Using Quartz as an Ice Rafted Debris (IRD) record

In addition to IP25, Axford et al 2011 (as mentioned in the previous post) also tested the presence of Quartz in marine cores as a proxy for ice rafting in the North Atlantic. Both of these proxies allow a reconstruction of ice abundance in the Northern Atlantic regions. Unlike IP25, however, Quartz is not a biological proxy, rather it is sometimes present as a 'foreign' material assumed to have been transported by floating ice (icebergs). Click 'Read more...' for a short summary of the method and a couple of examples.

The C25 HBI Monoene AKA "IP25" biomarker in marine sediment cores - a valuable contribution?

I know at the end of the last post I promised a move away from palaeoclimate studies to ecosystem change, but there's a couple of subjects I've recently come across that I thought would be interesting to consider before moving on (sorry!). The first one is the use of IP₂₅ from Marine sediment cores to reconstruct a history of ice extent in the Arctic region.

Skeletal formula of the IP₂₅ biomarker