Deglaciation of the Ardencaple Fjord and adjacent shelf environment, Northeast Greenland

In this study, we integrate marine geophysical datasets and analyses of four marine sediment cores to reconstruct the deglaciation and paleoenvironmental development of the Ardencaple Fjord and the adjacent cross-shelf trough in Northeast Greenland. Although recent studies have presented isochron-based reconstructions of the circum-Greenland ice margin since the last deglaciation, crucial knowledge gaps regarding the timing and dynamics of ice retreat still exist, particularly in offshore Northeast Greenland, where former glaciated trough systems hosted fast-flowing ice.

Our preliminary results indicate fast retreat dynamics of the ice based on observations of glacial lineation morphologies on the seabed, while sedimentological data enable spatiotemporal reconstructions of grounding line positions and floating ice margins. A preliminary chronological framework constraining the ice retreat across the core sites is based on radiocarbon dates, supplemented by paleomagnetic secular variation records. Our reconstruction further allows us to assess benthic ecosystem responses to deglaciation, contributing to the current evaluation of benthic foraminifera as a proxy for identifying stages of deglaciation in marine sediments around Greenland.