Paleoclimatic implications of an early Holocene glacier advance on Disko Island, West Greenland (original) (raw)
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Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Bulletin
The Disko Bugt region in central West Greenland is characterised by permanent ice streams, of which Jakobshavn Isbræ is by far the most important. The first thorough studies on the glaciology of the region were conducted over 150 years ago by H.J. Rink, who introduced the terms 'ice streams' and 'Inland Ice'. Rink's work inspired new field work, which has continued to the present, and the long series of observations are unique for an Arctic region. Cooling during the Cenozoic led to ice-sheet growth in Greenland. A number of interglacial occurrences have been reported from the Disko Bugt region, and during the penultimate glacial stage, the Greenland ice-sheet margin extended to the shelf break. During the last glacial maximum, the ice margin probably extended only to the inner part of the banks on the continental shelf, and large floating glaciers may have been present at this time. During the Younger Dryas cold period, the ice margin may have been located at a ...
Paleoceanographic changes in the Disko Bugt area, West Greenland, during the Holocene
The Holocene, 2014
Micropaleontological analyses of a sediment core raised in Disko Bugt (West of Greenland) were undertaken in order to document paleoceanographical changes in the eastern Baffin Bay during the Holocene. The modern analogue technique (MAT) applied to dinocyst assemblages provided information on paleo-sea-surface conditions, whereas isotopic analyses of benthic foraminifers aimed at documenting the ‘deep’ water mass occupying the site. During the earlier interval recorded (~10 to ~7.3 cal. kyr BP), important discharge of ice and meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) margin, notably through the Jakobshavn Isbrae, resulted in harsh conditions with a dense sea-ice cover and low temperatures, productivity, and foraminiferal abundances. Postglacial conditions settled at ~7.3 cal. kyr BP, with a sharp rise in dinocyst abundance and species diversity, which led to reconstruct increase in summer temperatures. We link this transition to the advection of West Greenland Current waters in t...