Spatial and temporal patterns of Pleistocene biogenic sediment accumulation in the Gulf of Alaska

Reconstructing the timing and nature of past changes in aquatic productivity in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) can shed light on the primary processes driving biogeochemical cycling over geologic timescales. Today, Fe is an important micronutrient that limits primary productivity in surface waters beyond the continental shelf in much of the GoA. However, we have a relatively poor understanding of how Fe-delivery processes, combined with changing climate, environmental, and oceanographic conditions, interact to influence primary production over glacial-interglacial timescales. An important first step is to identify the spatial and temporal patterns of increased productivity in the sediment record. Here, we present sedimentologic and physical property data from IODP Expedition 341 and identify intervals where diatom ooze and diatom-rich mud lithofacies are prevalent during the Pleistocene. Among the Expedition 341 recovered cores, were high-recovery intervals in the outer (Site U1417) and inner (U1418) Surveyor Fan, and from a small slope basin at the edge of the continental shelf (Site U1419). In general, greenish gray diatomaceous ooze (containing >50 % diatoms in smear slides) and diatom-rich mud (>25% diatoms) is found in beds ranging in thickness from 20 to 150 cm, interbedded with gray mud that commonly contains lonestones. Ooze is occasionally found immediately overlying volcanic ash. Compared to non-biogenic mud, diatomaceous sediments are generally characterized by lower magnetic susceptibility, natural gamma ray, bulk density, and higher b* color reflectance. At Site U1417, we observe a frequent occurrence of diatomaceous ooze during the middle Pleistocene relative to the early and late Pleistocene. At Site U1418, intervals containing diatom ooze are less common than at U1417 and biogenic sediments are mainly observed within the late Pleistocene portion of the record. However, higher sedimentation rates at U1418 relative to U1417, and the co-occurrence of sand and interbedded mud and silt indicate that clastic sediment dilution may obscure biogenic sediment contribution. At Site U1419, two prominent ~5 m thick intervals of diatomaceous ooze are found (within the uppermost 5 m and between 80 and 90 m composite depth, respectively). Between these intervals are numerous 20 cm thick intervals of biogenic sediment that were likely deposited during the middle or late Pleistocene based on preliminary shipboard age models. Biogenic intervals observed at Expedition 341 sites may be related to increased productivity driven by a combination of the aforementioned processes, but additional chronological and geochemical constraints are needed from all sites to rule out the role that changing sedimentation rates and/or silica dissolution plays in controlling the distribution of ooze in these records.