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The data relate to a paper submitted to Quaternary Science Reviews. All the data support a study of the last 94 ka recorded in core MD03-2611 and an adjacent multicore MD03-MUC 3 taken on the fringe of one of the Murray Canyons offshore Kangaroo Island. Additional data pertain to core SS0206-GC15 taken offshore Victoria south of Warrnambool, but its record only spans the last 25ka. The records are at high resolution and cover a multitude of parameters. Radiocarbon dates for these cores are presented in the supplementary section of this paper.

One and two metre snow pit accumulation, density, peroxide and conductivity on a depth and age scale from summer 2019 obtained at 7 ice core drilling sites; NEEM, B16, B19, B22 as well as 3 sites in the vicinity of EastGRIP representing the years 2014 to summer 2019. The data was analysed by means of continuous flow using the Light weight In Situ Analysis (LISA) box (Kjær et al, 2021).

At Site GS15-198-38, Greenland Sea, we analysed the surface sample (from a multicore) and eight Late Quaternary samples from a Calypso core. The age model for the Calypso core GS15-198-38CC is based on seven AMS 14C ages down to 345 cm, and a 5-cm resolution N. pachyderma sinistral isotope stratigraphy (1) below that level. We analysed the palynology, generated organic biomarker data (including IP25, sterols) and performed quantitative PCR (droplet digital PCR, ddPCR) of the sympagic dinoflagellate Polarella glacialis.

This study examines the stable water isotope signal (δ18O) of three ice cores drilled on the Renland peninsula (East Greenland coast). While ice core δ18O measurements qualitatively are a measure of the local temperature history, the δ18O variability in precipitation actually reflects the integrated hydrological activity that the deposited ice experienced from the evaporation source to the condensation site. Thus, as Renland is located next to a fluctuating sea ice cover, the transfer function used to infer past temperatures from the δ18O variability is potentially influenced by variations in the local moisture conditions. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the δ18O variability of ice cores drilled on Renland and examine what amount of the signal that can be attributed to regional temperature variations. In the analysis, three ice cores are utilized to create stacked summer, winter and annually averaged δ18O signals (AD 1801-2014). The imprint of temperature on δ18O is first examined by correlating the δ18O stacks with instrumental temperature records from East Greenland (AD 1895-2014) and Iceland (AD 1830-2014) and with the regional climate model HIRHAM5 (AD 1980-2014). The results show that the δ18O variability correlates with regional temperatures on both a seasonal and an annual scale between 1910-2014 while δ18O is uncorrelated with Iceland temperatures between 1830-1909. Our analysis indicates that the unstable regional δ18O-temperature correlation does not result from changes in weather patterns through respectively strengthening and weakening of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Instead, the results imply that the varying δ18O-temperature relation is connected with the volume flux of sea ice exported through Fram Strait (and south along the coast of East Greenland). Notably, the δ18O variability only reflects the variations in regional temperature when the temperature anomaly is positive and the sea ice export anomaly is negative. It is hypothesized that this could be caused by a larger sea ice volume flux during cold years which suppresses the Iceland temperature signature in the Renland δ18O signal. However, more isotope-enabled modeling studies with emphasis on coastal ice caps are needed in order to quantify the mechanisms behind this observation. As the amount of Renland δ18O variability that reflects regional temperature varies with time, the results have implications for studies performing regression-based δ18O-temperature reconstructions based on ice cores drilled in the vicinity of a fluctuating sea ice cover.

The last glacial period was marked by pronounced millennial-scale variability in ocean circulation and global climate. Shifts in the sea ice cover of the Nordic Seas are believed to have amplified the glacial climate variability between warm interstadials and cold stadials in northern high latitudes and contributed to abrupt, high-amplitude temperature changes over Greenland. Here we present unprecedented empirical evidence that resolves the nature, timing, and role of sea ice fluctuations for abrupt ocean and climate change 32–40 thousand years ago, using biomarker sea ice reconstructions from the southern Norwegian Sea. Our results document that initial sea ice reductions at the core site preceded the major reinvigoration of convective deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas and heat release to the atmosphere during interstadials. Sea ice expansions initiated quickly after atmospheric peak warmth and preceded the buildup of a deep oceanic heat reservoir through stadials. Our findings suggest that the glacial variability in northern sea ice cover was essential in regime shifts between surface stratification and deep convection in the Nordic Seas, thus forming an important feedback for large-scale oceanic reorganization during abrupt glacial climate changes.

Expansion of fresh and sea-ice loaded surface waters from the Arctic Ocean into the sub-polar North Atlantic is suggested to modulate the northward heat transport within the North Atlantic Current (NAC). The Reykjanes Ridge south of Iceland is a suitable area to reconstruct changes in the mid- to late Holocene fresh and sea-ice loaded surface water expansion, which is marked by the Subarctic Front (SAF). Here, shifts in the location of the SAF result from the interaction of freshwater expansion and inflow of warmer and saline (NAC) waters to the Ridge. Using planktic foraminiferal assemblage and concentration data from a marine sediment core on the eastern Reykjanes Ridge elucidates SAF location changes and thus, changes in the water-mass composition (upper ~200 m) during the last c. 5.8 ka BP. Our foraminifer data highlight a late Holocene shift (at c. 3.0 ka BP) in water-mass composition at the Reykjanes Ridge, which reflects the occurrence of cooler and fresher surface waters when compared to the mid-Holocene. We document two phases of SAF presence at the study site: from (i) c. 5.5 to 5.0 ka BP and (ii) c. 2.7 to 1.5 ka BP. Both phases are characterized by marked increases in the planktic foraminiferal concentration, which coincides with freshwater expansions and warm subsurface water conditions within the sub-polar North Atlantic. We link the SAF changes, from c. 2.7 to 1.5 ka BP, to a strengthening of the East Greenland Current and awarming in the NAC, as identified by various studies underlying these two currents. From c. 1.5 ka BP onwards, we record a prominent subsurface cooling and continued occurrence of fresh and sea-ice loaded surface waters at the study site. This implies that the SAF migrated to the southeast of our core site during the last millennium.

Geochemically distinct volcanic ash (tephra) deposits are increasingly acknowledged as a key geochronological tool to synchronize independent paleoclimate archives. Recent advances in the detection of invisible (crypto) tephra have led to the ongoing establishment, development and integration of regional tephra lattices. These frameworks offer an overview of the spatial extent of geochemically characterized tephra from dated eruptions – a valuable tool for precise correlation of paleorecords within these areas. Here, we harness cryptotephra analysis to investigate the occurrence of two well-known tephra markers from the Last Glacial Period (i.e. FMAZ II-1 (26.7 ka b2k) and NAAZ II (II-RHY-1) (55.3 ka b2k)), in marine sediment cores from the Nordic, Irminger and Labrador Seas. In addition, we assess the imprint of bioturbation on two of these tephra deposits using Computed Tomography (CT) imagery. We have successfully identified FMAZ II-1 in the Nordic and Irminger Seas. The tephra deposit is a visible deposit in the Nordic Seas, whereas it appears as a single high concentration peak within the fine-grained shard size fraction (i.e. 25-80 μm) in the Irminger Sea. Both horizons are primary airfall deposits, and this study is the first to identify a FMAZ II-1 deposit of isochronous nature in the Irminger Sea region. In addition, we have identified a new tephra horizon in the Irminger Sea, which is stratigraphically associated with FMAZ II-1, and geochemically similar to the known 2-JPC-192-1 population. We discuss its potential to serve as a new reference tie-point for correlations in the region. Lastly, we have successfully identified NAAZ II (II-RHY-1) of isochronous nature in both the Irminger and Labrador Sea. The layers are interpreted to be deposited by either direct airfall or by sea-ice drifting past the sites. Compared to the existing frameworks, which previously mainly focused on sites east of Iceland, our findings expand the knowledge and utility of the FMAZ II-1 and NAAZ II (II-RHY-1) horizons. This dataset contains down core shard concentrations and major element oxide data of tephra layers FMAZ II (from cores MD99-2284 and GS16-204-18CC) and NAAZ II (II-RHY-I) (from cores GS16-204-22CC-A and GS16-204-18CC).

This dataset contains major element oxide data of tephra layers from marine sediment core GS16-204-22CC. The core has been investigated for increased tephra occurrences and geochemically analysed for the major element composition of tephra shards to identify their source volcano(es). In total we observed eight tephra zones of which five concentration peaks show isochronous features that can be used as independent tie-points in future studies.

This dataset presents the fire proxies levoglucosan, black carbon and ammonium measured in the RECAP ice core, in coastal East Greenland. The datasets cover a period of 5000 years and are averaged in 20 years bins. Raw concentrations of levoglucosan, black carbon and ammonium are also provided. Levoglucosan has been determined using high performance liquid chromatography/negative ion electrospray ionization – tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/(-)ESI-MS/MS). Black carbon has been measured using a BC analyzer connected to the Continuous Flow Analysis system. Ammonium (NH4+) has been measured by fluorescence within the Continuous Flow Analysis setup.

Rapid changes in ocean circulation and climate have been observed in marine-sediment and ice cores over the last glacial period and deglaciation, highlighting the non-linear character of the climate system and underlining the possibility of rapid climate shifts in response to anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing. To date, these rapid changes in climate and ocean circulation are still not fully explained. One obstacle hindering progress in our understanding of the interactions between past ocean circulation and climate changes is the difficulty of accurately dating marine cores. Here, we present a set of 92 marine sediment cores from the Atlantic Ocean for which we have established age-depth models that are consistent with the Greenland GICC05 ice core chronology, and computed the associated dating uncertainties, using a new deposition modeling technique. This is the first set of consistently dated marine sediment cores enabling paleoclimate scientists to evaluate leads/lags between circulation and climate changes over vast regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, this data set is of direct use in paleoclimate modeling studies.