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Flux and provenance of ice-rafted debris in the earliest Pleistocene sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean comparable to the Last Glacial Maximum

Flux and provenance of ice-rafted debris in the earliest Pleistocene sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean comparable to the Last Glacial Maximum
Flux and provenance of ice-rafted debris in the earliest Pleistocene sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean comparable to the Last Glacial Maximum
Relatively little is known in detail about the locations of the early Pleistocene ice sheets responsible for ice-rafted debris (IRD) inputs to the sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean during intensification of northern hemisphere glaciation (iNHG). To shed new light on this problem, we present the first combined in-depth analysis of IRD flux and geochemical provenance of individual sand-sized IRD deposited in the sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean during the earliest large amplitude Pleistocene glacial, marine isotope stage (MIS) 100 (~2.52 Ma), arguably the key glacial during iNHG. IRD provenance is assessed using laser ablation lead (Pb) isotope analyses of single feldspar grains. We find that the Pb isotope composition (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb) of individual ice-rafted (>150 ?m) feldspars deposited at DSDP Site 611A, ODP Site 981 and IODP Site U1308 during MIS 100 records a shift from predominantly Archaean aged circum-North Atlantic Ocean continental sources during early glacial ice-rafting events to dominantly Palaeozoic and Proterozoic-aged sources during full glacial conditions. The distribution of feldspars in Pb-Pb space for full glacial MIS 100 more closely resembles that documented for feldspars deposited at the centre of the last glacial IRD belt (at IODP/DSDP Site U1308/609) during ambient (non Heinrich event) ice-rafting episodes of MIS 2 (~23.8 ka) than that documented for MIS 5d (~106 ka). Comparison of our early Pleistocene and last glacial cycle datasets suggests that MIS 100 was characterised by abundant iceberg calving from large ice sheets on multiple continents in the high northern latitudes (not just on Greenland).
0012-821X
222-233
Bailey, Ian
e659068f-e591-4185-afd1-5e19a5794bda
Foster, Gavin L.
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Wilson, P.A.
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Jovane, L.
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Storey, C.D.
5280e5c7-7150-4642-913b-08cb012f6788
Trueman, C.N.
d00d3bd6-a47b-4d47-89ae-841c3d506205
Becker, J.
f2e3a494-e85b-4f6c-9410-82b82644dd20
Bailey, Ian
e659068f-e591-4185-afd1-5e19a5794bda
Foster, Gavin L.
fbaa7255-7267-4443-a55e-e2a791213022
Wilson, P.A.
f940a9f0-fa5a-4a64-9061-f0794bfbf7c6
Jovane, L.
13dd622c-5e30-4867-b452-e15e1b4317ba
Storey, C.D.
5280e5c7-7150-4642-913b-08cb012f6788
Trueman, C.N.
d00d3bd6-a47b-4d47-89ae-841c3d506205
Becker, J.
f2e3a494-e85b-4f6c-9410-82b82644dd20

Bailey, Ian, Foster, Gavin L., Wilson, P.A., Jovane, L., Storey, C.D., Trueman, C.N. and Becker, J. (2012) Flux and provenance of ice-rafted debris in the earliest Pleistocene sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean comparable to the Last Glacial Maximum. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 341-344, 222-233. (doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.05.034).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Relatively little is known in detail about the locations of the early Pleistocene ice sheets responsible for ice-rafted debris (IRD) inputs to the sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean during intensification of northern hemisphere glaciation (iNHG). To shed new light on this problem, we present the first combined in-depth analysis of IRD flux and geochemical provenance of individual sand-sized IRD deposited in the sub-polar North Atlantic Ocean during the earliest large amplitude Pleistocene glacial, marine isotope stage (MIS) 100 (~2.52 Ma), arguably the key glacial during iNHG. IRD provenance is assessed using laser ablation lead (Pb) isotope analyses of single feldspar grains. We find that the Pb isotope composition (206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb) of individual ice-rafted (>150 ?m) feldspars deposited at DSDP Site 611A, ODP Site 981 and IODP Site U1308 during MIS 100 records a shift from predominantly Archaean aged circum-North Atlantic Ocean continental sources during early glacial ice-rafting events to dominantly Palaeozoic and Proterozoic-aged sources during full glacial conditions. The distribution of feldspars in Pb-Pb space for full glacial MIS 100 more closely resembles that documented for feldspars deposited at the centre of the last glacial IRD belt (at IODP/DSDP Site U1308/609) during ambient (non Heinrich event) ice-rafting episodes of MIS 2 (~23.8 ka) than that documented for MIS 5d (~106 ka). Comparison of our early Pleistocene and last glacial cycle datasets suggests that MIS 100 was characterised by abundant iceberg calving from large ice sheets on multiple continents in the high northern latitudes (not just on Greenland).

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More information

Published date: May 2012
Organisations: Geochemistry, Paleooceanography & Palaeoclimate

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 338943
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/338943
ISSN: 0012-821X
PURE UUID: c9e599b8-1eff-4f8a-b0da-8cf20618b760
ORCID for Gavin L. Foster: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3688-9668
ORCID for P.A. Wilson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6425-8906
ORCID for C.N. Trueman: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4995-736X

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Date deposited: 18 May 2012 08:36
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:35

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Contributors

Author: Ian Bailey
Author: Gavin L. Foster ORCID iD
Author: P.A. Wilson ORCID iD
Author: L. Jovane
Author: C.D. Storey
Author: C.N. Trueman ORCID iD
Author: J. Becker

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