(Table 1) Age determination of sediment core KY07-04-PC1

Variations in Mg/Ca-based sea surface temperature and oxygen isotope ratio (d18O) of the surface water in the northern East China Sea (ECS) were reconstructed with high resolution during the last 18 kyr using planktic foraminifera. Millennial-scale variations between warmer, more saline surface water and cooler, less saline surface water were recognized during the early deglacial period and the Holocene, suggesting changes in the mixing ratio between the Kuroshio Water and the Changjiang Diluted Water. Stronger East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation events in south China are identified at 10.5, 8.8, 7.0, 5.3, 4.7, 2.9, 1.7, and 0.5 ka, based on sea surface salinity (SSS) records of the northern ECS. Weaker EASM precipitation events are also detected at 9.3, 8.3, 7.3, 6.0, 3.3, 2.3, 0.7, and 0.4 ka during the Holocene. These events agree with the maxima in d18O records of stalagmites from various parts of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River drainage. This agreement supports that our SSS record properly captures the millennial-scale dry (less EASM precipitation) events over the drainage basin of the Changjiang River during the Holocene. These dry events are also in good agreement with North Atlantic ice-rafted events, suggesting a teleconnection between North Atlantic climate and the EASM during the Holocene.

Planktonic foraminifera of IODP Site 306-U1314

Surface water conditions at the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1314 (Southern Gardar Drift, 56° 21.8' N, 27° 53.3' W, 2820 m depth) were inferred using planktic foraminifer assemblages between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19 and 11 (ca. 800-400 ka). Factor analysis of the planktic foraminifer assemblages suggests that the assemblage was controlled by three factors. The first factor (which explained 49% of the variance) is dominated by transitional and subpolar species and points to warm and salty surface water conditions (Atlantic water). The second factor (37%) is dominated by Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sin and has been associated with the presence of cold and low saline surface waters (Arctic water). Finally, the third factor (9%), linked to a significant presence of Turborotalita quinqueloba, reflects the closeness of the Arctic front (the boundary between Atlantic and Arctic water). The position of the Arctic and Polar fronts has been estimated across the glacial-interglacial cycles studied according to planktic foraminifer abundances from Site U1314 (and their factor analysis) combined with a synthesis of planktic foraminifer and diatom data from other North Atlantic sites. Regarding at the migrations of the Arctic front and the surface water masses distribution across each climatic cycle we determined five phases of development. Furthermore, deep ocean circulation changes observed in glacial-interglacial cycles have been associated with each phase. The high abundance of transitional-subpolar foraminifers (above 65% at Site U1314) during the early interglacial phase indicated that the Arctic front position and surface water masses distribution were similar to present conditions. During the late interglacial phase, N. pachyderma sin and T. quinqueloba slightly increased indicating that winter sea ice slightly expanded southwestwards whereas the ice volume remained stable or was still decreasing. N. pachyderma sin increased rapidly (above 65% at Site U1314) at the first phase of glacial periods indicating the expansion of the Arctic waters in the western subpolar North Atlantic. During the second phase of glacial periods the transitional-subpolar assemblage throve again in the central subpolar North Atlantic associated with strong warming events that followed ice-rafting events. The third phase of glacial periods corresponds to full glacial conditions in which N. pachyderma sin dominated the assemblage for the whole subpolar North Atlantic. This division in phases may be applied to the last four climatic cycles.

A comparison between multi-proxy and historical data of drift-ice conditions on the East Greenland shelf

The reduction in sea ice along the SE Greenland coast during the last century has severely impacted ice-rafting to this area. In order to reconstruct ice-rafting and oceanographic conditions in the area of Denmark Strait during the last ~150 years, we conducted a multiproxy study on three short (20 cm) sediment cores from outer Kangerdlugssuaq Trough (~300 m water depth). The proxy-based data obtained have been compared with historical and instrumental data to gain a better understanding of the ice sheet-ocean interactions in the area. A robust chronology has been developed based on 210Pb and 137Cs measurements on core PO175GKC#9 (~66.2°N, 32°W) and expanded to the two adjacent cores based on correlations between calcite weight percent records. Our proxy records include sea-ice and phytoplankton biomarkers, and a variety of mineralogical determinations based on the <2 mm sediment fraction, including identification with quantitative x-ray diffraction, ice-rafted debris counts on the 63-150 µm sand fraction, and source identifications based on the composition of Fe oxides in the 45-250 µm fraction. A multivariate statistical analysis indicated significant correlations between our proxy records and historical data, especially with the mean annual temperature data from Stykkishólmur (Iceland) and the storis index (historical observations of sea-ice export via the East Greenland Current). In particular, the biological proxies (calcite weight percent, IP25, and total organic carbon %) showed significant linkage with the storis index. Our records show two distinct intervals in the recent history of the SE Greenland coast. The first of these (ad 1850-1910) shows predominantly perennial sea-ice conditions in the area, while the second (ad 1910-1990) shows more seasonally open water conditions.

Stable oxygen isotope record from Greenland ice cores

Twenty ice cores drilled in medium to high accumulation areas of the Greenland ice sheet have been used to extract seasonally resolved stable isotope records. Relationships between the seasonal stable isotope data and Greenland and Icelandic temperatures as well as atmospheric flow are investigated for the past 150-200 years. The winter season stable isotope data are found to be influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and very closely related to SW Greenland temperatures. The linear correlation between the first principal component of the winter season stable isotope data and Greenland winter temperatures is 0.71 for seasonally resolved data and 0.83 for decadally filtered data. The summer season stable isotope data display higher correlations with Stykkisholmur summer temperatures and North Atlantic SST conditions than with SW Greenland temperatures. The linear correlation between Stykkisholmur summer temperatures and the first principal component of the summer season stable isotope data is 0.56, increasing to 0.66 for decadally filtered data. Winter season stable isotope data from ice core records that reach more than 1400 years back in time suggest that the warm period that began in the 1920s raised southern Greenland temperatures to the same level as those that prevailed during the warmest intervals of the Medieval Warm Period some 900-1300 years ago. This observation is supported by a southern Greenland ice core borehole temperature inversion. As Greenland borehole temperature inversions are found to correspond better with winter stable isotope data than with summer or annual average stable isotope data it is suggested that a strong local Greenland temperature signal can be extracted from the winter stable isotope data even on centennial to millennial time scales.

Age determination of sediment cores from the western Svalbard margin

The deglaciation of the continental shelf to the west of Spitsbergen and the main fjord, Isfjorden, is discussed based on sub-bottom seismic records and sediment cores. The sea floor on the shelf to the west of Isfjorden is underlain by less than 2 m of glaciomarine sediments over a firm diamicton interpreted as till. In central Isfjorden up to 10 m of deglaciation sediments were recorded, whereas in cores from the innermost tributary, Billefjorden, less than a meter of ice proximal sediments was recognized between the till and the 'normal' Holocene marine sediments. We conclude that the Barents Sea Ice Sheet terminated along the shelf break during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum. Radiocarbon dates from the glaciomarine sediments above the till indicate a stepwise deglaciation. Apparently the ice front retreated from the outermost shelf around 14.8 ka. A dramatic increase in the flux of line-grained glaciomarine sediments around 13 ka is assumed to reflect increased melting and/or current activity due to a climatic warming. This second stage of deglaciation was interrupted by a glacial readvance culminating on the mid-shelf area shortly after 12.4 ka. The glacial readvance, which is correlated with a simultaneous readvance of the Fennoscandian ice sheet along the western coast of Norway, is attributed to the so-called 'Older Dryas' cooling event in the North Atlantic region. Following this glacial readvance the outer part of Isfjorden became rapidly deglaciated around 12.3 ka. During the Younger Dryas the inner fjord branches were occupied by large outlet glaciers and possibly the ice front terminated far out in the main fjord. The remnants of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet melted quickly away as a response to the Holocene warming around 10 ka.

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.

Multi-proxy analyses of sediment cores from the Pakistan continental margin

Late Holocene laminated sediments from a core transect centred in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) impinging at the continental slope off Pakistan indicate stable oxygen minimum conditions for the past 7000 calendar years. High SW-monsoon-controlled biological productivity and enhanced organic matter preservation during this period is reflected in high contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and redox-sensitive elements (Ni, V), as well as by a low-diversity, high-abundance benthic foraminiferal Buliminacea association and high abundance of the planktonic species Globigerina bulloides indicative of upwelling conditions. Surface-water productivity was strongest during SW monsoon maxima. Stable OMZ conditions (reflected by laminated sediments) were found also during warm interstadial events (Preboreal, Bølling-Allerød, and Dansgaard-Oeschger events), as well as during peak glacial times (17-22.5 ka, all ages in calendar years). Sediment mass accumulation rates were at a maximum during the Preboreal and Younger Dryas periods due to strong riverine input and mobilisation of fine-grained sediment coinciding with rapid deglacial sea-level rise, whereas eolian input generally decreased from glacial to interglacial times. In contrast, the occurrence of bioturbated intervals from 7 to 10.5 ka (early Holocene), in the Younger Dryas (11.7-13 ka), from 15 to 17 ka (Heinrich event 1) and from 22.5 to 25 ka (Heinrich event 2) suggests completely different conditions of oxygen-rich bottom waters, extremely low mass and organic carbon accumulation rates, a high-diversity benthic fauna, all indicating lowered surface-water productivity. During these intervals the OMZ was very poorly developed or absent and a sharp fall of the aragonite compensation depth favoured the preservation of pteropods. The abundance of lithogenic proxies suggests aridity and wind transport by northwesterly or northeasterly winds during these periods coinciding with the North Atlantic Heinrich events and dust peaks in the Tibetan Loess records. The correlation of the monsoon-driven OMZ variability in the Arabian Sea with the rapid climatic fluctuations in the high northern latitudes suggests a close coupling between the climates of the high and low latitudes at a global scale.

Sea surface temperatur reconstruction for ODP Site 108-662

The record of planktonic foraminifer abundances at Site 662 during the late Pliocene (~1.7-2.1 Ma) was examined to determine variations in estimated sea-surface temperature (SST). We compared the results to SST estimates from a late Pleistocene record (~1.5-200 ka) from nearby piston core RC24-7. Within the primary orbital band (~20-100 k.y.), the cold-season responses of both equatorial Atlantic records are dominated by the precessional period, and the computed range of variability is quite similar. This is in contrast to the evolution of the dominant climatic response from 41 to 100 k.y. at high northern latitudes between the late Pliocene and the late Pleistocene. The orbital-band SST response in this region of greatest divergence in the equatorial Atlantic has not changed appreciably between the late Pliocene and the late Pleistocene.

Investigations on sediments from Lake Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau)

This study focuses on the analysis of lake sediments retrieved from the deepest part of Lake Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau). One gravity core of 115 cm length, covering the last ~ 4000 cal BP, was analyzed for geochemical and biological parameters. High organic content at ~ 4000 cal BP and the coinciding presence of pyrite framboids until ~ 2000 cal BP point to hampered decomposition of organic material due to anoxic conditions within the lake sediments. At the same time sedimentological and biological proxies suggest a rather high lake level, but still ~ 5 m below the recent one, with less saline lake water due to enhanced monsoonal activity. During this time a change in the source of organic matter to lowered input of terrestrial components is observed. A rather quick shift to a dry environment with less monsoonal influence and a lake level ~ 15 m lower than today at ~ 2000 cal BP lead to the oxygenation of sediment, the degradation of organic matter and the absence of pyrite. Oscillations of the lake level thereafter were of minor amplitude and not able to establish anoxia at the lake bottom again. A wet spell between ~ 1500 cal BP and ~ 1150 cal BP is visible in proxies referring to catchment hydrology and the ostracod-based water depth transfer function gives only a slightly elevated lake level. The last ~ 300 years are characterized by low TOC and rising TN values reflecting enhanced nutrient supply and hence an advancing influence of human activity in the catchment. Decreasing TOC/TN values point to a complete shift to almost solely aquatic biomass production. These results show that hydrological variations in terms of lake level change based on monsoonal strength can be linked to redox conditions at the lake bottom of Nam Co. Comparison with other archives over larger parts of the Tibetan Plateau and beyond exhibits a rather homogeneous climatic pattern throughout the late Holocene.

Quaternary planktonic foraminifera of DSDP Hole 72-517

Quaternary sediments were recovered at all four Sites at Leg 72. Planktonic foraminifers were abundant and well preserved, especially in the holes shielded from Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) influence. The fauna belonged to the subtropical province marked by Globigerinoides ruber and to a lesser extent by Globorotalia inflata. Thirty planktonic foraminiferal species were distinguished, and a detailed study of the Site 517 stratigraphy was made. The Quaternary sequence of the Rio Grande Rise was subdivided slightly differently from the Bolli and Premoli Silva (1973) pattern. Five subzones were identified but some difficulties arose when a precise correlation became necessary in the subzones of the tropical provinces. Correlations could nevertheless be made, particularly with respect to the earliest Quaternary. Quaternary faunal data have been dated by isotopic stratigraphy (Vergnaud Grazzini et al.,1983) and partially contradict results previously published for this part of the Atlantic (Williams and Ledbetter, 1979). By studying the occurrence of planktonic foraminifers, we obtained more information about hydrologic variations during the Quaternary sequence of Hole 517; two broad periods were recognized. Finally, we identified the interaction between the Brazil Current and the subtropical convergence