This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Møller, H. S. Articles by Mikkelsen, N. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Late-Holocene environment and climatic changes in Ameralik Fjord, southwest Greenland: evidence from the sedimentary record

Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark, hsm{at}geogr.ku.dk

K. G. Jensen

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

A. Kuijpers

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

S. Aagaard-Sørensen

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark

M.-S. Seidenkrantz

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark

M. Prins

Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Department of Paleoclimatology & Geomorphology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HVAmsterdam, The Netherlands

R. Endler

Baltic Sea Research Institute, Seestrasse 15, D-18119, Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany

N. Mikkelsen

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Sedimentological and geochemical (XRF) data together with information from diatom and benthic foraminiferal records of a 3.5 m long gravity core from Ameralik Fjord, southern West Greenland, is used for reconstructing late-Holocene environmental changes in this area. The changes are linked to large-scale North Atlantic ocean and climate variability. AMS ¹⁴C-dating of benthic foraminifera indicates that the sediment core records the last 4400 years and covers the termination of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM). The late HTM (4.4-3.2 ka BP) is characterized by high accumulation rates of fine (silty) sediments related to strong meltwater discharge from the Inland Ice. The HTM benthic foraminiferal fauna demonstrates the presence of well-ventilated, saline bottom water originating from inflow of subsurface West Greenland Current water of Atlantic (Irminger Sea) origin. The hydrographic conditions were further characterized by limited sea ice probably related to a mild and relatively windy winter climate. After 3.2 ka BP lower fine-grained sedimentation rates, but a larger input from sea-ice rafted or aeolian coarse material prevailed. This can be related to colder atmospheric conditions with a decreased meltwater discharge and more widespread sea-ice cover in the fjord.

Key Words: Climate change • fjords • sedimentary environment • diatoms • benthic foraminifera • AmeralikFjord • Greenland • late Holocene

The Holocene, Vol. 16, No. 5, 685-695 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/0959683606hl963rp


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. M. Lloyd, A. Kuijpers, A. Long, M. Moros, and L. A. Park Foraminiferal reconstruction of mid- to late-Holocene ocean circulation and climate variability in Disko Bugt, West Greenland The Holocene, December 1, 2007; 17(8): 1079 - 1091. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M.-S. Seidenkrantz, S. Aagaard-Sorensen, H. Sulsbruck, A. Kuijpers, K.G. Jensen, and H. Kunzendorf Hydrography and climate of the last 4400 years in a SW Greenland fjord: implications for Labrador Sea palaeoceanography The Holocene, April 1, 2007; 17(3): 387 - 401. [Abstract] [PDF]