Radiocarbon dates of plant detritus from sedimentary deposits of drill hole Bav-480, Pechora Sea

Data obtained during cruises 7, 11, 13, and 14 of R/V Akademik Sergei Vavilov (1990, 1997, and 1998) contributed a lot to reconstruction of paleogeographic environments that existed in the Barents Sea during the last glaciation maximum. This was possible owing to extensive acoustic profiling with Parasound equipment and use of a new approach to study of the upper part of the sedimentary cover. It is established that during the last glaciation maximum the Barents Sea was substantially smaller. It was almost completely surrounded by ice caps that descended to the shelf from glaciation centers on the land. The sea was connected with the World Ocean only by a narrow strait corresponding to the Bear Trough. Sea areas free of bottom glaciers were covered with floating ice: either by old pack ice or by plates of widespread shelf glaciers. Particular glaciomarine sediments accumulated under the floating ice. Destruction of the shelf glaciers during deglaciation resulted in formation of anomalously thick bottom sediment layers. The Pechora Sea shelf appeared to be above the sea level and was eroded by rivers. During entire Late Quaternary and, probably, the earlier epoch, the South Novaya Zemlya Trough represented an area of continuous marine and glaciomarine sedimentation.