Varying sediment sources (Hudson Strait, Cumberland Sound, Baffin Bay) to the NW Labrador Sea slope between and during Heinrich events 0 to 4

Journal of Quaternary Science
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Abstract

Core HU97048-007PC was recovered from the continental Labrador Sea slope at a water depth of 945 m, 250 km seaward from the mouth of Cumberland Sound, and 400 km north of Hudson Strait. Cumberland Sound is a structural trough partly floored by Cretaceous mudstones and Paleozoic carbonates. The record extends from ∼10 to 58 ka. On-board logging revealed a complex series of lithofacies, including buff-colored detrital carbonate-rich sediments [Heinrich (H)-events] frequently bracketed by black facies. We investigate the provenance of these facies using quantitative X-ray diffraction on drill-core samples from Paleozoic and Cretaceous bedrock from the SE Baffin Island Shelf, and on the < 2-mm sediment fraction in a transect of five cores from Cumberland Sound to the NW Labrador Sea. A sediment unmixing program was used to discriminate between sediment sources, which included dolomite-rich sediments from Baffin Bay, calcite-rich sediments from Hudson Strait and discrete sources from Cumberland Sound. Results indicated that the bulk of the sediment was derived from Cumberland Sound, but Baffin Bay contributed to sediments coeval with H-0 (Younger Dryas), whereas Hudson Strait was the source during H-events 1–4. Contributions from the Cretaceous outcrops within Cumberland Sound bracket H-events, thus both leading and lagging Hudson Strait-sourced H-events.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Varying sediment sources (Hudson Strait, Cumberland Sound, Baffin Bay) to the NW Labrador Sea slope between and during Heinrich events 0 to 4
Series title Journal of Quaternary Science
DOI 10.1002/jqs.2535
Volume 27
Issue 5
Year Published 2012
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Description 10 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Journal of Quaternary Science
First page 475
Last page 484
Country Canada
Other Geospatial Hudson Strait;Cumberland Sound;Baffin Bay
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