The impact of glaciation, river-discharge and sea-level change on Late Quaternary environments in the southwestern Kara Sea

Citation
L. Polyak et al., The impact of glaciation, river-discharge and sea-level change on Late Quaternary environments in the southwestern Kara Sea, INT J E SCI, 89(3), 2000, pp. 550-562
Citations number
48
Categorie Soggetti
Earth Sciences
Journal title
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
ISSN journal
14373254 → ACNP
Volume
89
Issue
3
Year of publication
2000
Pages
550 - 562
Database
ISI
SICI code
1437-3254(200012)89:3<550:TIOGRA>2.0.ZU;2-H
Abstract
Sedimentary records from the southwestern Kara Sea were investigated to bet ter understand the extent of the last glaciation on the Eurasian Arctic she lf, sea-level change, and history of the Ob' and Yenisey river discharge. S ediment-core and seismic-reflection data indicate that the Quaternary depos itional sequence in the southwestern Kara Sea consists of glacial, glacioma rine, and marine sedimentary units. Glaciogenic sediments in the deep Novay a Zemlya Trough are presumably related to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), w hereas further east they may represent an earlier glaciation. Thus, it is i nferred that the southeastern margin of the LGM Barents-Kara ice sheet was contained in the southwestern Kara Sea east of the Novaya Zemlya Trough. Ch anges in mineralogical, foraminiferal, and stable-isotopic composition of s ediment cores indicate that riverine discharge strongly influenced sediment ary and biotic environments in the study area during the Late Weichselian a nd early Holocene until ca. 9 ka, consistent with lowered sea levels. Subse quent proxy records reflect minor changes in the Holocene hydrographic regi me, generally characterized by reduced riverine inputs.