Water masses of the northern part of the Iceland Basin in the late Pleistocene

A core of bottom sediments AMK-4438 with a length of 320 cm was taken in the North-Eastern part of the Iceland Basin from the depth of 2240 m. The continuous sampling (every 2 cm) made it possible to study the core using the principle of high-resolving paleoceanology. For the stratigraphic partition of the core, we applied the paleotemperature analysis by planktonic foraminifera and carbonate analysis; the distribution of the iceberg rafted debris (IRD) was studied. As a result, nine isotopic stages were distinguished. The change in the complexes of benthic foraminifera indicates that the present-day deepwater circulation in the North-Eastern part of the Iceland Basin had no analogs in earlier glacial periods, including the MIS 5 age. During almost 300 ka, there were relatively warm, rich in nutrients, and poor in oxygen water masses. The formation of the modern Northern-Eastern deep water in the Iceland Basin began in the Bolling-Allerod 14 ka B.P.