Mineral and isotopic (Nd, Sr) signature of fine-grained deglacial and Holocene sediments from the Mackenzie Trough, Arctic Canada

Abstract

Dolomites in Arctic Ocean sediments are widely attributed to erosion and transport of sediments from northern Canada and Greenland. Coarse-grained dolomite-rich ice-rafted debris is often linked to iceberg transport, but the origin of fine-grained dolomite is less well constrained. A presumed source is the Mackenzie River. In this article, we fingerprint the minerogenic and isotopic (Nd and Sr) composition of deglacial and Holocene fine-grained sediments (<38 μm) from the shallow Mackenzie Trough. Sediments from an 81.5-m borehole (MTW01) were analyzed. The borehole is composed of a progradational (deltaic), transitional (transgressive), and marine unit (<9.4 cal. ka BP). The average dolomite content (~7 percent) and ɛNd signals (−13.3) are surprisingly constant in the progradational and marine units. The isotopic signature is inherited from the Interior Platform, the major underlying bedrock region of the Mackenzie River mainstream. The transitional unit contains fluctuations in ɛNd (−11.0 and −14.6), reflecting enhanced input from the North American Cordillera and Canadian Shield that are not associated with elevated amounts of dolomite. Additional studies combining minerogenic and detrital ɛNd analyses from sites proximal to the paleo-icestreams draining the Canadian Arctic are required to ascertain the origin of dolomite enrichment in central Arctic Ocean sediments.

Keywords

• Arctic Ocean
• Mackenzie River
• Canadian Beaufort Sea
• dolomite
• neodynium
• strontium