Holocene paleoceanography and glacial history of Lincoln Sea, Ryder Glacier, Northern Greenland, based on foraminifera and ostracodes

We reconstructed Holocene paleoceanography of the Sherard Osborn Fjord (SOF), N Greenland, and Lincoln Sea in the eastern Arctic Ocean using sediment properties and micropaleontology from cores obtained during the Ryder 2019 Expedition. Our aims were to better understand faunal indicators of water mass influence on Ryder Glacier and the Lincoln Sea at water depths >500 m. Benthic microfaunal reflect glacio-marine interval during late deglaciation similar to 10.5 to 8.5 ka (kiloannum) during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) with dominant benthic foraminiferal species Cassidulina neoteretis, Cassidulina reniforme, and the ostracode Rabilimis mirabilis. Casssidulina neoteretis is considered an indicator of Atlantic Water (AW) throughout the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas; C. reniforme reflects glacio-marine conditions from the retreating Ryder Glacier. Deglaciation was followed by a period of elevated productivity and diverse ostracode faunal assemblages that suggest AW influence from 8.5 to 6 ka in the Lincoln Sea and inside SOF. The Holocene occurrence of the ostracode species Acetabulastoma arcticum, that appears in low numbers in the Lincoln Sea and briefly (similar to 4-3 ka) in SOF, reflects the presence of variable sea ice in this region. Based on the similarities of the Lincoln Sea and fjord ostracodes to modern and glacial-deglacial faunas from the central Arctic Ocean, the AW influence likely originates from recirculation of AW water from the central Arctic Basin. In general, our results suggest a strong but temporally varying influence of AW during the entire 10.5 kyr record of the Lincoln Sea and SOF.

Automated summary

By analyzing sediment properties and micropaleontology, we reconstructed Holocene paleoceanography of the Sherard Osborn Fjord and Lincoln Sea in the eastern Arctic region. The study found that there was a strong but temporally varying influence of Atlantic Water (AW) throughout the entire 10.5 kyr record of the Lincoln Sea and SOF.