Abstract
We analyzed the biogenic silica (BSi) content and produced a diatom-based summer sea-surface temperature (SST) reconstruction for sediment core GC4 from the Holsteinsborg Dyb, West Greenland. Our aim was to reconstruct marine productivity and climatic fluctuations during the last millennium. Increased BSi content and diatom abundance suggest relatively high marine productively during the interval of AD 1000–1400, corresponding in time to the Medieval Warm Period (MWP). The summer SST reconstruction indicates relatively warm conditions during AD 900–1100, followed by cooling after AD 1100. An extended cooling period during AD 1400–1900 is characterized by prolonged low in reconstructed SST and high sea-ice concentration. The BSi values fluctuated during this period, suggesting varying marine productivity during the Little Ice Age (LIA). There is no significant correlation between the BSi content and SST during the last millennium, suggesting that the summer SST has little influence on marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb. A good correspondence between the BSi content and the element Ti counts in core GC4 suggests that silicate-rich meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet was likely responsible for changes in marine productively in the Holsteinsborg Dyb.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andersen O G N. 1981. The annual cycle of temperature, salinity, currents and water masses in Disko Bugt and adjacent waters, West Greenland. Medd Grønland Bioscience, 5: 1–36
Arrigo K R, van Dijken G L. 2015. Continued increases in Arctic Ocean primary production. Progress in Oceanography, 136: 60–70, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.05.002
Bradbury J P, Winter T C. 1976. Areal distribution and stratigraphy of diatoms in the sediments of Lake Sallie, Minnesota. Ecology, 57(5): 1005–1014, doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/1941065
Buch E. 2002. Present oceanographic conditions in Greenland Waters. Copenhagen: Danish Meteorological Institute, 1–36
Colman S M, Bratton J F. 2003. Anthropogenically induced changes in sediment and biogenic silica fluxes in Chesapeake Bay. Geology, 31(1): 71–74, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0071:AICISA>2.0.CO;2
Comiso J C. 2012. Large decadal decline of the arctic multiyear ice cover. Journal of Climate, 25(4): 1176–1193, doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00113.1
DeMaster D J. 1981. The supply and accumulation of silica in the marine environment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 45(10): 1715–1732, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(81)90006-5
DeMaster D J. 2002. The accumulation and cycling of biogenic silica in the Southern Ocean: revisiting the marine silica budget. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 49(16): 3155–3167, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(02)00076-0
Engstrom D R, Swain E B, Kingston J C. 1985. A palaeolimnological record of human disturbance from Harvey’s Lake, Vermont: geochemistry, pigments and diatoms. Freshwater Biology, 15(3): 261–288, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1985.tb00200.x
Erbs-Hansen D R, Knudsen K L, Olsen J, et al. 2013. Paleoceanographical development off Sisimiut, West Greenland, during the mid- and late Holocene: a multiproxy study. Marine Micropaleontology, 102: 79–97, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2013.06.003
Flower R J. 1980. A study of sediment formation, transport and deposition in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, with special reference to diatoms [dissertation]. Northern Ireland: The New University of Ulster
Gersonde R, Zielinski U. 2000. The reconstruction of late Quaternary Antarctic sea-ice distribution—the use of diatoms as a proxy for sea-ice. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 162(3–4): 263–286
Hu Fengsheng, Kaufman D, Yoneji S, et al. 2003. Cyclic variation and solar forcing of Holocene climate in the Alaskan subarctic. Science, 301(5641): 1890–1893, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1088568
Jansen J H F, Van der Gaast S J, Koster B, et al. 1998. CORTEX, a shipboard XRF-scanner for element analyses in split sediment cores. Marine Geology, 151(1–4): 143–153
Jensen K G, Kuijpers A, Koç N, et al. 2004. Diatom evidence of hydrographic changes and ice conditions in Igaliku Fjord, South Greenland, during the past 1500 years. The Holocene, 14(2): 152–164, doi: https://doi.org/10.1191/0959683604hl698rp
Jensen S M, Hansen H, Secher K, et al. 2002. Kimberlites and other ultramafic alkaline rocks in the Sisimiut-Kangerlussuaq region, southern West Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 191: 57–66
Jiang Hui, Eiríksson J, Schulz M, et al. 2005. Evidence for solar forcing of sea-surface temperature on the North Icelandic Shelf during the late Holocene. Geology, 33(1): 73–76, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21130.1
Jiang Hui, Muscheler R, Björck S, et al. 2015. Solar forcing of Holocene summer sea-surface temperatures in the northern North Atlantic. Geology, 43(3): 203–206, doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36377.1
Jiang Hui, Seidenkrantz M S, Knudsen K L, et al. 2001. Diatom surface sediment assemblages around Iceland and their relationships to oceanic environmental variables. Marine Micropaleontology, 41(1–2): 73–96
Justwan A, Koç N, Jennings A E. 2008. Evolution of the Irminger and East Icelandic Current systems through the Holocene, revealed by diatom-based sea surface temperature reconstructions. Quaternary Science Reviews, 27(15–16): 1571–1582
Knudsen K L, Stabell B, Seidenkrantz M S, et al. 2008. Deglacial and Holocene conditions in northernmost Baffin Bay: sediments, foraminifera, diatoms and stable isotopes. Boreas, 37(3): 346–376, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2008.00035.x
Koc Karpuz N, Schrader H. 1990. Surface sediment diatom distribution and Holocene Paleotemperature variations in the Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian Sea. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 5(4): 557–580
Koning E, Brummer G J, Van Raaphorst W, et al. 1997. Settling, dissolution and burial of biogenic silica in the sediments off Somalia (northwestern Indian Ocean). Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 44(6–7): 1341–1360
Krause-Jensen D, Marbà N, Olesen B, et al. 2012. Seasonal sea ice cover as principal driver of spatial and temporal variation in depth extension and annual production of kelp in Greenland. Global Change Biology, 18(10): 2981–2994, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1365-2486.2012.02765.x
Krawczyk D W, Witkowski A, Moros M, et al. 2017. Quantitative reconstruction of Holocene sea ice and sea surface temperature off West Greenland from the first regional diatom data set. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 32(1): 18–40
Lamb H H. 1965. The early medieval warm epoch and its sequel. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1: 13–37, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(65)90004-0
Li Dongling, Sha Longbin, Li Jialin, et al. 2017. Summer Sea-Surface Temperatures and Climatic Events in Vaigat Strait, West Greenland, during the Last 5000 Years. Sustainability, 9(5): 704, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su9050704
Liu Sumei, Ye Xiwen, Zhang Jing, et al. 2002. Problems with biogenic silica measurement in marginal seas. Marine Geology, 192(4): 383–392
Liu Sumei, Ye Xiwen, Zhang Jing, et al. 2008. The silicon balance in Jiaozhou Bay, North China. Journal of Marine Systems, 74(1–2): 639–648
Liu Sumei, Zhang Jing, Chen Hongtao, et al. 2005. Factors influencing nutrient dynamics in the eutrophic Jiaozhou Bay, North China. Progress in Oceanography, 66(1): 66–85, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2005.03.009
Lykke-Andersen H, Knudsen K L. 2007. Geologien i Holsteinsborg Dyb. Geoviden: Geologi og Geografi, 3: 6–7
Maslanik J, Stroeve J, Fowler C, et al. 2011. Distribution and trends in Arctic sea ice age through spring 2011. Geophysical Research Letters, 38(13): L13502
Meire L, Meire P, Struyf E, et al. 2016. High export of dissolved silica from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(17): 9173–9182, doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070191
Miettinen A, Divine D V, Husum K, et al. 2015. Exceptional ocean surface conditions on the SE Greenland shelf during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 30(12): 1657–1674
Moffa-Sánchez P, Hall I R, Barker S, et al. 2014. Surface changes in the eastern Labrador Sea around the onset of the Little Ice Age. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 29(3): 160–175
Møller H S, Jensen K G, Kuijpers A, et al. 2006. Late-Holocene environment and climatic changes in Ameralik Fjord, southwest Greenland: evidence from the sedimentary record. The Holocene, 16(5): 685–695, doi: https://doi.org/10.1191/0959683606hl963rp
Mortlock R A, Froelich P N. 1989. A simple method for the rapid determination of biogenic opal in pelagic marine sediments. Deep Sea Research Part A. Oceanographic Research Papers, 36(9): 1415–1426, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0198-0149(89)90092-7
Nelson D M, Tréguer P, Brzezinski M A, et al. 1995. Production and dissolution of biogenic silica in the ocean: revised global estimates, comparison with regional data and relationship to biogenic sedimentation. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 9(3): 359–372, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/95GB01070
Newberry T L, Schelske C L. 1986. Biogenic silica record in the sediments of Little Round Lake, Ontario. Hydrobiologia, 143(1): 293–300, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00026673
Olsen J, Anderson N J, Knudsen M F. 2012. Variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation over the past 5, 200 years. Nature Geoscience, 5(11): 808–812, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1589
Perovich D K, Richter-Menge J A. 2009. Loss of Sea Ice in the Arctic. Annual Review of Marine Science, 1: 417–441, doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.marine.010908.163805
Peterson L C, Haug G H, Hughen K A, et al. 2000. Rapid changes in the hydrologic cycle of the tropical atlantic during the last glacial. Science, 290(5498): 1947–1951, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.290.5498.1947
Ragueneau O, Tréguer P, Leynaert A, et al. 2000. A review of the Si cycle in the modern ocean: recent progress and missing gaps in the application of biogenic opal as a paleoproductivity proxy. Global and Planetary Change, 26(4): 317–365, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8181(00)00052-7
Ramsey C B. 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon, 51(1): 337–360, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033865
Ran Lihua, Chen Jianfang, Wiesner M G, et al. 2015. Variability in the abundance and species composition of diatoms in sinking particles in the northern South China Sea: results from time-series moored sediment traps. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 122: 15–24, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.07.004
Reimer P J, Baillie M G L, Bard E, et al. 2009. IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50, 000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon, 51(4): 1111–1150, doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200034202
Ribeiro S, Moros M, Ellegaard M, et al. 2012. Climate variability in West Greenland during the past 1500 years: evidence from a high-resolution marine palynological record from Disko Bay. Boreas, 41(1): 68–83, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00216.x
Ribeiro S, Sejr M K, Limoges A, et al. 2017. Sea ice and primary production proxies in surface sediments from a High Arctic Greenland fjord: spatial distribution and implications for palaeoenvironmental studies. Ambio, 46(S1): 106–118, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0894-2
Ribergaard M H. 2011. Oceanographic investigations off West Greenland 2010. Danish: Danish Metrological Institute Centre for Ocean and Ice (DMI), 1–44
Rickert D. 2000. Dissolution kinetics of biogenic silica in marine environments Lösungskinetik von biogenem Opal in marinen Systemen. Berichte zur Polarforschung (Reports on Polar Research), 351: 1–182
Romero O, Hebbeln D. 2003. Biogenic silica and diatom thanatocoenosis in surface sediments below the Peru-Chile Current: controlling mechanisms and relationship with productivity of surface waters. Marine Micropaleontology, 48(1–2): 71–90
Roncaglia L, Kuijpers A. 2004. Palynofacies analysis and organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts in late-Holocene sediments from Igaliku Fjord, South Greenland. The Holocene, 14(2): 172–184, doi: https://doi.org/10.1191/0959683604hl700rp
Schelske C L, Stoermer E F, Conley D J, et al. 1983. Early eutrophication in the Lower Great Lakes: new evidence from biogenic silica in sediments. Science, 222(4621): 320–322, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.222.4621.320
Schlüter M, Sauter E. 2000. Biogenic silica cycle in surface sediments of the Greenland Sea. Journal of Marine Systems, 23(4): 333–342, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-7963(99)00070-6
Seidenkrantz M S, Roncaglia L, Fischel A, et al. 2008. Variable North Atlantic climate seesaw patterns documented by a late Holocene marine record from Disko Bugt, West Greenland. Marine Micropaleontology, 68(1–2): 66–83
Sejr M K, Blicher M E, Rysgaard S. 2009. Sea ice cover affects inter-annual and geographic variation in growth of the Arctic cockle Clinocardium ciliatum (Bivalvia) in Greenland. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 389: 149–158, doi: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08200
Sha Longbin, Jiang Hui, Knudsen K L. 2012. Diatom evidence of climatic change in Holsteinsborg Dyb, west of Greenland, during the last 1200 years. The Holocene, 22(3): 347–358, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683611423684
Sha Longbin, Jiang Hui, Seidenkrantz M S, et al. 2016. Solar forcing as an important trigger for West Greenland sea-ice variability over the last millennium. Quaternary Science Reviews, 131: 148–156, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.11.002
Solignac S, Seidenkrantz M S, Jessen C, et al. 2011. Late-Holocene sea-surface conditions offshore Newfoundland based on dinoflagellate cysts. The Holocene, 21(4): 539–552, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683610385720
St-Onge G, Mulder T, Francus P, et al. 2007. Chapter two continuous physical properties of cored marine sediments. Developments in Marine Geology, 1: 63–98, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-5480(07)01007-X
Swann G E A, Mackay A W. 2006. Potential limitations of biogenic silica as an indicator of abrupt climate change in Lake Baikal, Russia. Journal of Paleolimnology, 36(1): 81–89, doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-006-0005-7
Tang C C L, Ross C K, Yao T, et al. 2004. The circulation, water masses and sea-ice of Baffin Bay. Progress in Oceanography, 63(4): 183–228, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2004.09.005
Trouet V, Esper J, Graham N E, et al. 2009. Persistent positive North Atlantic oscillation mode dominated the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Science, 324(5923): 78–80, doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1166349
Van Cappellen P, Dixit S, van Beusekom J. 2002. Biogenic silica dissolution in the oceans: reconciling experimental and field-based dissolution rates. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16(4): 1075
van der Weijden A J, van der Weijden C H. 2002. Silica fluxes and opal dissolution rates in the northern Arabian Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 49(1): 157–173, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0637(01)00050-4
Vinther B M, Buchardt S L, Clausen H B, et al. 2009. Holocene thinning of the Greenland ice sheet. Nature, 461(7262): 385–388, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08355
Wassmann P, Duarte C M, Agustí S, et al. 2011. Footprints of climate change in the Arctic marine ecosystem. Global Change Biology, 17(2): 1235–1249, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02311.x
Wu Bin, Lu Chao, Liu Sumei. 2015. Dynamics of biogenic silica dissolution in Jiaozhou Bay, western Yellow Sea. Marine Chemistry, 174: 58–66, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2015.05.004
Yarincik K M, Murray R W, Peterson L C. 2000. Climatically sensitive eolian and hemipelagic deposition in the Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, over the past 578, 000 years: results from Al/Ti and K/Al. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 15(2): 210–228
Ye Xiwen, Liu Sumei, Zhao Yingfei, et al. 2004. The distribution of biogenic silica in the sediments of the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea and its environmental signification. China Environmental Science (in Chinese), 24(3): 265–269
Acknowledgements
The core material was obtained during the Galathea 3 cruise in 2006. We are grateful to the captain, crew and expedition members for coring and seismic operations on board R/V Vædderen and all cruises providing surface samples for our study. We thank Jan Heinemeier (Aarhus University, Denmark) for providing the 14C age determinations. This work was supported by the K C Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University. Finally, we thank Jan Bloemendal for suggested improvement to the English text.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Foundation item
The Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research under contract No. SKLEC-KF201708; the Project of Laboratory for Marine Geology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) under contract No. MGQNLM201707; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41776193, 41876215, 41876070 and 41406209; the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province under contract Nos LY17D060001 and LQ15D020001; the Marine S&T Fund of Shandong Province for Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) under contract No. 2018SDKJ0104-3.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sha, L., Li, D., Liu, Y. et al. Biogenic silica concentration as a marine primary productivity proxy in the Holsteinsborg Dyb, West Greenland, during the last millennium. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 39, 78–85 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1648-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-020-1648-3