Late Quaternary history of the Kap Mackenzie area, northeast Greenland

Abstract

The Kap Mackenzie area on the outer coast of northeast Greenland was glaciated during the last glacial stage, and pre-Holocene shell material was brought to the area. Dating of marine shells indicates that deglaciation occurred in the earliest Holocene, before 10 800 cal. a BP. The marine limit is around 53 m a.s.l. In the wake of the deglaciation, a glaciomarine fauna characterized the area, but after c. one millennium a more species-rich marine fauna took over. This fauna included Mytilus edulis and Mysella sovaliki, which do not live in the region at present; the latter is new to the Holocene fauna of northeast Greenland. The oldest M. edulis sample is dated to c. 9500 cal. a BP, which is the earliest date for the species from the region and indicates that the Holocene thermal maximum began earlier in the region than previously documented. This is supported by driftwood dated to c. 9650 cal. a BP, which is the earliest driftwood date so far from northeastern Greenland and implies that the coastal area was at least partly free of sea ice in summer. As indicated by former studies, the Storegga tsunami hit the Kap Mackenzie area at c. 8100 cal. a BP. Loon Lake, at 18 m a.s.l., was isolated from the sea at c. 6200 cal. a BP, which is distinctly later than expected from existing relative sea-level curves for the region.

Holocene environmental change in theSkallingen area, easternNorthGreenland, based on a lacustrine record

“…In contrast to other lake sediment records from East and northeast Greenland (e.g. Wagner et al 2000Wagner et al , 2008Wagner et al , 2010aBennike et al 2008;Klug et al 2009a, b;Schmidt et al 2011), the record from Lille Sneha Sø does not indicate a distinct Medieval warm period, but the Little Ice Age with its culmination c. 150 years ago and the subsequent warming are well indicated.…”

“…A number of studies has been published about the Holocene development of eastern Greenland, based on lake deposits and raised marine deposits (e.g. Wagner et al 2000Wagner et al , 2008Wagner et al , 2010aBennike & Weidick 2001;Wagner & Melles 2002;Bennike et al 2008;Klug et al 2009a, b, in press;Schmidt et al 2011;Bennike & Wagner 2012. Only a few lacustrine records from North Greenland have been studied and most of them have poorly constrained chronologies, which complicate robust palaeoenvironmental reconstructions (Fredskild 1973(Fredskild , 1995Funder & Abrahamsen 1988;Olsen et al 2012).…”

Deglaciation chronology, sea-level changes and environmental changes from Holocene lake sediments of Germania Havn Sø, Sabine Ø, northeast Greenland

“…During the last glacial maximum (see raw 258), the margin of the northeastern part of the Greenland ice sheet extended far out on the continental shelf, and probably reached the edge of the shelf (Evans et al, 2002(Evans et al, , 2008O'Cofaigh et al, 2004;Vinther et al, 2009;Winkelmann et al, 2010). As shown by radiocarbon-dated macrofossil remains and sediment records, deglaciation of the outer coastal lowland regions took place during the earliest Holocene (Bennike and Björck, 2002;Cremer et al, 2008;Wagner et al, 2010). During deglaciation, numerous basins became ice-free.…”

Chronology of the last deglaciation andHolocene environmental changes in theSisimiut area,SW Greenland based on lacustrine records

“…In the lakes, the macrolimnophytes Batrachium confervoides, Ranunculus hyperboreus and Hippurus vulgaris spread shortly after the deglaciation. Among the terrestrial plants, Distichium sp., Bryum sp., Minuartia sp., Oxyria digyna and Poaceae are well known as early colonizers in Greenland and indicate an early Holocene pioneer phase without woody plants (Bennike et al 1999;Bennike 2000;Wagner et al 2010). Empetrum nigrum is the first woody plant to appear in all three records, with the oldest find dated to c. 10.3 cal.…”