Physical properties of Reykjanes Ridge sediments and their linkage to high-resolution Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 ice core data

Five gravity cores taken from the Reykjanes Ridge have been used to establish a link between sediment physical properties and atmospheric records documented by delta(18)O variations in Greenland ice cores over the last 45,000 calendar years. Marine Gamma Ray Attenuation Porosity Evaluator density and magnetic susceptibility variations could be linked with the ice core Dansgaard-Oeschger and Bond cycles. This Is supported by Ice-rafted detritus (IRD) grain size, the quartz/feldspar ratio, and carbonate, isotopic, and foraminiferal records. The covariation of the sediment physical properties and delta(18)O in Greenland ice indicates a coupling of atmospheric temperature and paleocirculation variations. Gradual reduced bottom currents (Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water) and enhanced iceberg discharges have been reconstructed for cold atmospheric periods relative to interstadial times. In the study area the magnetic susceptibility signal is not related to the ice-rafted detritus input but most probably reflects the variations of the Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water intensity transporting titanomagnetite into the Reykjanes Ridge region.