Opening of the Fram Strait led to the establishment of a modern-like three-layer stratification in the Arctic Ocean during the Miocene

The tectonic opening of the Fram Strait (FS) was critical to the water exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, and caused the transition from a restricted to a ventilated Arctic Ocean during early Miocene. If and how the water exchange between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic influenced the global current system is still disputed. We apply a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean–sea-ice model to investigate stratification and ocean circulation in the Arctic Ocean in response to the opening of the FS during early-to-middle Miocene. Progressive widening of the FS gateway in our simulation causes a moderate warming, while salinity conditions in the Nordic Seas remain similar. On the contrary, with increasing FS width, Arctic temperatures remain unchanged and salinity changes appear to steadily become stronger. For a sill depth of ~ 1500 m, we achieve ventilation of the Arctic Ocean due to enhanced import of saline Atlantic water through an FS width of ~ 105 km. Moreover, at this width and depth, we detect a modern-like three-layer stratification in the Arctic Ocean. The exchange flow through FS is characterized by vertical separation of a low-salinity cold outflow from the Arctic Ocean confined to a thin upper layer, an intermediate saline inflow from the Atlantic Ocean below, and a cold bottom Arctic outflow. Using a significantly shallower and narrower FS during the early Miocene, our study suggests that the ventilation mechanisms and stratification in the Arctic Ocean are comparable to the present-day characteristics.

Late Quaternary sedimentation dynamics in the Beenchime-Salaatinsky Crater, Northern Yakutia

The Beenchime-Salaatinsky Crater (BSC) is located west of the Olenyok River in Northern Yakutia, ~ 260 km south-west of Tiksi and the Lena Delta. The age and origin (volcanic versus meteoritic) of this crater is poorly understood. The key scientific interest in re-visiting the BSC is the reappraisal of the Quaternary sedimentation dynamics for a better understanding of the sediment history and thickness in the basin. This aides for an assessment, if the site is prospective for a deeper drilling of a Quaternary (or Cenozoic) sediment archive. Soil pits and auger cores from slopes and lowland terrain in the basin were sampled and studied to infer sediment ages and transport dynamics. This also included a thermokarst lake placed in the centre of the basin. Studied properties include grain-size distribution, organic carbon and nitrogen contents (TOC and TN), heavy mineral compositions, δ13C of organic carbon, 14C ages from sediment, δ18O and δD from ground ice and waters, and lake bathymetry from GPR profiling, in addition. We conclude that the crater floor in the BSC is underlain by fluvial/alluvial sediments from the MIS 3 period. Thermokarst lake formation took place during the Holocene Thermal Maximum between 7600 and 6100 cal yr BP. The lake has been shrinking hereafter. Fluvial/alluvial sedimentation along the drainage pattern was active again between 5700 to 1500 cal yr BP, and it was flanked by the accumulation of peaty and organic-rich sediments and the formation of ice-wedge polygons.

Holocene variability in sea ice and primary productivity in the northeastern Baffin Bay

Arctic sea ice is a critical component of the climate system, known to influence ocean circulation, earth’s albedo, and ocean–atmosphere heat and gas exchange. Current developments in the use of IP25 (a sea ice proxy with 25 carbon atoms only synthesized by Arctic sea ice diatoms) have proven it to be a suitable proxy for paleo-sea ice reconstructions over hundreds of thousands to even millions of years. In the NE Baffin Bay, off NW Greenland, Melville Bugt is a climate-sensitive region characterized by strong seasonal sea ice variability and strong melt-water discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS). Here, we present a centennial-scale resolution Holocene sea ice record, based on IP25 and open-water phytoplankton biomarkers (brassicasterol, dinosterol and HBI III) using core GeoB19927-3 (73° 35.26′ N, 58° 05.66′ W). Seasonal to ice-edge conditions near the core site are documented for most of the Holocene period with some significant variability. In the lower-most part, a cold interval characterized by extensive sea ice cover and very low local productivity is succeeded by an interval (~ 9.4–8.5 ka BP) with reduced sea ice cover, enhanced GIS spring melting, and strong influence of the West Greenland Current (WGC). From ~ 8.5 until ~ 7.8 ka BP, a cooling event is recorded by ice algae and phytoplankton biomarkers. They indicate an extended sea ice cover, possibly related to the opening of Nares Strait, which may have led to an increased influx of Polar Water into NE-Baffin Bay. The interval between ~ 7.8 and ~ 3.0 ka BP is characterized by generally reduced sea ice cover with millennial-scale variability of the (late winter/early spring) ice-edge limit, increased open-water conditions (polynya type), and a dominant WGC carrying warm waters at least as far as the Melville Bugt area. During the last ~ 3.0 ka BP, our biomarker records do not reflect the late Holocene ‘Neoglacial cooling’ observed elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly due to the persistent influence of the WGC and interactions with the adjacent fjords. Peaks in HBI III at about ~ 2.1 and ~ 1.3 ka BP, interpreted as persistent ice-edge situations, might correlate with the Roman Warm Period (RWP) and Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), respectively, in-phase with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) mode. When integrated with marine and terrestrial records from other circum-Baffin Bay areas (Disko Bay, the Canadian Arctic, the Labrador Sea), the Melville Bugt biomarker records point to close ties with high Arctic and Northern Hemispheric climate conditions, driven by solar and oceanic circulation forcings.

Sylfjellet: a new outcrop of the Paleogene Van Mijenfjorden Group in Svalbard

A hitherto unrecognized Paleogene outcrop has been discovered at Sylfjellet, a mountain located at the northern side of Isfjorden, Svalbard. The strata, which cover an area of 0.8 km2, have until now been assigned to the Lower Cretaceous succession of the Adventdalen Group. In this study, the Sylfjellet site was studied in detail to provide an updated structural and sedimentological description of strata and lithostratigraphy. The age and burial history of the investigated succession were constrained by absolute (U/PB) and relative dating methods in addition to vitrinite reflectance analyses of coal seams. The results show a Paleogene age of the deposits, which is supported by the occurrence of an angiosperm pollen grain, plant macrofossils, and a tephra layer of early Selandian age (61.53 Ma). The 250 m-thick succession of Sylfjellet is assigned to the Firkanten, Basilika and Grumantbyen formations. This succession unconformably overlies the Lower Cretaceous Helvetiafjellet Formation. Sylfjellet is incorporated into the West Spitsbergen Fold-and-Thrust Belt and interpreted to be a fourth structural outlier of the Van Mijenfjorden Group. Vitrinite reflectance data indicate that at least 2000 m overburden has been eroded above the Sylfjellet coal seams, and that maximum burial of the strata predates folding and thrusting in the area.