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The Role of the Arctic Ocean in Global Climate: Identifying the Ice Export from the Arctic Ocean into the Greenland Sea During the Last 300 KA by IRF Tracers

Investigator:

Dennis A. Darby
Jens F. Bischof
Old Dominion University Research Foundation
Start Date: February 1, 1997
Expire: January 31, 1999 (Estimated)
Expected Total Amt.: $249,953 (Estimated)
Fld Science: Polar Programs-Related, Climate Related Activities

Abstract:

This project is designed to assess the magnitude and timing of the Arctic Ocean ice influx into the Greenland and Iceland Seas during the last 300,000 years. Arctic glacial ice export and melting might have provided more freshwater to this region than previously considered. Because freshwater is thought to be important in decreasing the formation of deep water, the thermohaline conveyor might reduce the northeastern flow of warm North Atlantic water. This study will analyze ice-rafted detritus in well-dated cores from the northern Greenland and Iceland Seas, and match Fe oxide composition and grain lithologies to those from the Arctic shelves and land sources. Correlation of these dated cores will enable a comparison to global paleoclimatic records and a better assessment of the role of the Arctic in global climate.

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