10Be records from sediments of the Arctic Ocean covering the past 350 ka

Records of Be-10, Be-9, mineralogy and grain size were obtained from two cores collected by the Polarstern Expedition 1991 in the southern Nansen Basin (Core 2213-6) and the Yermak Plateau (Core 2208-2). The accumulation of sediments examined started from about 350 ka (BP), and includes relatively well defined trends of Be isotopes coincident with interglacial/glacial climatic cycles. Sediment accumulation rates (g/cm(2) ka) were higher during glacial periods and our estimates of 1.0 and 2.5 cm/ka sedimentation rates during the Holocene agree with other estimates for the southern Nansen Basin and the Yermak Plateau, respectively. The variations in Be-10 concentration (atoms/g) and flux (atoms/cm(2) ka) are inverse to sediment flux, where high Be-10 concentration and flux are associated with generally low sedimentation/accumulation rates during interglacial periods. We hypothesize that climate plays an important role in Be-10 records from the Arctic sediments, reflecting the intensity and distribution of the ice mass on land and the ocean. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.