Dynamics of Manganese and Cerium Enrichments in Arctic Ocean Sediments: A Case Study From the Alpha Ridge

Bibliographic Details
Title: Dynamics of Manganese and Cerium Enrichments in Arctic Ocean Sediments: A Case Study From the Alpha Ridge
Authors: Liming Ye, Christian März, Leonid Polyak, Xiaoguo Yu, Weiyan Zhang
Source: Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 6 (2019)
Publisher Information: Frontiers Media S.A., 2019.
Publication Year: 2019
Collection: LCC:Science
Subject Terms: Arctic Ocean, reactive metals, sea level, paleoceanography, sedimentary stratigraphy, Quaternary, Science
More Details: Manganese (Mn) and cerium (Ce) are known as reactive metals sensitive to marine redox conditions, and can therefore serve as useful proxies for paleoceanographic environments. Quaternary sedimentary records in the Arctic Ocean show a consistent cyclicity of Mn enrichments, but Mn sources, transportation and deposition patterns, and relationship to paleoclimatic conditions are not well understood. Sediment core ARC3-B85D from the Alpha Ridge with the estimated stratigraphy covering ∼350 kyr is used to investigate a coupled distribution of Mn and Ce in Quaternary Arctic Ocean sediments. By analyzing Mn and Ce distribution patterns in the core and surface sediments from the western Arctic Ocean and adjacent shelves, we investigate the conditions and dynamics of concurrent metal enrichments. Stratigraphic Ce and Mn patterns follow inferred glacial-interglacial cycles, with enrichments generally occurring during interglacial-type conditions with high sea levels. However, the relationships involved are not straightforward as highest Mn and Ce enrichments seem to occur closer to the end of interglacial/major interstadial periods, when sea levels were lowering from their highest positions. We conclude that the enrichment patterns are primarily defined by sediment dynamics controlling resuspension and transportation of reactive metals and their deposition in the central Arctic Ocean after diagenetic preconditioning on the shelves. We further infer that major transportation agents are sea-level affected cross-shelf and mid-depth ocean currents rather than sea ice as has been proposed earlier. Comprehending this coupled geochemical and sedimentary system is important for improving the chronostratigraphic framework for Quaternary deposits in the Arctic Ocean.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2296-6463
Relation: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00236/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463
DOI: 10.3389/feart.2018.00236
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/9c5b6fc4e287467881c9530354b09d78
Accession Number: edsdoj.9c5b6fc4e287467881c9530354b09d78
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:22966463
DOI:10.3389/feart.2018.00236
Published in:Frontiers in Earth Science
Language:English