The variability of sea ice in the Fram Strait throughout glacial-interglacial transitions of the Late Quaternary (MIS 11 to MIS 1)

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was the reconstruction of sea ice variability in the Fram Strait throughout glacial-interglacial transitions of the Late Quaternary. For this purpose, analyses of molecular biomarkers were carried out on eight sediment cores along the western and northern Svalbard Shelf (PS93/006-1, PS92/039-2), the East Greenland Shelf (PS93/016-6, PS93/031-4) as well as the central Arctic Ocean (PS87/023-1, PS87/030-1, PS87/070-1, PS87/079-1). These records provided valid insights into the Arctic paleoenvironment since Marine Isotope Stage 11. In order to reconstruct past sea ice cover, the sea ice proxy IP25 was applied in combination with the related phytoplankton-IP25 sea ice index PIP25. Further specific biomarkers were used to reflect the sea surface temperatures (glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers), the marine production (brassicasterol, dinosterol, tri-unsaturated highly-branched isoprenoids) and the input of terrigenous material (campesterol, I -sitosterol).