The undatables : Quantifying uncertainty in a highly expanded Late Glacial-Holocene sediment sequence recovered from the deepest Baltic Sea basin-IODP Site M0063

Laminated, organic-rich silts and clays with high dissolved gas content characterize sediments at IODP Site M0063 in the Landsort Deep, which at 459 m is the deepest basin in the Baltic Sea. Cores recovered from Hole M0063A experienced significant expansion as gas was released during the recovery process, resulting in high sediment loss. Therefore, during operations at subsequent holes, penetration was reduced to 2 m per 3.3 m core, permitting expansion into 1.3 m of initially empty liner. Fully filled liners were recovered from Holes B through E, indicating that the length of recovered intervals exceeded the penetrated distance by a factor of > 1.5. A typical down-core logarithmic trend in gamma density profiles, with anomalously low-density values within the upper similar to 1 m of each core, suggests that expansion primarily occurred in this upper interval. Thus, we suggest that a simple linear correction is inappropriate. This interpretation is supported by anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility data that indicate vertical stretching in the upper similar to 1.5 m of expanded cores. Based on the mean gamma density profiles of cores from Holes M0063C and D, we obtain an expansion function that is used to adjust the depth of each core to conform to its known penetration. The variance in these profiles allows for quantification of uncertainty in the adjusted depth scale. Using a number of bulk C-14 dates, we explore how the presence of multiple carbon source pathways leads to poorly constrained radiocarbon reservoir age variability that significantly affects age and sedimentation rate calculations.Peer reviewe

A Rapid, Deterministic Age-Depth Modeling Routine for Geological Sequences With Inherent Depth Uncertainty

International audienc

Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) forcing on the late Holocene Cauca paleolake dynamics, northern Andes of Colombia

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), is a major driving climate mechanism, in the eastern Caribbean Sea and the South Atlantic Ocean in relation to the dynamics of the South American Monsoon System (SAMS) for the late Holocene. Here we document the AMO signal in the San Nicolás-1 core of the Cauca paleolake (Santa Fé-Sopetrán Basin) in the northern Andes. Wavelet spectrum analysis of the gray scale of the San Nicolás-1 core provides evidence for a 70 yr AMO periodicity for the 3750 to 350 yr BP time interval, whose pattern is analogous to the one documented for the Cariaco Basin. This supports a possible correlation between enhanced precipitation and ENSO variability with a positive AMO phase during the 2000 to 1500 yr BP interval, and its forcing role on the Cauca ria lake deposits, which led to increased precipitation and to the transition from a igapo (black water) to a varzea (white water) environment ca. 3000 yr BP. © Author(s) 2015

Melting history of the Patagonian Ice Sheet during Termination I inferred from marine sediments

http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/mirai/mr08-06_leg2/

IODP expedition 347: Baltic Sea basin paleoenvironment and biosphere

The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expedition 347 cored sediments from different settings of the Baltic Sea covering the last glacial-interglacial cycle. The main aim was to study the geological development of the Baltic Sea in relation to the extreme climate variability of the region with changing ice cover and major shifts in temperature, salinity, and biological communities. Using the Greatship Manisha as a European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) mission-specific platform, we recovered 1.6 km of core from nine sites of which four were additionally cored for microbiology. The sites covered the gateway to the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean, several sub-basins in the southern Baltic Sea, a deep basin in the central Baltic Sea, and a river estuary in the north. The waxing and waning of the Scandinavian ice sheet has profoundly affected the Baltic Sea sediments. During theWeichselian, progressing glaciers reshaped the submarine landscape and displaced sedimentary deposits from earlier Quaternary time. As the glaciers retreated they left a complex pattern of till, sand, and lacustrine clay, which in the basins has since been covered by a thick deposit of Holocene, organic-rich clay. Due to the stratified water column of the brackish Baltic Sea and the recurrent and widespread anoxia, the deeper basins harbor laminated sediments that provide a unique opportunity for high-resolution chronological studies. The Baltic Sea is a eutrophic intra-continental sea that is strongly impacted by terrestrial runoff and nutrient fluxes. The Holocene deposits are recorded today to be up to 50m deep and geochemically affected by diagenetic alterations driven by organic matter degradation. Many of the cored sequences were highly supersaturated with respect to methane, which caused strong degassing upon core recovery. The depth distributions of conservative sea water ions still reflected the transition at the end of the last glaciation from fresh-water clays to Holocene brackish mud. High-resolution sampling and analyses of interstitial water chemistry revealed the intensive mineralization and zonation of the predominant biogeochemical processes. Quantification of microbial cells in the sediments yielded some of the highest cell densities yet recorded by scientific drilling

Adjusted depth scale and age determinations for IODP Site 347-M0063

Laminated, organic-rich silts and clays with high dissolved gas content characterize sediments at IODP Site M0063 in the Landsort Deep, which at 459 m is the deepest basin in the Baltic Sea. Cores recovered from Hole M0063A experienced significant expansion as gas was released during the recovery process, resulting in high sediment loss. Therefore during operations at the subsequent four holes, penetration was reduced to 2 m per 3.3 m coring run, permitting expansion into 1.3 m of initially empty liner. Fully filled liners were recovered from Holes B through E, indicating that the length of each recovered interval exceeded the penetrated distance by a factor of >1.5. We note a typical logarithmic trend in the down-core gamma density profiles, with anomalously low density values within the upper ~1 m of each core. We interpret that expansion primarily occurred in this upper interval, which is also visible in the core images, and suggest that a simple linear correction is inappropriate. This is supported by Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility data that indicate vertical stretching in the upper ~1.5 m of expanded cores. Based on the mean gamma density profiles of cores from Holes M0063C and D, we obtain an expansion function that is used to adjust the depth of each core to conform to its known penetration. The variance in these profiles allows for quantification of uncertainty in the adjusted depth scale. Together with a number of bulk 14C dates, we explore how the presence of multiple carbon source pathways leads to poorly constrained variations in radiocarbon reservoir age, which significantly affects age and sedimentation rate calculations