TY - JOUR

T1 - Bio- and aminostratigraphy of some Quaternary marine deposits in West Greenland

AU - Funder, Svend Visby

AU - Simonarson, Leifur A.

PY - 1984

Y1 - 1984

N2 - age. The mollusc faunas at the sites are distinctly different, although all reflect influx of some subarctic water into Baffin Bay. The fauna from Patorffk is the most diverse subfossil Quaternary fauna known from Baffin Bay. Such species as Panopea Ilorvegica and Balanus hameri indicate conditions warmer than the present, although no identical faunal assemblages are known. The fauna at Laksebugt is similar to modem faunas, but the dominating Portlandia arctica and Macoma moesta indicate a climate somewhat colder than the present, and Mytilus edulis suggests the presence of subarctic water. The fauna from Mudderbugt is reworked, but the presence of Chlamys islandica indicates that conditions were not entirely different from the present. Amino-acid analyses on shells from the three sites place them in three distinct aminozones, with Patorfik as the oldest and Laksebugt the youngest. Age estimates using this and geological and biological evidence suggest that the Laksebugt aminozone dates from the isotopic stage 5-6 transition (130 ka). The Patorfik aminozone is probably of mid- or early Quaternary age (235-1800 ka). Correlation with the few previously known pre-Holocene marine deposits of western Greenland implies that only one period of extensive glaciation can be recognized during the Weichsel (Wisconsin) glaciation.

AB - age. The mollusc faunas at the sites are distinctly different, although all reflect influx of some subarctic water into Baffin Bay. The fauna from Patorffk is the most diverse subfossil Quaternary fauna known from Baffin Bay. Such species as Panopea Ilorvegica and Balanus hameri indicate conditions warmer than the present, although no identical faunal assemblages are known. The fauna at Laksebugt is similar to modem faunas, but the dominating Portlandia arctica and Macoma moesta indicate a climate somewhat colder than the present, and Mytilus edulis suggests the presence of subarctic water. The fauna from Mudderbugt is reworked, but the presence of Chlamys islandica indicates that conditions were not entirely different from the present. Amino-acid analyses on shells from the three sites place them in three distinct aminozones, with Patorfik as the oldest and Laksebugt the youngest. Age estimates using this and geological and biological evidence suggest that the Laksebugt aminozone dates from the isotopic stage 5-6 transition (130 ka). The Patorfik aminozone is probably of mid- or early Quaternary age (235-1800 ka). Correlation with the few previously known pre-Holocene marine deposits of western Greenland implies that only one period of extensive glaciation can be recognized during the Weichsel (Wisconsin) glaciation.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 21

SP - 843

EP - 852

JO - Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences

JF - Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences

SN - 0008-4077

ER -