Sea ice and primary production proxies in surface sediments from a High Arctic Greenland fjord: spatial distribution and implications for palaeoenvironmental studies

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sea ice and primary production proxies in surface sediments from a High Arctic Greenland fjord

T2 - spatial distribution and implications for palaeoenvironmental studies

AU - Ribeiro, Sofia

AU - Sejr, Mikael K.

AU - Limoges, Audrey

AU - Heikkilä, Maija

AU - Andersen, Thorbjørn Joest

AU - Tallberg, Petra

AU - Weckström, Kaarina

AU - Husum, Katrine

AU - Forwick, Matthias

AU - Dalsgaard, Tage

AU - Massé, Guillaume

AU - Seidenkrantz, Marit-Solveig

AU - Rysgaard, Søren

N1 - CENPERMOA[2017]

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - In order to establish a baseline for proxy-based reconstructions for the Young Sound–Tyrolerfjord system (Northeast Greenland), we analysed the spatial distribution of primary production and sea ice proxies in surface sediments from the fjord, against monitoring data from the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Programme. Clear spatial gradients in organic carbon and biogenic silica contents reflected marine influence, nutrient availability and river-induced turbidity, in good agreement with in situ measurements. The sea ice proxy IP25 was detected at all sites but at low concentrations, indicating that IP25 records from fjords need to be carefully considered and not directly compared to marine settings. The sea ice-associated biomarker HBI III revealed an open-water signature, with highest concentrations near the mid-July ice edge. This proxy evaluation is an important step towards reliable palaeoenvironmental reconstructions that will, ultimately, contribute to better predictions for this High Arctic ecosystem in a warming climate.

AB - In order to establish a baseline for proxy-based reconstructions for the Young Sound–Tyrolerfjord system (Northeast Greenland), we analysed the spatial distribution of primary production and sea ice proxies in surface sediments from the fjord, against monitoring data from the Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring Programme. Clear spatial gradients in organic carbon and biogenic silica contents reflected marine influence, nutrient availability and river-induced turbidity, in good agreement with in situ measurements. The sea ice proxy IP25 was detected at all sites but at low concentrations, indicating that IP25 records from fjords need to be carefully considered and not directly compared to marine settings. The sea ice-associated biomarker HBI III revealed an open-water signature, with highest concentrations near the mid-July ice edge. This proxy evaluation is an important step towards reliable palaeoenvironmental reconstructions that will, ultimately, contribute to better predictions for this High Arctic ecosystem in a warming climate.

KW - Arctic sea ice

KW - Greenland fjords

KW - HBIs

KW - Primary production

KW - Proxies

KW - Silica

U2 - 10.1007/s13280-016-0894-2

DO - 10.1007/s13280-016-0894-2

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28116686

AN - SCOPUS:85010310982

SN - 0044-7447

VL - 46

SP - 106

EP - 118

JO - Ambio

JF - Ambio

IS - Suppl. 1

ER -