Foraminiferal data, XRF counts and age model options of sediment core AO16-8GC from the Alpha Ridge, Arctic Ocean

Flor Vermassen, Matt O'Regan, Gabriel West, Thomas M. Cronin, Helen K. Coxall

The dataset contains foraminiferal data (relative abundance of species), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) counts (Mn, Zr , and Mn/Zr ratio), and two age model options of a sediment core collected from the Alpha Ridge, Arctic Ocean.

The foraminiferal data is used to establish the biostratigraphy of the central Arctic Ocean. The two age model options are based on biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphic correlation, in combination with orbital tuning.

The core was collected during the Arctic Ocean 2016 expedition with the Swedish icebreaker Oden in 2016.

Citation

Flor Vermassen, Matt O'Regan, Gabriel West, Thomas M. Cronin, Helen K. Coxall (2021) Foraminiferal data, XRF counts and age model options of sediment core AO16-8GC from the Alpha Ridge, Arctic Ocean. Dataset version 1. Bolin Centre Database. https://doi.org/10.17043/oden-ao-2016-sediment-ao16-8gc-forams-xrf-1

References

Vermassen F, O’Regan M, West G, Cronin TM, Coxall HK (2021) Testing the stratigraphic consistency of Pleistocene microfossil bioevents identified on the Alpha and Lomonosov Ridges, Arctic Ocean. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2021.1988356

Data description

The dataset is included in one spreadsheet (xlsx) file with two data sheets and in two corresponding comma-separated values (csv) files. Content of the data sheets:

Foraminiferal data

• core name
• depth (meter below seafloor)
• relative abundances (%) of seven different species at each sample depth
• nr. of foraminifers per dry gram of sieved sediment (>63 micron)

Note: Percentages of planktic foraminifera are relative to the total of planktic foraminifera, while percentages of benthic foraminifera are relative to the total number of foraminifera (benthic + planktic).

Age model and XRF counts

• depth (meter below seafloor)
• age of the sediment (ka BP), according to option 1
• age of the sediment (ka BP), according to option 2
• Mn counts
• Zr counts
• Mn/Zr ratio

The two age model options are derived by biostratigraphic and lithostratghraphic methods, in combination with orbital tuning. The difference between the two age models is explained by Vermassen et al. (2021).

Comments

Please cite article by Vermassen et al. (2021) when using this dataset.

More information about the Canadian-Swedish Arctic Ocean 2016 expedition is available from the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.