Age determinations, biomarker analyses, and accumulation rates of three sediment cores from the Fram Strait

Organic geochemical analyses of sediment cores from eastern and western Fram Strait enable the identification of variations in the ice coverage that can be linked to changes in the oceanic (and atmospheric) circulation system.

By means of the sea ice proxy IP25, phytoplankton derived biomarkers and ice rafted detritus (IRD) increasing sea ice occurrences are traced along the western continental margin of Spitsbergen throughout the Holocene, which supports previous palaeoenvironmental reconstructions that document a general cooling. A further significant ice advance during the Neoglacial is accompanied by distinct sea ice fluctuations, which point to short-term perturbations in either the Atlantic Water advection or Arctic Water outflow at this site.