Abstract
U and Th Isotope Constraints on the Duration of Heinrich Events H0-H4 in the Southeastern Labrador Sea
Centre de Recherche en Géochimie et en géochronologie Isotopique (GEOTOP), Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal, Québec, Canada
Centre de Recherche en Géochimie et en géochronologie Isotopique (GEOTOP), Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal, Québec, Canada
The duration and sequence of events recorded in Heinrich layers at sites near the Hudson Strait source area for ice-rafted material are still poorly constrained, notably because of the limit and uncertainties of the 14C chronology. Here we use high-resolution 230Th-excess measurements, in a 6 m sequence raised from Orphan Knoll (southern Labrador Sea), to constrain the duration of the deposition of the five most recent Heinrich (H) layers. On the basis of maximum/minimum estimates for the mean glacial 230Th-excess flux at the studied site a minimum/maximum duration of 1.0/0.6, 1.4/0.8, 1.3/0.8, 1.5/0.9, and 2.1/1.3 kyr is obtained for H0 (∼Younger Dryas), Hl, H2, H3, and H4, respectively. Thorium-230-excess inventories and other sedimentological features indicate a reduced but still significant lateral sedimentary supply by the Western Boundary Undercurrent during the glacial interval. U and Th series systematics also provide insights into source rocks of H layer sediments (i.e., into distal Irminger Basin/local Labrador Sea supplies).
Received 9 January 1998; accepted 1 October 1998; .
Citation: (1999), U and Th Isotope Constraints on the Duration of Heinrich Events H0-H4 in the Southeastern Labrador Sea, Paleoceanography, 14(2), 187–199.
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