Occurrence of the Mytilus edulis complex on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard: radiocarbon ages and climatic implications

Abstract

Fragments of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis complex) are present on raised beaches in the vicinity of Langgrunnodden and Kinnvika, northwestern Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. Both of these localities are north of 80ø N. New radiocarbon age determinations, together with earlier results, show that Mytilus colonies were present in this area for much of the first half of Holocene time–from approximately 9000 to 5800 14C yr BP. Mytilus has also been recorded farther south in Nordaustlandet, at three localities in Wahlenbergfjorden. Age determinations of shells at two of these sites have yielded results in the range of 7400 to 6900 14C yr BP. The arrival of Mytilus to Nordaustlandet coincided with the early Holocene influx of warm North Atlantic Water off the west coast of Spitsbergen. The drastic warming in early Holocene time, which resulted in the rapid melt‐off of glaciers and ice caps in Svalbard, also facilitated the establishment and perserverance of Mytilus colonies at this high latitude.

Late Quaternary foraminiferal record in Murchisonfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

“…The palaoenvironmental indications of assemblage zone A4 (Table 2) is in agreement with the findings of Mytilus edulis , a species that has been linked with ameliorated temperature conditions and slightly reduced salinity in early Holocene deposits in the Murchisonfjorden area (Blake 2006).…”

“…Data from raised shoreline and beach deposits with Mytilus edulis , indicating deposition during the Holocene thermal optimum, are, however, reported from several sites by Feyling‐Hanssen (1955b), Hjort et al. (1995), Salvigsen (2002) and Blake (2006), among others.…”

“…1), and reported observations on the glacial geology of Nordaustlandet. The ice‐movement history of Nordaustlandet, including the radiocarbon age determination of raised beaches, land uplift, morphological investigations and climatic implications of the occurrence of Mytilus edulis , were studied by Blake (1961, 1962, 2006). In his PhD thesis, Blake (1962) even described reworked foraminifera within tills in the Murchisonfjorden area.…”

Wahlenbergfjord, eastern Svalbard: a glacier‐surrounded fjord reflecting regional hydrographic variability during the Holocene?

“…Salvigsen (2002) and Blake (2006) reported the appearance of the thermophilous blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) at the head of the Wahlenbergfjord at c. 8.1 ka (7700AE150 uncorrected 14 C years BP) and c. 7.7 ka (7370AE20 uncorrected 14 C years BP), respectively (Fig. This bivalve has been linked to the influence of relative warm AW at the sea surface (Salvigsen 2002;Blake 2006;Hansen et al 2011). This bivalve has been linked to the influence of relative warm AW at the sea surface (Salvigsen 2002;Blake 2006;Hansen et al 2011).…”

“…is assumed to feed on fresh phytodetritus (Steinsund 1994), while thriving in the upper 2.5 cm of the sediment (Hunt & Corliss 1993). 4F) in one individual sample might reflect Blake 2006). At c. 7.9 ka, when sea-ice proxies suggest a reduced sea ice cover (Figs 5G, 7F), maximum percentages of C. lobatulus (Fig.…”