The highly branched isoprenoid and the open-water phytoplankton biomarker analysis of sediment core SL170 from Baffin Bay

This dataset presents biomarker records from sediment core SL170 (MSM09/02-0455/13; 68°58.15′ N, 59°23.58′ W; 1078 m water depth), recovered from eastern Baffin Bay during the MSM09/02 expedition of R/V Maria S. Merian. The highly branched isoprenoid (IP25) and the open-water phytoplankton biomarker (dinosterol) were analysed to reconstruct past sea ice algal productivity and primary production, respectively, covering the period from ~17,000 to 10,000 years BP. The PDIP25 index was further calculated to provide semi-quantitative estimates of past sea ice cover. Biomarker analyses were carried out at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven.