Depth distribution of Calanus finmarchicus and C. glacialis in relation to environmental conditions in the Barents Sea

Stage composition and vertical distribution of copepodids of Calanus finmarchicus and C. glacialis are described during spring and summer in Atlantic and Arctic waters, respectively. The two species co-occurred in the region of the Polar Front, both in moderate to high population densities. Ontogenetic migration, meaning that the migration range becomes progressively wider with advancing stage, was found in both species. The present study also revealed that C. finmarchicus had modifications in its ontogenetic vertical distribution. The standing crop of phytoplankton, predominantly Phaeocystis pouchetii , appeared to influence the degree of stage-specific segregation. Both low and high food concentrations tended to increase the vertical distribution of the instars. On the other hand, a narrow subsurface stratum of abundant phytoplankton led to an aggregation of copepodids at this depth. In the region of the Polar Front, where the two species co-occur, C. glacialis had a deeper distribution than C. finmarchicus , thus creating a bimodal vertical distribution pattern within the uppermost 200 m.     

Cosmogenic 10Be exposure age dating across Early to Late Weichselian ice-marginal zones in northwestern Russia

Rock samples from the Kanin Peninsula and the Timan Ridge were analysed for in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be for exposure age dating purposes. Crystalline rocks were sampled at four sites on the Kanin Peninsula, either from bedrock outcrops or from glacial erratics, giving overall similar ¹⁰Be ages. Outcropping sandstone and crystalline erratics were available from three sites at the Timan Ridge. The highly weathered sandstone gives substantially younger ¹⁰Be ages than the adjacent erratics. The exposure ages from the Kanin Peninsula suggest that the last deglaciation of this area took place between 55 and 37 ¹⁰Be kyr ago, in agreement with a preceding Kara Sea glaciation (55-45 kyr BP). The northwest coast of the peninsula was probably just outside the maximum limit of the last Scandinavian glaciation (20-17 kyr BP). Glacial erratic exposure ages from the Timan Ridge suggest that the 55-45 kyr BP Kara Sea glaciation reached the northern part of the ridge. The exposure dates do not show conclusive evidence regarding the existence of a Timan Ridge ice cap.     

Late Younger Dryas and early Holocene palaeoenvironments in the Skagerrak,eastern North Atlantic: a multiproxy study

Erbs‐Hansen, D. R., Knudsen, K. L., Gary, A. C., Jansen, E., Gyllencreutz, R., Scao, V. & Lambeck, K. 2011: Late Younger Dryas and early Holocene palaeoenvironments in the Skagerrak, eastern North Atlantic: a multiproxy study. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00205.x. ISSN 0300‐9843 A high‐resolution study of palaeoenvironmental changes through the late Younger Dryas and early Holocene in the Skagerrak, the eastern North Atlantic, is based on multiproxy analyses of core MD99‐2286 combined with palaeowater depth modelling for the area. The late Younger Dryas was characterized by a cold ice‐distal benthic foraminiferal fauna. After the transition to the Preboreal (c. 11 650 cal. a BP) this fauna was replaced by a Cassidulina neoteretis‐dominated fauna, indicating the influence of chilled Atlantic Water at the sea floor. Persisting relatively cold bottom‐water conditions until c. 10 300 cal. a BP are presumably a result of an outflow of glacial meltwater from the Baltic area across south‐central Sweden, which led to a strong stratification of the water column at MD99‐2286, as also indicated by C. neoteretis. A short‐term peak in the C/N ratio at c. 10 200 cal. a BP is suggested to indicate input of terrestrial material, which may represent the drainage of an ice‐dammed lake in southern Norway, the Glomma event. After the last drainage route across south‐central Sweden closed, c. 10 300 cal. a BP, the meltwater influence diminished, and the Skagerrak resembled a fjord with a stable inflow of waters from the North Atlantic through the Norwegian Trench and a gradual increase in boreal species. Full interglacial conditions were established at the sea floor from c. 9250 cal. a BP. Subsequent warm stable conditions were interrupted by a short‐term cooling around 8300–8200 cal. a BP, representing the 8.2 ka event.     

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of glacial sediments from Arctic Russia - depositional bleaching and methodological aspects

Optical dating has been extensively used for stratigraphical correlation in the reconstruction of Eurasian ice-sheet dynamics and palaeoenvironmental changes during the last glaciation. In recent terrestrial studies in Arctic Russia, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) is the main chronological tool, and has been used across the whole of the Eurasian north. We report new OSL ages obtained on glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments from the Arkhangelsk and Taymyr regions of Arctic Russia and discuss the characteristics of the quartz OSL signal in terms of its saturation limit, variability among samples from the same location, and initial signal resetting in different depositional environments. It is shown that effect of partial bleaching in our mainly Weichselian samples is trivial because: modern analogues are well zeroed; there is good agreement between OSL and ¹⁴C ages in young samples; and skewness in the dose distribution of relatively older samples is mainly due to varying shapes of the growth curves. The overall reliability of the OSL ages from Arctic Russia, when compared with the limited independent age controls available, appears to be good.     

Lateral fluctuations in pelagic sedimentation during the Pleistocene glaciations

Boström, K., & Fisher, D. E.: Lateral fluctuations in pelagic sedimentation during the Pleistocene glaciations. Boreas, Vol. 1, pp. 275–288. Oslo, 1st December, 1972.
A total of 308 sediment samples of dated cores from 7 different locations have been analyzed for several major and trace elements. Our results, as well as previously published ones, show that during the Pleistocene the pelagic sediments have high concentrations of Mn, Cu, Co, REE, etc., in deposits of glacial age and low concentrations in corresponding interglacial ones; for hemipelagic sediments the situation is reversed. This shows that the boundary between reducing hemipelagic sediments and well-oxidized pelagic sediments has been migrating laterally back and forth due to climatic variations. Such sediment sequences may be easily confused with deposits where postdepositional migration of Mn and other elements has taken place.