Quantifying Provenance and Transport Pathways of Holocene Sediments From the Northwestern Greenland Margin

The mineralogical and geochemical compositions of three sediment cores from the northwestern Greenland continental margin (AMD14‐204 and AMD14‐210) and Kane Basin (AMD14‐Kane2B) were investigated using quantitative X‐ray diffraction and energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence in order to document the i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Paleoceanography and paleoclimatology 2020-05, Vol.35 (5), p.n/a
Main Authors: Caron, Myriam, Montero‐Serrano, Jean‐Carlos, St‐Onge, Guillaume, Rochon, André
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Baffin Bay
Basalt
Carbonates
Clay
Composition
Continental margins
Cores
Deglaciation
Detrital deposits
Dynamics
Fluorescence
Geochemistry
Glacial climates
Glacial dynamics
Glaciation
Glaciers
Gneiss
Greenland ice sheet
Holocene
Ice
Ice sheets
Meltwater
Mineralogy
Nares Strait
Ocean circulation
Ocean currents
Oceans
Precambrian
quantitative bulk mineralogy (qXRD)
Ratios
Recent sediments
Sediment
Sediment composition
sedimentary geochemistry (ED‐XRF)
Sediments
Transport
Water circulation
X-ray fluorescence
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Summary:The mineralogical and geochemical compositions of three sediment cores from the northwestern Greenland continental margin (AMD14‐204 and AMD14‐210) and Kane Basin (AMD14‐Kane2B) were investigated using quantitative X‐ray diffraction and energy‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence in order to document the impact of ice‐ocean interactions on the sediment provenance and transport pathways during the Holocene. Unmixing of the sediment composition and ratios such as quartz/clays and K/Fe indicate that detrital sediments in cores from the northwest Greenland margin are derived mainly from Prøven granite and reworked Archean gneiss, whereas sediments from Kane Basin are derived mainly from detrital carbonate (Ellesmere Island) and Proterozoic gneiss (Humboldt Glacier). Mineralogical and geochemical signatures also reveal that changes in detrital sediment provenance and transport in the region are strongly interconnected to regional ice stream dynamics, especially during the early Holocene with strong meltwater discharge from the Greenland Ice Sheet associated with the end of deglaciation. With the establishment of milder conditions during the mid‐Holocene and reduced glacial activity once ice sheets retreated inland, sediment inputs via ocean currents became more effective. Thus, detrital proxies in core AMD14‐204, located in the Upernavik cross‐shelf trough, support the hypothesis of an intensification of the West Greenland Current influence after 7.7 cal ka BP, which eventually affected the regional sediment dynamic by a greater contribution from basalt to the sediment supply. Finally, our results suggest that the interactions between climate, glacial dynamics, and surface ocean circulation controlled the paleoenvironmental changes observed in the three cores. Key Points Sediment provenance is used as indicator of palaeoceanographic changes in northeast Baffin Bay Detrital proxies reveal a stronger influence of the West Greenland Current after ~7.7 cal ka BP Variations in sediment provenance on the northwestern margin are interconnected to regional ice streams activity
ISSN:2572-4517
2572-4525
DOI:10.1029/2019PA003809