The Northern North Atlantic: A Changing Environment

499 Pages·2001·49.901 MB·English

by  Priska Schäfer, Jörn Thiede, Sebastian Gerlach, Gerd Graf (auth.), Professor Dr. Priska Schäfer, Dr. Will Ritzrau, Professor Dr. Michael Schlüter, Professor Dr. Jörn Thiede (eds.)

The Northern North Atlantic
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH
Priska Schăfer . Will Ritzrau .
Michael Schliiter . Jo rn Thiede (Eds.)
The Northern
North Atlantic
A Changing Environment
With 243 Figures and 43 rables
, Springer
EDITORS:
Professor Dr. Priska Schiifer Dr. Will Ritzrau
University of Kiel St. Ilgener StraBe 2
Institute for Geosciences 69190 Walldorf
OlshausenstraBe 40 Germany
24118 Kiel
Germany
Professor Dr. Michael Schliiter Professor Dr. Jo rn Thiede
Alfred Wegener Institute for Alfred Wegener Institute for
Polar and Marine Research Polar and Marine Research
ColumbusstraBe ColumbusstraBe
27568 Bremerhaven 27568 Bremerhaven
Germany Germany
ISBN 978-3-642-63136-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The northern North Atlantic: a changing environment / Priska Schafer ... [et al.] (eds).
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.).
ISBN 978-3-642-63136-8 ISBN 978-3-642-56876-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-56876-3
1. Oceanography - North Atlantic Ocean. 2. Paleoceanography - North Atlantic Oceao.
3. Climatic changes - North Atlantic Ocean. 1. Schafer, Priska.
GC491 N68 2001
551.46'1l-dc21
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Preface
ThenorthernNorthAtlanticisthekeyregioninthemodemglobalthermohalinecirculationsystem
oftheocean,wellknownasthe"conveyorbelt".IntheGreenland-Iceland-NorwegianSeas,fresh
andcolddeepwaterisformed andspreadsoutthroughtheAtlanticintotheworldoceans. Incon
trasttotheNorthPacific,temperateandice-coveredsurfacewatersaremeridionallyseparatedby
distinctoceanicfronts inthenorthernNorthAtlantic.
ThelatitudinalextensionofafairlymildclimateasfarnorthasnorthwesternEuropeistheresult
ofthis large-scalehydrography, andofthe oceaniccirculationpattern in the Greenland-Iceland
NorwegianSeas.Theintensityofdeep-waterrenewalandits variability notonlycontrolthecli
mateofthenorthernhemispherebutalsohaveadirectimpactontheenvironmentalconditionsfor
the organisms in the ocean and on the surroundingcontinents. Rapidclimaticchanges,as docu
mented in ice cores from Greenland, strongly effect the oceanic circulation pattern and hydro
graphyoftheNordicSeasaswellastheexchangeoftheirsurfaceanddeep-watermasseswiththe
adjacentoceans.
The interdisciplinary research project "Global environmental change: The northern North
Atlantic"(SFB313)wasalong-termscientificprogramattheUniversityofKiel,fundedfrom1985
to 1998 by the German Science Foundation, and with additional financial support from the
UniversityandtheStateofSchleswig-Holstein.Theprojectfocussedonthetemporalandspatial
variabilityofclimaticandenvironmentalchangesinthenorthernNorthAtlanticandtheireffects
onthemarineecosystemofthepresentandthepast, as documentedin thecompositionofliving
andextantcommunitiesofmarineorganismsanddeep-seasedimentsoftheLateQuaternary.
TheSFB 313combinedawidevarietyofdisciplines,suchasmarinebiologyincludingplank
tology, benthologyandpolarecology,microbialbiology,bio-andbiogeochemistry,marinegeol
ogy andmicropaleontology, paleoceanographyandpaleoclimatology, geophysics andnumerical
modelling.Thesedisciplines wereorganizedintotwosubgroups,firstly focussingonthemodem
biological,chemicalandsedimentologicalprocessesinthewatercolumnandinthesurfacesedi
ments,secondlytryingtodeconvolutetheclimateandenvironmentalhistoryandthedevelopment
ofmarinelifeduringtheLateQuaternary.
TheoriginalconceptforthescientificprogramoftheSFB313wasaddressedtoprocessescon
trollingsedimentationintheNorwegian-GreenlandSeainrealandpasttime,withthespecificaim
ofunderstandinghowoceancurrentsandtheirhistoricvariabilityarerecordedinsediments.This
wasintendedtobeaccomplishedthroughthedistributionpatternsoftheirterrigenousandbiogenic
components at the seafloor (formal title ofthe SFB 313 in German: "Sedimentation im Euro
paischenNordmeer:AbbildungundGeschichtederozeanischenZirkulation")TheSFB waspre
ceded by a pilotphase to evaluate the existence ofsuitable areas with undisturbed sedimentre
cords.Thiswaseasilyachievedbyhighresolutionseismicreflectionprofiling.
From 1985 to 1990,the SFB 313 hadastrongregionalfocus ontheNorwegian Seaincluding
theVlIlringPlateauandtheBarentsShelfslope.Theprogramwasdirectedtowardsthreekeyissues,
namely(1)toreconstructthepaleoceanographichistoryofthemaincurrentsystemsoftheNorwe
gian-GreenlandSea,(2)tounderstandthebiological,chemical,andphysicalprocesseswhichresult
in theformation ofsedimentparticles and sedimentfluxes from the watercolumntothe seafloor,
and(3)toinvestigatetheshort-andlong-termvariabilityofthisoceanographicsystem.
Duringitssecondhalf, theSFB 313 extendeditsfocus onglobalphenomenausing datafrom
theNorwegian-GreenlandSeatoexemplifypropertiesoftheglobalenvironment.Whilecontinuing
to investigatethe modemprocesses, paleoceanographic studieswere restricted to the last two to
threeclimaticcycles.Inthislatterpart,newsubtasksaddressedthehistoryofpelagicbiota(under
the acronym SYNPAL), and a major effort was launched to model ancient paleoceanographic
scenarios.AdominantproportionoftheexpeditionsduringthisphasevisitedtheregionsoffGreen
land,establishingadatabaseoftheArcticandpolarwatermasses.
VI Preface
Thechaptersofthisbooksummarizetheresultsof14yearsofinterdisciplinaryresearch. Spe
cificemphasisislaidonthesynopticresumeoftheresultsofvariousscientificsubprojectsofthe
SFB.Therefore,mostchaptershavenumerousauthors whowereinvolvedduring variousphases
oftheSFB.
The scientificresults strongly benefitedfrom ongoing international cooperation,in particular
withNorway,France,Canada,GreatBritain,andtheIMAGES/PAGEScommunity.Therefore,it
isgreatlyappreciatedthatanumberofcontributionsinthis volumecomefrom colleagues(Rene
Ramseier,CarenGarrityandThomasMartin,TomNoji,LisaMiller,IngunnSkjelvan,EvaFalck,
YngveB0rsheim,FranciscoRey,JuanitaUrban-RichandTrulsJohannessen,TjeerdvanWeering,
AntoniRosell-Mele,MortenHald,WilliamPeltier,andKatoroSakai)withwhomtheSFBhashad
scientificexchangeformanyyears.
Toguarantee an international standard, each chapterwas reviewed independently by two col
leagueswithstronginternationalreputationintheirfieldofscience.Wethereforeexpressourthanks
to the following colleagues: Andrea Abelmann, Bremerhaven; Alexander Altenbach, MUnchen;
UlrichBathmann,Bremerhaven;AngeloCamerlenghi,Trieste; GeraldDickens,Townsville; Ger
hardFischer,Bremen;JohnGage,Oban;RUdigerGerdes,Bremerhaven;JoanGrimalt,Barcelona;
Morten Hald, Troms0; Christoph Hemleben, TUbingen; Richard Jahnke, Savannah; Michael Ka
minski, London; Nalan Ko~, Bergen; Jan Laberg, Troms0; Richard Lampitt, Southampton; Gerd
Liebezeit,Wilhelmshaven; OliverMarchal,Bern; LawrenceMayer,Walpole;Jack1. Middleburg,
Yerseke;UweMikolajewicz,Hamburg;PeterMinnett,Miami;PeterMUller,Bremen;ThomasNoji,
Bergen;EikeRachor,Bremerhaven;RichardSternberg,Seattle;KlausStruebing,Hamburg;Kozo
Takahashi,Fukuoka;PaulTreguer,Brest;AnnedeVernal, Montreal;ToreVorren,Troms0;Jtirgen
Willebrand,Kiel;RainerZahn,Kiel.
We are grateful to Jayne Wolf-Welling and Ortrud Runze for their assistance in editing the
Englishofthemanuscripts.Theyalsoguaranteedconsistencyofscientificterms,formulationsand
abbreviations usedbythedifferentauthors. Specialthanks areduetoMatthiasSteffensandJulia
Braunfortheirmeticulouscareintheintegrationofchaptersandfigures submittedinvariousfor
mats,andalsotheirassistancewiththeeditorialwork.Theircloseco-operation,timeanddiligent
effortsthroughoutthepreparationofthisvolumewereverymuchappreciatedbytheEditors.
The SFB thanks the German Science Foundation, the University of Kiel, and the State of
Schleswig-Holsteinfor theirfinancial supportandconstantattention throughout the years. Over
thepast14years,alargenumberofseagoingexpeditionswereundertakenintotheGreenland-ice
land-NorwegianSeas.ThegreatsuccessoftheSFBistoalargeextentdependentontheskillsand
thecontinualsupportbythemastersandcrewsofallresearchvesselsinvolved,andbytheexcel
lentcooperationwiththeassociatedlogisticorganizations.Finally,wethankthepublishinghouse
Springerfortheirsupportduringthepreparationofthisbook.
Kiel,January2001 P. Schafer,Kiel
W. Ritzrau,Walldorf
M. SchlUter,Kiel
J.Thiede,Bremerhaven
Contents
P. Schafer, J. Thiede, S. Gerlach, G. Graf, E. SuessandB. Zeitzschel
TheEnvironmentoftheNorthernNorth-AtlanticOcean: ModernDepositional
ProcessesandtheirHistoricalDocumentation ............................................... 1
R. O. Ramseier, C. GarrityandT. Martin
AnOverviewofSea-IceConditionsintheGreenlandSeaandtheRelationship
ofOceanicSedimentationtotheIceRegime 19
T. T. Noji, L.A. Miller, I. Skjelvan, E. Falck, K. Y. B¢rsheim, FRey,
J. Urban-RichandT. Johannessen
ConstraintsonCarbonDrawdownandExportintheGreenlandSea .................... 39
R. Peinert,A.Antia, E. Baueifeind, B. vonBodungen, O. Haupt, M. Krumbholz,
I. Peeken, R. O. Ramseier, M. VossandB. Zeitzschel
ParticleFluxVariabilityinthePolarandAtlanticBiogeochemicalProvinces
oftheNordicSeas. ...................................................................... 53
R. Peinert, E. Baueifeind, R. Gradinger, O. Haupt, M. Krumbholz, I. Peeken,
I. WernerandB. Zeitzschel
BiogenicParticleSourcesandVerticalFluxPatternsintheSeasonally
Ice-CoveredGreenlandSea 69
A. Schroder-Ritzrau, H. Andruleit, S. Jensen, C. Samtleben, P. Schafer,
1. Matthiessen, H. C. Hass, A. KohlyandJ. Thiede
Distribution,ExportandAlterationofFossilizablePlanktonintheNordicSeas .................. 81
1. Matthiessen, K. -H. Baumann,A. Schroder-Ritzrau, C. Hass, H. Andruleit,
A. Baumann, S. Jensen, A. Kohly, U. Pfiaumann, C. Samtleben, P. SchaferandJ. Thiede
DistributionofCalcareous,SiliceousandOrganic-WalledPlankticMicrofossils
inSurfaceSedimentsoftheNordicSeasandtheirRelationtoSurface-WaterMasses 105
L. ThomsenandT. vanWeering
ParticleTransport,DistributionPatternsofSedimentological
PropertiesandBiologicalCommunities 129
H. Fohrmann, J. O. Backhaus, F Blaume, B. J. Haupt, J. Kampf, K. Michels,
1. Mienert, 1. Posewang, W Ritzrau, J. Rumohr, M. WeberandR. Woodgate
ModernOceanCurrent-ControlledSedimentTransportinthe
Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian(GIN)Seas 135
J. Rumohr, F Blaume, H. Erlenkeuser, H. Fohrmann, F -1. Hollender,
J. MienertandC. Schafer-Neth
RecordsandProcessesofNear-BottomSedimentTransportalongthe
Norwegian-GreenlandSeaMarginsduringHolocene
andLateWeichselian(TerminationI)Times 155
D. Piepenburg, A. Brandt, K. vonJuterzenka, M. Mayer, K. Schnack, D. Seiler,
U. WitteandM. Spindler
PatternsandDeterminantsoftheDistributionandStructureof
BenthicFaunalAssemblagesintheNorthernNorthAtlantic 179
VIII Contents
l¥.Ritzrau, G. GrafandM. SchlUter
ExchangeProcessesacrosstheSedimentWaterInterface ... .................................. 199
l¥. Ritzrau, G. Graf,A. Scheltzandl¥. Queisser
Bentho-PelagicCouplingandCarbonDynamicsintheNorthernNorthAtlantic 207
M. SchlUter, E. J. Sauter, D. Schulz-Bull, l¥.BalzerandE. Suess
FluxesofOrganicCarbonandBiogenicSilicaReachingtheSeafloor:
AComparisonofHighNorthernandSouthernLatitudesoftheAtlanticOcean 225
M. KosterandL. -A. Meyer-Rei!
ConcentrationandMicrobialDecompositionofOrganicMaterialin
SedimentsoftheNorwegian-GreenlandSea 241
J. Mienert, J. PosewangandD. Lukas
ChangesintheHydrateStabilityZoneontheNorwegianMargin
andtheirConsequenceforMethaneandCarbonReleasesIntotheOceanosphere 259
M. Hald
ClimateChangeandPaleoceanography 281
H. C. Hass, H. Andruleit,A. Baumann, K. -H. Baumann,A. Kohly, S. Jensen,
J. Matthiessen, C. Samtieben, P. Schafer, A. Schroder-RitzrauandJ. Thiede
ThePotentialofSynopticPlanktonAnalysesforPaleoclimaticInvestigations:
FivePlanktonGroupsfrom theHoloceneNordicSeas 291
M. Weinelt, l¥. Kuhnt, M. Sarnthein, A.Altenbach, O. Costello, H. Erlenkeuser,
U. Pflaumann, J. Simstich, U. Struck,A. Thies, M. H. TrauthandE. Vogelsang
PaleoceanographicProxiesintheNorthernNorthAtlantic 319
A. Rosell-Melt
ExaminationoftheUseofBiomarkerProxiesfortheReconstruction
ofPaleoceanographicConditionsintheNorthernNorthAtlantic 353
M. Sarnthein, K. Stattegger, D. Dreger, H. Erlenkeuser, P. Grootes, B. J. Haupt,
S. Jung, T. Kiefer, l¥. Kuhnt, U. Pflaumann, C. Schafer-Neth, H. Schulz, M. Schulz,
D. Seidov, 1. Simstich, S. vanKreveld, E. Vogelsang, A. VolkerandM. Weinelt
FundamentalModesandAbruptChangesinNorthAtlanticCirculationand
Climateoverthelast60ky-Concepts,ReconstructionandNumericalModeling 365
H. A. Bauch, U. StruckandJ. Thiede
PlankticandBenthicForaminiferaasIndicatorsofPastOceanChangesin
SurfaceandDeepWatersoftheNordicSeas 411
l¥.R. PeltierandK. Sakai
Dansgaard-OeschgerOscillations:AHydrodynamicTheory 423
c. Schafer-NethandA. Paul
CirculationoftheGlacialAtlantic:ASynthesisofGlobalandRegionalModeling 441
J. Thiede, P. Schafer, l¥.Ritzrau, M. Schliiter, A. Schroder-Ritzrau
andMembersofSFB313
PresentandPastOceanographicControlsofSedimentFormationinthe
NorthAtlantic-ArcticGateway(ACriticalAppraisalofSFB313ScientificResults) 463
The Environment ofthe Northern North-Atlantic Ocean:
Modern Depositional Processes and their
Historical Documentation
PriskaSchafer!, JornThiede2,3, SebastianGerlach4, Gerd GraP,
Erwin Suess2and BerntZeitzsche14
1InstituteforGeosciences, KielUniversity,Olshausenstrasse40,24118Kiel, Germany
2GEOMAR, ResearchCenterforMarineGeosciences,KielUniversity,Wischhofstrasse 1-3,
24148Kiel, Germany
3AlfredWegenerInstituteforPolarandMarineResearch,Columbusstrasse,27568Bremerhaven,
Germany
4InstituteforMarineResearch, KielUniversity,DtisternbrookerWeg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
5InstituteforBiology,RostockUniversity,Freiligrathstrasse7-8,18055Rostock, Germany
Introduction chapters in thisbookarepartofsuchaspecializedre
searchproject("SonderforschungsbereichSFB") with
Humanitytodayislivinginafast-changingworld.Our long-term funding (1985-1998) from the Deutsche
future depends onourability to use theplanetand its Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the Christian
naturalresourceswithoutdestroyingthem,andtoadapt Albrechts-University,Kiel. Thedeepseafloordeposits
to changesin the global environmentin the very near oftheNordicSeas(Greenland-Iceland-NorwegianSeas)
future. Thiscanonlybe achieved through an intimate display a wide variety ofcompositions. Therefore, by
understanding ofthe modem and past environments, comparison with the modem pelagic/benthic environ
andtherebyitspotentialforchange,especiallywithre ment, theysupplycluestomajorchangesinthemarine
specttobasicrates ofchange, andtoessentialproper environmentinthegeologicpast,thepresentandprob
tiesoftheenvironment. ablythenearfuture.
There are a few tools available for ascertaining a TheNordicSeas(Fig.1and2)holdakeypositionin
scientifically-based estimate of future environmental the temporal variability of the environment, both in
change.Manyoftheseassessmentsarebasedonefforts small-scale (seasonal to interannual) and large-scale
tomodelthepropertiesoftheatmosphereoroceans,the (decadal to millennial) time intervals. As an important
resultsofwhichmaythenbeverifiedonlyinthefuture, centerofdeep-waterformation, the northern NorthAt
for example, the documentation of the onset of the lantic Ocean provides a driving force for the global
"greenhouseeffect"inthe 1980'sorsea-levelchanges. oceaniccirculationsystem, termedthe"conveyorbelt"
Geological data obtained from the composition and (Stommel 1961; Rooth 1982; Broecker and Denton
propertiesofmarinesediments,iceshields,orlakesed 1989;BroeckerandPeng1989).Today,theNordicSeas
iments,providerecordsofpastenvironmentalchanges areamarginaloceancharacterizedbyananti-estuarine
overawidevarietyoftime-scales. Suchsedimentand circulationpattern(Seidovetal. 1996).Thetransportof
icecompositiondatadonotreflecttheentireglobalen relatively warmsurfacewaterfrom thecentralAtlantic
vironment, but only distinct characteristic elements. into theNordicSeas, andtheformation andoutflowof
However, temporal and spatial changes oftheir prop oceanicdeepwaterthroughreleaseofthermalenergyto
ertiescanoffercluestohistoricalchangesoftheglobal the atmosphere has direct control over the climate in
environmentwhichmaysuggestthenature,range,and northwesternEurope(Broecker1991;Veumetal.1992).
paceoffuture environmentalchanges. Amajorscientificconcernhasdealtwiththequestionof
When studying global changes, we have to select whether or not this modem anti-estuarine circulation
specificareasandtoolstocharacterizedistinctelements pattern had been constant throughout the last glacial
oftheenvironment.Thescientistspresentingthevarious interglacialclimaticcycles(Labeyrieetal. 1987).Ithas
FromTheNorthernNorthAtlantic:AChangingEnvironment,editedbyP.Schafer,W.Ritzrau,M.Schluter,andJ.Thiede,pp.1-17,
Springer,Berlin,2001
2 Schaferetal.
O·
75·
70·
40·W 20· O· 20· 40·E 40·~ 20· O· 20· 40·E
Fig.!:CirculationofoceanicsurfacewatermassesintheNorwegian-GreenlandseaandadjacentNorthAtlantic,includingseasonal
variation ofthe iceedge.- - - - - =iceedgein September;---=iceedgein February; EGC=EastGreenlandCurrent;
ESC =East Spitzbergen Current; NAD =NorthAtlantic Drift; NC =Norwegian Current; NCC =Norwegian Coastal Current;
= =
NKC NorthCapeCurrentandWSC WestSpitzbergenCurrent
Fig.2:ResearchareascoveredbytheSFB313.BSS=BarentsSeaslope;DKS=DenmarkStrait;GS=GreenlandSea;RHP=Rockall
= =
Plateau;andVP Vs>lringPlateau;P Polynya
becomeevidentduringthelastfewyearsthatthiscircu NordicSeaspresentenvironmentalstatesthat-inanuni
lation system is unstable over short (Lamb 1979; formitarian approach-potentially may provide models
Dicksonetal.1988),andlongertimespans(Duplessyet for past climatic scenarios, e.g., the Greenland conti
al. 1988;Sarntheinetal. 1994).AccordingtoSarnthein nentalmarginasamodelrepresentingtheeasternpartof
etal. (1994,1995),deep-waterformation intheNordic theNorwegianSeaduringthelastglacialinterval.
Seasceasedfor shortperiods atthe endofthe lastgla Knowledgeaboutmodemprocessesofpelagicand
cialperiod.Rapidclimaticchangesattheendofthelast benthic biologic activity, sedimentation, and biogeo
glacial interval caused a sudden cooling (Younger chemical flux patternsis an importantprerequisitefor
Dryas) that brought ice formation back to northern the interpretation ofenvironmental signals from sedi
Europe for several hundred years (Dansgaard et al. ment cores documenting past time intervals. Large
1989).Variationsindeep-waterformationresultnotonly scale environmental changes such as the last glacial
indrasticchangesofglobalfluxesofheat,CO2,andnu interglacialcyclecanbedocumentedinsedimentcores
trients,butisalsolinkedviacircum-Antarcticupwelling withhigh stratigraphicresolution. Changesofsurface
totheSouthernOcean,andthushasamajorinfluenceon water currents, variations in the intensity ofthe con
theglobalclimate(StockerandWright 1991;Sarnthein veyor belt, catastrophic melt-water episodes during
andAltenbach 1995). glacial terminations, and insolationchangestriggered
TheNordic Seas arecharacterizedby watermasses by cyclic orbital changes (Milankovitch parameters)
ofdifferent hydrographic regimes, separated by steep are environmental factors which had controlled, and
oceanicgradients.Contrastingregimes,suchastheyear still control the biota and their development in the
roundice-freeAtlanticDomainoffNorway,andthesea Nordic Seas throughout the Late Quaternary. To un
sonally ice-covered Arctic Domain off Greenland, ravel the development of the biota and its coupling
whichincludestheMarginalIceZone(MlZ),providean to abiotic environmental factors is one of the major
idealsituationfor monitoringbiologicalandbio-/geo goalsoftheSFB313,andlinksittomajorinternational
chemicalparametersandtheirseasonalandinter-annual global change projects such as PAGES (Past Global
variations.Thetwocontrastingdomainsofthemodem ChangeProject),ortheODP(OceanDrillingProject).