Deglacial Land-Ocean Linkages at the Alaskan Continental Margin in the Bering Sea

A marine sediment record from the central Bering Sea, spanning the last 20 thousand years (ka), was studied to unravel the depositional history with regard to terrigenous sediment supply and biogenic sedimentation. Methodic approaches comprised the inference of accumulation rates of siliciclastic and biogenic components, grain-size analysis, and (clay) mineralogy, as well as paleoclimatic modelling. Changes in the depositional history provides insight into land-ocean linkages of paleoenvironmental changes. During the finale of the Last Glacial Maximum, the depositional environment was characterized by hemipelagic background sedimentation. A marked change in the terrigenous sediment provenance during the late Heinrich 1 Stadial (15.7–14.5 ka), indicated by increases in kaolinite and a high glaciofluvial influx of clay, gives evidence of the deglaciation of the Brooks Range in the hinterland of Alaska. This meltwater pulse also stimulated the postglacial onset of biological productivity. Glacial melt implies regional climate warming during a time of widespread cooling on the northern hemisphere. Our simulation experiment with a coupled climate model suggests atmospheric teleconnections to the North Atlantic, with impacts on the dynamics of the Aleutian Low system that gave rise to warmer winters and an early onset of spring during that time. The late deglacial period between 14.5 and 11.0 ka was characterized by enhanced fluvial runoff and biological productivity in the course of climate amelioration, sea-level rise, seasonal sea-ice retreat, and permafrost thaw in the hinterland. The latter processes temporarily stalled during the Younger Dryas stadial (12.9-11.7 ka) and commenced again during the Preboreal (earliest Holocene), after 11.7 ka. High river runoff might have fertilized the Bering Sea and contributed to enhanced upper ocean stratification. Since 11.0 ka, advanced transgression has shifted the coast line and fluvial influence of the Yukon River away from the study site. The opening of the Bering Strait strengthened contour currents along the continental slope, leaving behind winnowed sand-rich sediments through the early to mid-Holocene, with non-deposition occurring since about 6.0 ka.

Depositional History of Paleocene Sediments in the Offshore Canterbury Basin, New Zealand

<p>The Paleocene interval within the Canterbury Basin has been relatively understudied with respect to the Neogene and Cretaceous intervals. Within the Paleocene interval is the Tartan Formation and the Charteris Bay Sandstone, which are potential source and reservoir rocks respectively. These two formations have not been previously mapped in the offshore Canterbury Basin and their limits have not been defined. This study utilises a database of nearly 12,000km of 2D seismic data together with data from four open–file wells and sidewall core samples from three wells and newly availiable biostratigraphic information to better constrain the chronostratigraphical interpretation of seismic data. Seismic mapping together with corroboration from well correlation and core lithofacies analysis revealed new insights into the development of the offshore Canterbury Basin through the Paleocene. These include the delineation of the lateral extents and thicknesses of the Tartan Formation and Charteris Bay Sandstone and location of the palaeo shelf–slope break and also the development of a new well correlation panel that incorporates the Tartan Formation for the first time. This study presents four new paleogeographic maps for the offshore Canterbury Basin that significantly improves our understanding of the development of the basin during the Paleocene. These maps show that during the Earliest Paleocene, the mudstones of the Katiki Formation were being deposited in the south of the study area, with the siltier sediments of the Conway Formation being deposited in the north. The coarser grained Charteris Bay Sandstone was deposited from Early to possibly Middle Paleocene in the northeast. The mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were being deposited in the south at this time. From Middle to Late Paleocene, the mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were deposited in the south and these mudstones onlapped against the Charteris Bay Sandstone which remained as a high in the north. The Tartan Formation was deposited during the Late Paleocene in the central and southern areas of the offshore Canterbury Basin, during a relative fall in sea–level. Deposition had ceased in the north of the study area or erosion possibly removed Late Paleocene sediments from there. During the Latest Paleocene, the mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were deposited over the Tartan Formation in the central and southern parts of the offshore Canterbury Basin with the northern area undergoing erosion, sediment bypass or both.</p>

Depositional History of Paleocene Sediments in the Offshore Canterbury Basin, New Zealand

<p>The Paleocene interval within the Canterbury Basin has been relatively understudied with respect to the Neogene and Cretaceous intervals. Within the Paleocene interval is the Tartan Formation and the Charteris Bay Sandstone, which are potential source and reservoir rocks respectively. These two formations have not been previously mapped in the offshore Canterbury Basin and their limits have not been defined. This study utilises a database of nearly 12,000km of 2D seismic data together with data from four open–file wells and sidewall core samples from three wells and newly availiable biostratigraphic information to better constrain the chronostratigraphical interpretation of seismic data. Seismic mapping together with corroboration from well correlation and core lithofacies analysis revealed new insights into the development of the offshore Canterbury Basin through the Paleocene. These include the delineation of the lateral extents and thicknesses of the Tartan Formation and Charteris Bay Sandstone and location of the palaeo shelf–slope break and also the development of a new well correlation panel that incorporates the Tartan Formation for the first time. This study presents four new paleogeographic maps for the offshore Canterbury Basin that significantly improves our understanding of the development of the basin during the Paleocene. These maps show that during the Earliest Paleocene, the mudstones of the Katiki Formation were being deposited in the south of the study area, with the siltier sediments of the Conway Formation being deposited in the north. The coarser grained Charteris Bay Sandstone was deposited from Early to possibly Middle Paleocene in the northeast. The mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were being deposited in the south at this time. From Middle to Late Paleocene, the mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were deposited in the south and these mudstones onlapped against the Charteris Bay Sandstone which remained as a high in the north. The Tartan Formation was deposited during the Late Paleocene in the central and southern areas of the offshore Canterbury Basin, during a relative fall in sea–level. Deposition had ceased in the north of the study area or erosion possibly removed Late Paleocene sediments from there. During the Latest Paleocene, the mudstones of the Moeraki Formation were deposited over the Tartan Formation in the central and southern parts of the offshore Canterbury Basin with the northern area undergoing erosion, sediment bypass or both.</p>