Early Pleistocene sediments on Store Koldewey, northeast Greenland

Marine Quaternary deposits, here named the Store Koldewey Formation, are found at ~120m above sea level in northeast Greenland (76°N). The sequence is referred to the Olduvai normal polarity subchron at 1.95-1.78Ma BP based on palaeomagnetic studies (palaeomagnetically reversed), amino acid epimerization ratios and evidence from marine and non-marine fossils. The sediments and the fauna show that the sequence was deposited on a mid or inner shelf, and some elements of the marine mollusc and foraminiferal assemblages indicate water temperatures between -1 and +1°C and seasonal sea ice cover during deposition. Mean summer air temperatures were around 6°C higher than at present, as demonstrated by the occurrence of southern extralimital terrestrial species. Well-preserved remains of land plants indicate that the adjacent land area was dominated by sub-arctic forest-tundra with the trees Larix and Betula, shrubs, herbs and mosses. Most of the species represented as fossils have recent circumpolar geographical ranges. An extinct brachiopod species and an extinct gastropod species have been found, but the other macrofossils are referred to extant species. The brachiopod is erected as a new genus and species, Laugekochiana groenlandica. Correlation of the Koldewey Formation with the île de France Formation farther to the north is suggested. Member A of the Kap København Formation in North Greenland is referred to the Late Pliocene, whereas Member B of the Kap København Formation is suggested to be slightly older than the Store Koldewey Formation.