LATE QUATERNARY SEDIMENTATION PATTERNS ON THE MERIADZEK TERRACE, BAY OF BISCAY (ESSCAMP 02 CORE - 47-DEGREES-N 9-DEGREES-W)

Foraminiferal assemblage changes, size and mineralogy of lithic grains , oxygen isotopes, CaCO3, and dolomite content were studied along a 9- m-long core from the Meriadzek Terrace to gain insight into climate, p roductivity, and sediment source changes at this part of the Northeast Atlantic margin during the late Quatemary. An age model has been gene rated on the basis of radiocarbon dating, downcore foraminiferal assem blages, and delta(18)O values. High sedimentation rates at this site a llow very detailed records for the last glacial period down to late is otopic stage 3, Sea surface temperature (SST) inferred from the forami niferal assemblages, delta(18)O curve, and the temperature estimation by the SIMMAX analog technique reveal three distinctive periods during isotopic stage 2, with late stage 2 (15.3-13.4 ka) being the coldest period of the last 26 ka. A northward retreat of the polar front at 13 .4 ka based on the SST record coincides with the strongest peak of pri mary productivity as indicated by the foraminiferal fluxes, Levels ric h in large lithic grains (LLG) interpreted as ice-rafted debris (IRD) correspond to periods of low SST and are coeval with Heinrich layers 1 , 2 and 3. However, the hematite-stained quartz found in the detrital fraction and the scarce dolomite and detrital carbonate content in our core point to an Iceland and/or Fenno-Scandian rather than a Laurenti an or Greenland origin of this material. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V . All rights reserved.