Alkenone data from sediment cores MSM343310 and MSM343300 in Disko Bugt used to reconstruct palaeoceanographic conditions during the middle to late Holocene

During periods of relatively warm WGC, increased surface air temperature over western Greenland led to ice sheet retreat and significant meltwater flux. In contrast, during periods of cold WGC, atmospheric cooling resulted in glacier advances. We also identify potential linkages between the palaeoceanography of the Disko Bugt region and key changes in the history of human occupation.

Cooler oceanographic conditions at 3.5 ka BP support the view that the Saqqaq culture left Disko Bugt due to deteriorating climatic conditions. The cause of the disappearance of the Dorset culture is unclear, but the new data presented here indicate that it may be linked to a significant increase in meltwater flux, which caused cold and unstable coastal conditions at ca. 2 ka BP. The subsequent settlement of the Norse occurred at the same time as climatic amelioration during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and their disappearance may be related to harsher conditions at the beginning of the Little Ice Age.

Highlights • Ocean temperature has a strong influence on ice sheet behaviour in West Greenland. • Similar trends in Holocene ocean and Camp Century ice core temperature proxies. • Oceanic conditions influenced the history of human occupation in West Greenland. • Results from surface and sub-surface proxies agree when meltwater influence is low. • Interpretation of surface water proxies complicated when meltwater influence is high