Glacial freshwater discharge events recorded by authigenic neodymium isotopes in sediments from the Mendeleev Ridge, western Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean is a key component governing the deep water formation in the North Atlantic and the global climate system. We analyzed the isotopic composition of neodymium (εNd) in authigenic phases of marine sediments on the Mendeleev Ridge in the western Arctic Ocean spanning an estimated time interval from present to about 75ka BP. This continuous record was used to reconstruct the εNd of the polar deep water (PDW) and changes in freshwater sources to the PDW through time. Three deviations in εNd from a long term average of −10.2 were identified at estimated 46–51, 35–39 and 13–21ka BP. The estimated 46–51ka BP event can be traced to bursting of ice-dammed lakes accompanying the collapse of the Barents–Kara Ice Sheet, which would have released radiogenic Nd to the eastern Arctic Ocean. The cyclonic surface circulation in the eastern Arctic Ocean must have been stronger than at present for the event to be recorded on the Mendeleev Ridge. For the 35–39 and 13–21ka BP events, it is likely that the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) supplied the unradiogenic freshwater. The configuration of the anticyclonic circulation in the western Arctic was probably similar to today or expanded eastward. Our simple mass balance calculations suggest that large amounts of freshwater were released but due to significant deep water formation within the Arctic Ocean, the effect on the formation of NADW was probably minor.