Svalbard-barents ice sheet instability enhanced delivery of reactive iron to the ocean
Iron (Fe) plays a key role in marine environments as a bio-limiting nutrient and a control on sedimentary burial of carbon and other nutrients. Sensitive glacial systems provide an important delivery mechanism for Fe to the ocean, but it is unknown how these glacial sources will change as ice retreats. Sedimentary records from the Yermak Plateau, proximal to the Svalbard-Barents Ice Sheet provide an opportunity to investigate how past glacial instability may have affected bioavailable iron delivery. Here we find that over the past 135 ka, pulsed reactive Fe export to the Yermak Plateau occurred at least 5 times, during intervals of ice sheet retreat or advance. Fe-rich layers preserve high contents of reactive Fe phases, some of which were likely bioavailable at the time of deposition. Glacial Fe from Svalbard may have been delivered either directly by meltwater plumes or through remobilization of Fe deposited in fjord and shelf sediments. The delivery of reactive Fe hundreds of kilometers offshore during these events indicates that ice sheet instability in modern settings could perturb high latitude nutrient cycles.
Authors
- Allyson C. Tessin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8657-8484)
- Bernhard Schnetger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1638-3977)
- Anke Neumann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0472-9056)
- Philipp Böning (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7375-4567)
- Matthias Forwick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6153-5891)
- Johan C. Faust (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8177-7097)
- Christoph Vogt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5376-9011)
- Jens Matthießen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6952-2494)
- Matt O’Regan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6046-1488)
- Christian März (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5439-1292)
- Robert Gray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5195-6262)
Institutions
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung (DE)
- Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- University of Bonn (DE)
- Kent State University (US)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- University of Bremen (DE)
- Paul Scherrer Institute (CH)
- UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75133-2
- Primary Topic
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme