T112 Oceans and Climates through Earth History: Modeling, Proxy, and Proxy Development Studies (Posters)

Monday, 23 September 2024
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Hall D

POSTGLACIAL MELTWATER OUTBURSTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN BARENTS SEA: A 14,700-YEAR RECORD

Paper number: T112-20
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM

Authors

Abstract

The last deglaciation was marked by abrupt shifts between cold and warm states reflecting an integrated response to the gradually increasing summer insolation at northern latitudes, changing ocean circulation, and the retreat of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. In this study, we present a new, multiproxy reconstruction of water mass properties and sea surface characteristics from a sediment core from the northwestern Barents Sea (Kveithola Trough) representing the last 14,700 years. Our reconstruction documents sediment-laden meltwater pulses between 14,700 and 8,200 cal years BP based on biomarkers, stable isotopes, and sedimentological parameters. These meltwater pulses, primarily caused by deglacial processes and possibly supplemented by paleo-lake outbursts, paleo-tsunami currents, or a combination of both, are characterized by sudden drops in sea surface temperatures, increased sea ice formation, increased sedimentary load from land, and a decrease of Atlantic Water impact on the northwestern Barents Sea. We have also found a possible Storegga tsunami record. This event, triggered by one of the largest known submarine landslides in history, occurred around the 8,200 cal years BP cooling event, and likely reached and redistributed the sediment at the Kveithola Trough.

The study was financed by National Science Centre, Poland grant no. 2022/45/B/ST10/02033.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-403839

© Copyright 2024 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.