Late Quaternary Oceanographic Conditions
in the Western Bering Sea

E. A. Ovsepyan^a, E. V. Ivanova^a, L. Max^b, J.-R. Riethdorf^c, D. Nürnberg^c, and R. Tiedemann^b

^aShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, pr. Nakhimovskii 36, Moscow, 117997 Russia

e-mail: ameli_cat@mail.ru, e_v_ivanova@ocean.ru

^bAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

^cGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research (Kiel), Kiel, Germany

Received July 14, 2011; in final form, August 10, 2012

Abstract—The benthic and planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and the distribution of coarse grain-size fac-
tions were studied in the upper 4.5 m of the Core SO201-2-85KL (5730.30 N, 17024.79 E, water depth 968
m) retrieved from the Shirshov Ridge. This part of the core covers 7.5 to 50 kyr BP. The glacial period is estab-
lished to be characterized by low surface water productivity, the wide distribution of sea ice and/or icebergs in
this area, and a high oxygen concentration in the bottom layer. Enhanced productivity is inferred from the max-
imum abundance of planktonic foraminifers at the very beginning of the deglaciation. The late Bølling–Allerød
interstadial and the early Holocene were marked by the further two-phase increase in the surface productivity
and the weakened ventilation of the bottom water.

DOI: 10.1134/S0001437013020136

Pleiades Publishing home page | journal home page | top

If you have any problems with this server, contact webmaster.