Early traces and the development of deep water circulation at the Eirik Drift, south of Greenland: An indication for climate modifications
The sediment record at Eirik Drift, a sediment drift at the slope south of Greenland, provides an archive of modifications in pathway and intensity of the Western Boundary Undercurrent (WBUC), since the drift was formed under the influence of the WBUC and lies closely downstream of the current’s origin in the deep-water formation centres of the Nordic Seas. Modifications in the WBUC are the result of alterations in deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas and thus reflect climate changes such as warm and cold periods. A reconstruction of the the palaeocirculation of the WBUC at Eirik Drift since the early Miocene revealed a strong WBUC during warm climate conditions, and in phases of climate cooling with interpreted enhanced sea-ice extent we interpreted weak WBUC influence. Therefore, a southward re-location of the deep-water formation regions along with a shift of the deep current system during the cool phases has been suggested (Müller-Michaelis and Uenzelmann-Neben, 2014). This shift implies that the main North Atlantic deep-water route affected Eirik Drift mainly during warm phases and that during cool phases only weak branches of the circulation system flowed over Eirik Drift.
Arctic Ocean > Baffin Bay
Arctic Ocean > Davis Strait