High-resolution IP25-based reconstruction of sea-ice variability in the western North Pacific and Bering Sea during the past 18,000 years

Marie Méheust; Ruediger Stein; Kirsten Fahl; Lars Max; Jan-Rainer Riethdorf

doi:10.1007/s00367-015-0432-4

Geo-Marine Letters

April 2016, Volume 36, Issue 2, pp 101–111

High-resolution IP₂₅-based reconstruction of sea-ice variability in the western North Pacific and Bering Sea during the past 18,000 years

Authors
Authors and affiliations

Marie Méheust
Ruediger SteinEmail author
Kirsten Fahl
Lars Max
Jan-Rainer Riethdorf

Original

First Online:: 04 December 2015

Received:: 14 August 2015
Accepted:: 27 November 2015

DOI: 10.1007/s00367-015-0432-4

Cite this article as:: Méheust, M., Stein, R., Fahl, K. et al. Geo-Mar Lett (2016) 36: 101. doi:10.1007/s00367-015-0432-4

Abstract

Due to its strong influence on heat and moisture exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, sea ice is an essential component of the global climate system. In the context of its alarming decrease in terms of concentration, thickness and duration, understanding the processes controlling sea-ice variability and reconstructing paleo-sea-ice extent in polar regions have become of great interest for the scientific community. In this study, for the first time, IP₂₅, a recently developed biomarker sea-ice proxy, was used for a high-resolution reconstruction of the sea-ice extent and its variability in the western North Pacific and western Bering Sea during the past 18,000 years. To identify mechanisms controlling the sea-ice variability, IP₂₅ data were associated with published sea-surface temperature as well as diatom and biogenic opal data. The results indicate that a seasonal sea-ice cover existed during cold periods (Heinrich Stadial 1 and Younger Dryas), whereas during warmer intervals (Bølling-Allerød and Holocene) reduced sea ice or ice-free conditions prevailed in the study area. The variability in sea-ice extent seems to be linked to climate anomalies and sea-level changes controlling the oceanographic circulation between the subarctic Pacific and the Bering Sea, especially the Alaskan Stream injection though the Aleutian passes.

Supplementary material

367_2015_432_MOESM1_ESM.pdf (470 kb)

ESM 1(PDF 470 kb)

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Funding information

Funder Name	Grant Number	Funding Note
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft	STE412/25

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Authors and Affiliations

Marie Méheust
- 1
Ruediger Stein
- 1
- 2
Email author
Kirsten Fahl
- 1
Lars Max
- 1
Jan-Rainer Riethdorf
- 3

1.Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchAlfred Wegener InstituteBremerhavenGermany
2.Department of Geosciences (FB5)University of BremenBremenGermany
3.Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)KielGermany

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