A standard lithostratigraphic model based on cores retrieved 1963–1973 from the ice island T-3 was developed by Clark et al. (1980) for the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. We have investigated whether or not it is possible to apply this lithostratigraphy to cores from the Lomonosov Ridge, which can be correlated to Eurasian Basin cores, for the purpose of correlating the Amerasian and Eurasian stratigraphies. Published averaged

sedimentary proxies from a selected set of T-3 cores are used to correlate with the identical published proxies for the included Lomonosov Ridge cores. The standard lithostratigraphic classification could not be applied to the Lomonosov Ridge cores,

which is interpreted to result from differences in sedimentary regimes in the Amerasian and Eurasian Basins. These differences also apply to the barrier between the two basins, the Lomonosov Ridge. The general sedimentation rates are three to four times lower in the Amerasian Basin than in the Eurasian Basin if the first down-core paleomagnetic inclination change is used to correlate between the two basins whereas correlation based on sediment coarse fraction suggests only two times lower rates in the Amerasian Basin.

Neogene marine sediments can be dated via decay of the cosmogenic radionuclide 10Be. Two cores from theAlpha and Mendeleev Ridges in the Arctic Ocean have been analyzed for seawater-derived beryllium (Be)isotopes in order to date the sediments and to calculate sedimentation rates. The decrease of 10Be concentrationin the cores was used to calculate first order sedimentation rates. To eliminate the dilution effect of berylliumcaused by short-term changes in sedimentation rate and grain size, the 10Be concentrationswere normalized tothe terrigenous stable isotope 9Be determined in the same sample aliquot. The measured 10Be concentrationsyield low average sedimentation rates for the Alpha and Mendeleev Ridges of 2.3 mm ka−1 and 2.7 mm ka−1,respectively. Sedimentation rates calculated from the 10Be/9Be ratios result in similarly low values, rangingfrom 0.2 to 6.8 mm ka−1 for the Alpha Ridge core and from 1.9 to 6.9 mm ka−1 for the Mendeleev Ridge core.However, amino acid racemization dating for the past 150 ka of a core adjacent to the Mendeleev Ridge corestudied here indicates significantly higher sedimentation rates than calculated from the downcore decreaseof 10Be and 10Be/9Be. If such higher rates also prevailed at the locations of our cores, for which there isbiostratigraphic evidence, either the supply of 10Be was much lower than assumed or that of 9Be was muchhigher. This could imply that the signature of the deepwaters in this part of the Arctic Ocean compared to todaywas largely different for most of the past approximately one million years with a significantly lower 10Be/9Beratio. Our study also addresses the variability of beryllium isotopes in sediment cores across the Arctic Oceanthrough a comparison of previously published results. Calculated 10Be fluxes reveal low values in the AmerasianBasin and highest values in the Eurasian Basin, near the Fram Strait. The decrease of Be isotopes in the twostudied Amerasian Basin cores may thus have been caused by environmental factors such as significantlyreduced inflow of Atlantic waters in the past, reduced input of 10Be and/or increased input of 9Be from theshelves, combined with a more efficient sea ice shielding in this part of the Arctic Ocean.

A short sediment core retrieved from a local depression forming an intra basin on the Lomonosov Ridge during the Healy-Oden Trans-Arctic Expedition 2005 (HOTRAX) contains a record of the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1-3 showing exceptionally high abundances of calcareous microfossils during parts of MIS 3. Based on radiocarbon dating, linear sedimentation rates of 7-9 cm/ka persist during the last deglaciation. Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is partly characterized by a hiatus. Planktic foraminiferal abundance variations of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral and calcareous nannofossils reflect changes in Arctic Ocean summer sea ice coverage and probably inflow of subpolar North Atlantic water. Marine reservoir ages of 1400 years or more, at least during the last deglaciation, seem plausible from calibration of the radiocarbon ages using modeled reservoir corrections from previous studies in combination with the microfossil abundance record of the studied core. Paired benthic-planktic radiocarbon dated foraminiferal samples indicate a slow decrease in age difference between surface and bottom waters from the Late Glacial to the Holocene, suggesting circulation and ventilation changes.

Sediment physical properties measured in cores from all the major ridges and plateaus in the central Arctic Ocean were studied in order to analyze the spatial and temporal consistency of sediment depositional regimes during the Quaternary. In total, six physiographically distinct areas are outlined. In five of these, cores can be correlated over large distances through characteristic patterns in sediment physical properties. These areas are (1) the southern Mendeleev Ridge, (2) the northern Mendeleev Ridge and Alpha Ridge, (3) the Lomonosov Ridge, (4) the Morris Jesup Rise and (5) the Yermak Plateau. Averaged downhole patterns in magnetic susceptibility, bulk density and lithostratigraphy were compiled to establish a composite stratigraphy for each area. In the sixth physiographic area, the Chukchi Borderland, repeated ice-grounding during recent glacial periods complicates the stratigraphy and prevents the compilation of a composite stratigraphy using the studied material. By utilizing published age models for the studied cores we are able to show that the northern Mendeleev Ridge and Alpha Ridge have the lowest average late Quaternary sedimentation rates, while intermediate sedimentation rates prevail on the southern Mendeleev Ridge and the Morris Jesup Rise. The second highest sedimentation rate is observed on the Lomonosov Ridge, whereas the average sedimentation rate on the Yermak Plateau is more than twice as high. The close correlation of physical properties within each area suggests uniform variations in sediment transport through time, at least throughout the later part of the Quaternary. The unique stratigraphic characteristics within each area is the product of similar past depositional regimes and are key for furthering our understanding of the evolution of ice drift and current patterns in the central Arctic Ocean.