Lateglacial and Holocene sedimentary dynamics in northwestern Baffin Bay as recorded in sediment cores from Cape Norton Shaw Inlet (Nunavut, Canada)

AbstractBaffin Bay hosts the largest and most productive of the Arctic polynyas: the North Water (NOW). Despite its significance and active role in water mass formation, the history of the NOW beyond the observational era remains poorly known. We reconcile the previously unassessed relationship between long-term NOW dynamics and ocean conditions by applying a multiproxy approach to two marine sediment cores from the region that, together, span the Holocene. Declining influence of Atlantic Water in the NOW is coeval with regional records that indicate the inception of a strong and recurrent polynya from ~ 4400 yrs BP, in line with Neoglacial cooling. During warmer Holocene intervals such as the Roman Warm Period, a weaker NOW is evident, and its reduced capacity to influence bottom ocean conditions facilitated northward penetration of Atlantic Water. Future warming in the Arctic may have negative consequences for this vital biological oasis, with the potential knock-on effect of warm water penetration further north and intensified melt of the marine-terminating glaciers that flank the coast of northwest Greenland.

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A contourite drift succession in north-east Baffin Bay: a high-resolution Pleistocene archive of Greenland ice sheet and ocean variability

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19301 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paul C. Knutz ◽

Katrine Juul Andresen ◽

John R. Hopper ◽

Lara F. Perez ◽

Calvin Campbell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Ice Sheet ◽

Greenland Ice Sheet ◽

Early Pleistocene ◽

Target Area ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

North East

<p><span>The Greenland ice sheet&#8217;s response to anthropogenic warming will have major consequences for global sea levels but its behavior and stability during past warm intervals is poorly known. To elucidate the long-term behavior of the Greenland ice sheet, high-resolution marine records in ice proximal settings are required. Here we report the first results of a study of a deep-water contourite system on the north-east slope Baffin Bay based on geophysical and shallow core data obtained during two marine expeditions in 2017 and 2019. The contourite drift is incised by channels extending from the slope that is build up by prograding ice stream deposits (Melville Bugt trough-mouth fan). As a result, the contourite system presents a complex architecture. While the mechanisms for deposition and erosion are not yet clear, it is likely that the drift accumulated as a result of interactions between a deep contour current and downslope transport of sediments, presumably of glacigenic origin and therefore constitutes an example of an intertwined contourite-turbidite system. A preliminary age-depth model of the trough-mouth fan evolution indicates that the contourite system began to form during the late Early Pleistocene, possibly around 1 million years ago. The contourite drift is a key target for IODP proposal 909, aimed at unravelling the late Cenozoic evolution of the northern Greenland ice sheet and associated changes in Arctic paleoclimate. Shallow sediment cores from this target area have been retrieved and will be analyzed to generate high-resolution multi-proxy records of ocean circulation and sea-surface conditions including sea ice and paleoproductivity for the late Quaternary-Holocene. </span></p>

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Process-diagnostic patterns of chlorobiphenyl congeners in two radiochronologically characterized sediment cores from the northern Baffin Bay

Chemosphere ◽

10.1016/s0045-6535(01)00088-1 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 45 (6-7) ◽

pp. 759-766 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Örjan Gustafsson ◽

Johan Axelman ◽

Dag Broman ◽

Mats Eriksson ◽

Henning Dahlgaard

Keyword(s):

Sediment Cores ◽

Baffin Bay

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Paleoclimatic significance of subpolar foraminifera in high-latitude marine sediments

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ◽

10.1139/e84-020 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 189-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Thomas B. Kellogg

Keyword(s):

Surface Water ◽

High Latitude ◽

Census Data ◽

Planktonic Foraminifera ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Labrador Sea ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

Water Conditions ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Paleoclimatic Significance

Census data of subpolar planktonic foraminifera in high-latitude sediment cores obtained using a 149 μm mesh can be directly related to past surface water conditions. In contrast, analyses performed using material sieved with a 62 μm mesh produce results that must be interpreted with regard to past dissolution conditions of the local deep or bottom waters. This conclusion bears directly on the validity of several recent papers purporting to relate Baffin Bay and Labrador Sea paleo-oceanography with Wisconsinan glacial events in northeastern Canada.

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Sedimentary dynamics on isolated highs in Lake Baikal: evidence from detailed high-resolution geophysical data and sediment cores

Global and Planetary Change ◽

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2004.11.009 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 46 (1-4) ◽

pp. 125-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

F. Charlet ◽

N. Fagel ◽

M. De Batist ◽

F. Hauregard ◽

B. Minnebo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Lake Baikal ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Geophysical Data ◽

Sedimentary Dynamics

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Change at the margin of the North Water Polynya, Baffin Bay, inferred from organic matter records in dated sediment cores

Marine Geology ◽

10.1016/j.margeo.2013.04.017 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 341 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Joscelyn N.-L. Bailey ◽

Robie W. Macdonald ◽

Hamed Sanei ◽

Peter M. Outridge ◽

Sophia C. Johannessen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Baffin Bay ◽

The North ◽

North Water Polynya ◽

North Water

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Environmental changes in Baffin Bay during the Holocene based on the physical and magnetic properties of sediment cores

Journal of Quaternary Science ◽

10.1002/jqs.2674 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 41-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

MARIE-PIER ST-ONGE ◽

GUILLAUME ST-ONGE

Keyword(s):

Magnetic Properties ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

The Holocene ◽

Baffin Bay

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The Volta Grande do Xingu: reconstruction of past environments and forecasting of future scenarios of a unique Amazonian fluvial landscape

Scientific Drilling ◽

10.5194/sd-20-21-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 21-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

A. O. Sawakuchi ◽

G. A. Hartmann ◽

H. O. Sawakuchi ◽

F. N. Pupim ◽

D. J. Bertassoli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Future Scenarios ◽

Xingu River ◽

Future Workshop ◽

Sedimentary Dynamics ◽

Fluvial Landscape ◽

Clearwater River ◽

Belo Monte

Abstract. The Xingu River is a large clearwater river in eastern Amazonia and its downstream sector, known as the Volta Grande do Xingu ("Xingu Great Bend"), is a unique fluvial landscape that plays an important role in the biodiversity, biogeochemistry and prehistoric and historic peopling of Amazonia. The sedimentary dynamics of the Xingu River in the Volta Grande and its downstream sector will be shifted in the next few years due to the construction of dams associated with the Belo Monte hydropower project. Impacts on river biodiversity and carbon cycling are anticipated, especially due to likely changes in sedimentation and riverbed characteristics. This research project aims to define the geological and climate factors responsible for the development of the Volta Grande landscape and to track its environmental changes during the Holocene, using the modern system as a reference. In this context, sediment cores, riverbed rock and sediment samples and greenhouse gas (GHG) samples were collected in the Volta Grande do Xingu and adjacent upstream and downstream sectors. The reconstruction of past conditions in the Volta Grande is necessary for forecasting future scenarios and defining biodiversity conservation strategies under the operation of Belo Monte dams. This paper describes the scientific questions of the project and the sampling surveys performed by an international team of Earth scientists and biologists during the dry seasons of 2013 and 2014. Preliminary results are presented and a future workshop is planned to integrate results, present data to the scientific community and discuss possibilities for deeper drilling in the Xingu ria to extend the sedimentary record of the Volta Grande do Xingu.

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