Sedimentology of three cores recovered off the northwest of Svalbard

This complex sediment pattern has been traced to the northwest of Spitsbergen as far north as 82°N. Additionally, the same signature has been recognized in detail in upper MIS 5 sediments. The striking similarity of the history of the Svalbard/Barents Sea Ice Sheet during the late and early/middle Weichselian is elaborated. Both sediment horizons are intercalated between biogenic calcite rich core sequences which contain the so-called 'High Productivity Zones' or 'Nordway Events' related to the increased advection of warm Atlantic water to the Arctic Ocean.

This study provides further evidence that the meridional circulation pattern has been present during most of the Weichselian and that the ice cover was often reduced in the northeastern Fram Strait and above the Yermak Plateau. Our findings contradict the widely used reconstructions in modelling of the last glaciation cycle and reveal a much more dynamic system in the Fram Strait and southwestern Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean.