Potential for scientific drilling of sediment drifts adjacent to Denmark Strait oceanic gateway

Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland is an important gateway within the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation system. The flow of bottom water through Denmark Strait, called Denmark Strait Overflow Water (DSOW), carries over half of deep Arctic-to-Atlantic flow at present but cannot be reconstructed directly from existing or proposed sediment cores for times prior to 240 thousand years ago. Here we assess whether sedimentary contourite drifts in Denmark Strait can be used to reconstruct a complete DSOW record that exceeds 10 million years. Within the Blosseville Basin in the north of Denmark Strait lies a previously undescribed contourite drift that we name the Freydis Drift, of likely early Miocene–Recent age, that is up to about 1350 m thick. On the southern flank of the Greenland–Iceland Ridge and in the northern Irminger Basin lies the Snorri Drift, which is thinner and has a more complex structure than Freydis Drift. By drilling the Freydis Drift, it may be possible to recover a continuous early Miocene–Recent sedimentary succession with a mean solid sedimentation rate comparable to the Eirík Drift to the south, which would show when Denmark Strait opened and the history of fluctuations in DSOW thereafter. A seismic site survey is required to fully realize this goal.