Palynological study on Holocene sediments from northern Svalbard Continental Margin, Eastern Arctic Ocean

Palynofloral records from the gravity core, PS66/325-3SL, obtained at northern Svalbard Continental Margin, Eastern Arctic Ocean, reflect changes in vegetation and paleoceanography during the Holocene. Lowermost interval (Zone I, 110 similar to 85 cm bsf), possibly corresponding to Last deglaciation, is dominated by cold, dry-loving shrubs (e. g., birch) and tundra grasses together with diverse reworked palynomorphs. The reworked forms are considered to have been redeposited by melting of advanced glacier reached the shelf off northern Svalbard in which core site is located during the cold period such as Younger Dryas. From lower interval (Zone II, 80 similar to 50 cm bsf), probably spanning early Holocene time, warming may accelerate that the warm-loving vegetation have thrived on Svalbard and adjacent areas. With time within Zone II, reversed frequencies in indicators of warm, dry and warm, wet may indicate that the humidity was unstable during the early Holocene. Furthermore, dramatic increase in warm-water species of dinoflagellates can assume that the paleoceanographic conditions were favorable to live phytoplankton, caused by warm Atlantic water inflow. Upper interval (Zone IV-V, 45 similar to 0 cm bsf), possibly comparable to the late Holocene, cold and dry climatic conditions were reflected by the dominance of cold-loving tundra grasses. Also, extended sea-ice by the strengthened Arctic water can provide the favorable conditions for cold-water species of dinoflagellates.