Description: The Last Interglacial in the Arctic region is often described as a time with warmer conditions and significantly less summer sea ice than today. The role of Atlantic water (AW) as the main oceanic heat flux agent into the Arctic Ocean remains, however, unclear. Using high-resolution stable isotope and faunal records from the only deep Arctic Gateway, the Fram Strait, we note for the upper water column a diminished influence of AW and generally colder-than-Holocene surface ocean conditions. After the main Saalian deglaciation had terminated, a first intensification of northward-advected AW happened (~124 ka). However, an intermittent sea surface cooling, triggered by meltwater release at ~122 ka, caused a regional delay in the further development towards peak interglacial conditions. Maximum AW heat advection occurred during late MIS 5e (118.5-116 ka) and interrupted a longer-term cooling trend at the sea surface that started from about 120 ka on. Such a late occurrence of the major AW-derived near-surface warming in the Fram Strait - this is in stark contrast to an early warm peak in the Holocene - compares well in time with upstream records from the Norwegian Sea, altogether implying a coherent development of south-to-north ocean heat transfer through the eastern Nordic Seas and into the high Arctic during the Last Interglacial.

Description: Highlights • We reconstructed variation in nutrient utilization over the Laptev Sea throughout the Holocene. • The Holocene Siberian transgression modulated the water column structure and created unstable conditions until 4 ka. • Oceanographic conditions favourable to the onset of the Laptev Sea ‘sea-ice factory’ were reached around 2 ka. Abstract Understanding the dynamic of freshwater and sea-ice export from the Arctic is crucial to better comprehend the potential near-future climate change consequences. Here, we report nitrogen isotope data of a core from the Laptev Sea to shed light on the impact of the Holocene Siberian transgression on the summer stratification of the Laptev Sea. Our data suggest that the oceanographic setting was less favourable to sea-ice formation in the Laptev Sea during the early to mid-Holocene. It is only after the sea level reached a standstill at around 4 ka that the water column structure in the Laptev Sea became more stable. Modern-day conditions, often described as “sea-ice factory”, were reached about 2 ka ago, after the development of a strong summer stratification. These results are consistent with sea-ice reconstruction along the Transpolar Drift, highlighting the potential contribution of the Laptev Sea to the export of freshwater from the Arctic Ocean.

Description: Sediment core M23414 from the Rockall Plateau (North Atlantic) covering the last two climatic cycles, marine isotope stages (MIS) 7 to 1, was investigated for glacial–interglacial variations in the deep-sea benthic ostracode fauna. A highly diversified ostracode fauna including 98 species was found. Two climate-related assemblages were identified, associated with interglacial and peak glacial periods, respectively. The ‘interglacial’ group occurs during the end of MIS 7, 5 and 1 and is composed of the genera Henryhowella, Pelecocythere, Echinocythereis, Cytherella, Bradleya, Aversovalva and Eucytherura. The ‘glacial’ group consists of the genera Acetabulastoma (which is known as ‘sea ice indicator’ in the modern Arctic Ocean), Polycope, Bythoceratina, ?Rhombobythere,and some species possibly belonging to the genus Pseudocythere and is found during MIS 6, 4 and 2. These longer-term variations within the ostracode fauna seem related to the particular glacial and interglacial climate conditions that affected both deep-water production as well as primary production in the surface waters. However, a detailed comparison of ostracode abundances with the occurrence of events marked by increased ice-rafted debris reveals also much shorter-term climate related changes in the ostracode fauna. Thus, the temporal fluctuations within ostracode assemblages reflect long- and short-term alterations of the deep-sea environment that are clearly linked to climate changes.

Description: A 844 cm long core PS51/118-3 (77°53.54′ N; 132°11.92′ E) recovered from the upper slope (122 m water depth) of the Laptev Sea (Russian Arctic) has been studied for pollen, spores and aquatic palynomorphs, including freshwater green algae and cysts of marine dinoflagellates. The age model was established on the basis of radiocarbon dates obtained on marine bivalve mollusk shells. The available dates suggest that the analyzed sediment was accumulated during the last ca. 10.8 cal. ka and reveal two intervals with markedly different sedimentation rates, reflecting the sedimentary regime changes of the Laptev Sea shelf during postglacial sea-level rise. Very high sedimentation rates (ca. 4.7 mm per year) in the lower part of the core (120–866 cm) between ca. 9.2 and 10.8 cal. ka BP reflect lower-than-present sea levels, high erosion activity and much closer position of the palaeo-shoreline with the Lena and Yana river mouths to the core site. Dramatic decrease in sedimentation rates (ca. 0.1 mm per year) during the middle and late Holocene interval reflects high sea-level and decreased amount of suspended material transported to the outer shelf by rivers. Despite the location of the core site at the continental slope and far away from the modern coastline pollen, spores and fresh-water algae constitute a major part of the microfossils throughout the whole record, indicating great impact of the Lena and Yana rivers and possibly prevalent wind regime on the pollen and non-pollen-palynomorph (NPP) assemblages. Although a number of short-term (decadal to multi-century) oscillations deviate from the mean Holocene values, pollen taxa percentages and pollen-based numerical biome reconstructions do not show very clear trends. The latter is likely a result of the mixed environmental signal and complex pollen contribution of several large environmental regions and vegetation zones of Siberia drained by the Lena and Yana rivers. The greater pollen contribution of the forested regions to the PS51/118-3 record reflects higher pollen production of the boreal trees and shrubs over the low-productive Arctic vegetation. The intervals of the relative increase in the tundra biome scores in the PS51/118-3 record reflect decreased arboreal pollen production or/and increased landscape openness within the pollen source area and can be correlated (within the uncertainty of the age models) with the cold episodes observed in the Greenland ice and North Atlantic sediment records.

Description: Highlights • Climate progression in the Balearic basin is examined between 140 and 100 ka. • A number of MIS 5e intra-interglacial cooling events is recognized. • MIS 5e climate phasing in the Western Mediterranean resembles the one in the Nordic Seas. • Foraminiferal abundances are strongly tied to a water circulation regime. • The timing of ORL deposition during MIS 5e resembles that of during the Holocene. Abstract A multiproxy analysis based on planktic foraminiferal abundances, derived SSTs, and stable planktic isotopes measurements together with alkenone abundances and Uk′37 SSTs was performed on late MIS 6 to early MIS 5d sediment recovered from Site 975 (ODP Leg 161) in the South Balearic Islands Basin (Western Mediterranean) with emphasis on reconstructing the climate progression of the last interglacial period. A number of abrupt climate changes related to alternative influence of nutrient rich northern and oligotrophic southern water masses was revealed. Heinrich event 11 and cooling events C27, C26, C25, C24, and C23, which have been previously described in the North Atlantic, were recognized. However, in comparison to the eastern North Atlantic mid-latitude region, events C27 and C26 at Site 975 seem to be significantly more pronounced. Together with evidence of a two-phase climate optimum with maximum SSTs reached during its later phase, this implies a close similarity in climate dynamics between the Western Mediterranean and the Nordic seas. We propose that postglacial effects in the Nordic seas had an influence on the western Mediterranean climate via atmospheric circulation and that these effects competed with the insolation force.

Description: The deep and surface water paleoceanographic evolution of the central Nordic Seas over the last 20 thousand years was reconstructed using various micropaleontological, isotopic and lithological proxy data. These show a high spatial and temporal complexity of the oceanic circulation when compared with other records from the region. During early deglaciation a collapse of ice sheets surrounding the Nordic Seas released large amounts of freshwater that affected both the surface and bottom water circulation and significantly contributed to Heinrich stadial 1. During the Younger Dryas, the central Nordic Seas were affected by a last major freshwater plume which probably originated from the Arctic Ocean. When major ice rafting had ceased around 11ka subsurface temperatures started to rise. However, Atlantic Water advection and subsurface temperatures reached their maximum in the central Nordic Seas later than along the eastern continental margin. That spatio-temporal offset is explained by a gradual re-routing and westward expansion of the Atlantic Water flow during times when the Greenland Sea gyre system became more steadily established. In the Greenland Basin, the Holocene thermal maximum ended c. 5.5ka, and time-coeveal with an increase in sea-ice export from the Arctic. In the Lofoten Basin the cooling occurred later, after 4ka, and together with a weakening of the overturning processes. The Neoglacial cooling was reached c. 3ka, together with low solar irradiance, expanding sea ice and a slight decrease in deep convection. At c. 2ka subsurface temperatures began to rise again due to an increasing influence of Atlantic Waters.

Description: Sediment proxy data from the Norwegian, Greenland, and Iceland seas (Nordic seas) are presented to evaluate surface water temperature (SST) differences between Holocene and Eemian times and to deduce from these data the particular mode of surface water circulation. Records from planktic foraminiferal assemblages, CaCO3 content, oxygen isotopes of foraminifera, and iceberg-rafted debris form the main basis of interpretation. All results indicate for the Eemian comparatively cooler northern Nordic seas than for the Holocene due to a reduction in the northwardly flow of Atlantic surface water towards Fram Strait and the Arctic Ocean. Therefore, the cold polar water flow from the Arctic Ocean was less influencial in the southwestern Nordic seas during this time. As can be further deduced from the Eemian data, slightly higher Eemian SSTs are interpreted for the western Iceland Sea compared to the Norwegian Sea (ca. south of 70°N). This Eemian situation is in contrast to the Holocene when the main mass of warmest Atlantic surface water flows along the Norwegian continental margin northwards and into the Arctic Ocean. Thus, a moderate northwardly decrease in SST is observed in the eastern Nordic seas for this time, causing a meridional transfer in ocean heat. Due to this distribution in SSTs the Holocene is dominated by a meridional circulation pattern. The interpretation of the Eemian data imply a dominantly zonal surface water circulation with a steep meridional gradient in SSTs.

Description: Arctic palaeorecords are important to understand the “natural range“ of forcing and feedback mechanisms within the context of past and present climate change in this temperature-sensitive region. A wide array of methods and archives now provide a robust understanding of the Holocene climate evolution. By comparison rather little is still known about older interglacials, and in particular, on the effects of the northward propagation of heat transfer via the Atlantic meridional ocean circulation (AMOC) into the Arctic. Terrestrial records from this area often indicate a warmer and moister climate during past interglacials than in the Holocene implying a more vigorous AMOC activity. This is in conflict with marine data. Although recognized as very prominent interglacials in Antarctic ice cores, cross-latitudinal surface ocean temperature reconstructions show that little of the surface ocean warmth still identified in the Northeast Atlantic during older interglacial peaks (e.g., MIS5e, 9, 11) was further conveyed into the polar latitudes, and that each interglacial developed its own specific palaeoclimate features. Interactive processes between water mass overturning and the hydrological system of the Arctic, and how both developed together out of a glacial period with its particular ice sheet configuration and relative sea-level history, determined the efficiency of an evolving interglacial AMOC. Because of that glacial terminations developed some very specific water mass characteristics, which also affected the climate evolution of the ensuing interglacial periods. Moreover, the observed contrasts in the Arctic-directed meridional ocean heat flux between past interglacials have implications for the palaeoclimatic evaluation of this polar region. Crucial environmental factors of the Arctic climate system, such as the highly dynamical interactions between deep water mass flow, surface ocean temperature/salinity, sea ice, and atmosphere, exert strong feedbacks on interglacial climate regionality that goes well beyond the Arctic. A sound interpretation of such processes from palaeoarchives requires a good understanding of the applied proxies. Fossils, in particular, are often key to the reconstruction of past conditions. But the tremendously flexible adaptation strategies of biota sometimes hampers further in-depth interpretations, especially when considering their palaeoenvironmental meaning in the context of rapid palaeoclimatic changes and long-term Pleistocene evolution.

Description: Dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst), coccolith and planktic foraminiferal assemblages from a core in the western Iceland Sea were used to reconstruct and compare the surface ocean developments of the Holocene and the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotopic Stage or MIS 5e). While increasing subpolar planktic foraminifers from ~ 10 ka indicate subsurface warming peaking around 7.5 ka, the dinocyst data suggest that the uppermost ocean remained dominated by cold waters until ~ 6.5 ka. A reduced advection of cold polar waters through the East Greenland/East Icelandic Current thereafter entailed warmest and most saline Holocene conditions between 6.5 and 5 ka, in turn followed by a general cooling trend. By contrast, both planktic foraminifers and dinocysts show an increased presence of Atlantic (-type) waters from ~ 122 ka onward resulting in a MIS 5e thermal optimum around 120.5 ka. Nonetheless, occasional freshwater input from melting drift ice created stratified but also seasonally variable conditions during this first half of MIS 5e. This stratification signature disappeared at ~ 120 ka when a marked repositioning of the oceanographic fronts occurred. Slightly colder conditions are indicated by both phyto- and zooplankton from there on until the end of MIS 5e around ~ 117 ka. A late MIS 5e cooling at the Iceland Plateau is opposite to a late MIS 5e optimum observed in the eastern Nordic seas. This regional difference is likely explained by various feedback mechanisms following the major reorganisation of the oceanic fronts at ~ 120 ka. The Holocene and MIS 5e interglacial variability is not reflected in the (quasi-monospecific) coccolith assemblages and illustrates the low sensitivity of living coccolithophore communities to subtle temperature changes in the low-temperature regions of the Nordic seas. Overall, quite different surface water properties appear to have characterised both interglacial intervals, with a higher share of warm, Atlantic elements in the planktic communities during MIS 5e. This suggests a higher contribution of Atlantic waters in the southwestern Nordic seas probably due to a more northward expansion of the Irminger Current under weakened polar East Greenland/East Icelandic currents. Such a reduced influence of polar waters in the southwestern Nordic seas may thus explain other evidence for relatively warm conditions in MIS 5e all around southern Greenland.

Description: Density changes in the upper water column of the northern North Atlantic may enhance or reduce vertical convection of surface water with profound effects on meridional overturning and climate in the wider region. This study tests the capability of paired delta O-18 values of two planktonic foraminiferal species - Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s) and Turborotalita quinqueloba - for the reconstruction of near-surface density stratification in high latitudes or the glacial ocean. Foraminiferal data from two sediment cores of crucial areas of the Nordic Seas were compared with insolation-induced thermal stratification changes as obtained by simulations with the general circulation model ECHO-G. The comparison suggests that insolation was the chief mechanism to change thermocline strength during most of the Holocene. Prior to that, stratification depended by and large on the varying amounts of meltwater injected at the sea surface. Similar to the modern central Arctic Ocean, a pronounced and thick halocline prevented surface waters from deep convection in the central Nordic Seas. Parts of the Norwegian Sea, however, were also stratified but more analogous to the modern Greenland Sea, where deep convection can occur in late winter as a result of the density increase upon a combination of cold temperatures and wind stress. Our findings thus support previous results of an active meridional overturning also in a glacial ocean