Relatively large amounts of sand (> 63 μm) and IRD (> 1 mm) show influence of icebergs and coastal sea ice at the core site, while low δ13C values indicate
TGX-221 (e.g., Spielhagen and Erlenkeuser, 1994) which probably was caused by sea ice and melt water (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). Low δ13C values are also recorded further south at ca. 77°N in the Fram Strait (Ebbesen et al., 2007) and at ca. 75°N on the Barents Sea slope (Sarnthein et al., 2003) during this period. The two IRD peaks found at around 13,600 and 13,100 cal yr B.P. may correlate with cold inter Bølling–Allerød periods recorded in the
compound leaf NGRIP ice core (Rasmussen et al., 2006) (Fig. 5). This suggests increased calving, transport and melting of icebergs or sea ice during periods with cold atmospheric conditions. Elevated coarse fraction and IRD concentrations have previously been reported during Bølling–Allerød on the West Spitsbergen Slope (Ebbesen et al., 2007, Rasmussen et al., 2007b and Jessen et al., 2010), while concurrent decreased IRD concentrations were ascribed to more prolonged and severe sea ice conditions north of Svalbard under the axis of the Svalbard Branch (Fig. 1) (Koç et al., 2002 and Ślubowska et al., 2005).
