Diatom abundance and paleo-temperature reconstruction for sediment cores from the southeast Norwegian Sea

Although the pulsating nature and the abruptness of the last deglaciation are well documented in marine and land records, very few marine records have so far been able to capture the high-frequency climatic changes recorded in the Greenland ice core Dye 3. We studied high-resolution sediment cores from SE Norwegian Sea, which display a detailed climatic record during the last deglaciation comparable to that of Dye 3. Accelerator mass spectrometry age control of the cores enables us to correlate this record in detail with continental records. The results indicate that the surface waters of the SE Norwegian Sea were seasonally ice free after 13,400 B.P. The Bølling/Allerød interstadial complex (13,200-11,200 B.P.) was a climatically unstable period with changing Arctic-Subarctic conditions. This period was punctuated by four progressively more severe sea surface temperature (SST) minima: between 12,900-12,800 B.P. (BCP I); 12,500-12,400 B.P. (BCP II); 12,300-12,000 B.P. (OD I); and 11,800-11,500 B.P. (OD II). The Younger Dryas (YD) (11,200-10,200 B.P.) represents the severest and most prolonged cold episode of this series of climatic deteriorations. It was bounded by very rapid SST changes and characterized by Arctic-Polar conditions. The first true warm Atlantic water incursion to the SE Norwegian Sea took place around 10,100 B.P., followed by a brief cooler condition between 9900-9600 B.P. (YD II). The early Holocene climatic optimum occurred between 8000-5000 B.P. A conceptual model is proposed where meltwater fluxes are suggested to cause the observed instability in the SST record.

Sedimentological and paleoclimatological investigation of two sediment cores off Cape Barbas, North-West Africa

Two box cores taken off Cape Barbas (North-West Africa) have been studied using three methods. The analyses of the coarse fraction, of biogenic opal and of planktonic foraminifera revealed : 1. Core GIK12310-4 penetrates Z, Y, X and upper part of W zone, whereas core GIK12379-1 penetrates Z and upper part of Y zone. 2. Holocene sedimentation rates are 2.5 cm/1000 y for core GIK12310-4 and 6.0 cm/1000 y for core GIK12379-1. During the Y zone 5 cm/l000 y were sedimented incore GIK12310-4 and > 10-20 cm/1000 y in core GIK12379-1. 3. Paleoclimatohgical results are: arid climate and relatively warm water temperatures during the Holocene (Z zone) and during X zone; humid climate and relatively cool water temperatures within the Wuerm (Y zone) (with a non-dated more arid interval found in the middle part of the Y zone) and in the upper part of the W zone. 4. Increased contents of benthos and radiolaria in the Y zone indicate upwelling. Upwelling, characterized by high content of biogenic opal and low water temperatures, was found in core GIK12310-4 at 250 to 350 cm in the lower part of the Y zone. The plankton/benthos ratio of foraminifera, the benthos/radiolaria ratio and water temperatures derived from planktonic foraminifera, differ in both cores in the Holocene, and are nearly identical during the Wuerm.

Fossil manganese deposits buried within DSDP/ODP cores, Legs 1-126

Probable in-situ manganese deposits larger than 1 cm in diameter buried in ODP/DSDP cores were selected for study after examining previous descriptions of the manganese deposits in site reports and the ODP data base. Most of the selected samples from 11 cores occur at or just above sedimentary hiatuses or in slowly deposited sediments and are overlain by rapidly deposited sediments of biogenic, terrigenous or volcanogenic origin. The changes in sedimentation recorded in the lithostratigraphic sections around these deposits are closely related to changes in tectonic evolution, deep water circulation or biological productivity at the sites. The similarity in composition and structure of the buried deposits to those of the modern manganese nodules and crusts with no evidence of post-depositional change suggest that buried manganese deposits may be used as indicators of past sedimentary conditions during which they formed. Their major components are hydrogenetic and earlydiagenetic manganese minerals as well as detrital minerals. The characteristics of these manganese deposits suggests that similar processes of deposition have taken place since the Paleogene or older.

Geophysical measurements on sediment cores from North Pond, Mid Atlantic Ridge

Die Porosität ist einer der wichtigsten gesteinsphysikalischen Parameter von Sedimenten. Daher werden in dieser Arbeit die Abhängigkeiten zwischen dem zentralen gesteinsphysikalischen Parameter Porosität und den Parametern Wärmeleitfähigkeit und spezifischer elektrischer Widerstand an Sedimenten von North Pond, eines Sedimentbeckens an der westlichen Flanke des Mittelatlantischen Rückens bei ca. 23°N, qualitativ und empirisch untersucht. Die Messung des spezifischen Widerstands wurde mittels eines miniaturisierten Wenner-Arrays mit einem Zentimeter Elektrodenabstand noch an Bord der FS Maria S. Merian auf der Reise MSM11/1 vom 10. Februar bis 13. März 2009 an Sedimentkernhälften durchgeführt, ebenso wie die Messung der Wärmeleitfähigkeit mit einer Nadelsonde. Die Messung der Gamma-Dichte an einem Multi Sensor Core Logger erfolgte im Rahmen dieser Arbeit und wurde wie die Messung der Porosität an Proben im Marum in Bremen durchgeführt. Die zugrundeliegende und zu untersuchende Beziehung zwischen spezifischem Widerstand und Porosität ist Archie's Law, die untersuchte Beziehung zwischen Wärmeleitfähigkeit und Porosität ist das Modell des geometrischen Mittels der Sedimentkomponenten. Die physikalische Beziehung zwischen der Porosität und den beiden Parametern spezifischer Widerstand und Wärmeleitfähigkeit konnte an den Sedimenten von North Pond bestätigt werden.