding of marine-based ice-sheet deglaciations, both in the deep past and short-term future