Magnetic signatures of Heinrich-like detrital layers in the Quaternary of the North Atlantic

• Magnetic grain-size parameters delineate North Atlantic detrital layers since 1.3 Ma.
• Ca/Sr and Si/Sr XRF anomalies both contain IRD with magnetic grain size >20 μm.
• Silicate-rich detrital layers include hematite, not present in carbonate-rich layers.
• Heinirich layer 6 (H6) is different from younger detrital layers at Site U1302/03.

Magnetic parameters are useful for distinguishing North Atlantic Heinrich-like detrital layers from background sediments. Here we compare magnetic properties with XRF scanning data back to 700 ka and 1.3 Ma at IODP Sites U1302–U1303 and U1308, respectively. Multi-domain magnetite, with grain sizes >20 µm, is characteristic of both Ca- and Si-rich detrital layers, as defined by XRF core scanning, confirming the contribution of ice rafting. Reflectance spectra and magnetic parameters distinguish Ca- and Si-rich IRD layers due the presence of high coercivity hematite in Si-rich layers. Heinrich layer 6 (H6) at Site U1302–U1303 is unlike other detrital layers, being marked by a 45-cm thick homogeneous cream-colored clay layer underlain by a thin (5-cm) graded coarse-sand. Comparison of Site U1302/03 and Site U1308 detrital layers implies a dominant Laurentide source for both Ca- and Si-rich detrital layers. At Site U1308, low benthic δ13C values during stadials are in-step with magnetic grain-size coarsening associated with Si-rich detrital layers back to 1.3 Ma, indicating a link between deep-sea ventilation and ice rafting. The surface-sediment tan-colored oxic layer (~2 m thick at Site U1308) yields magnetic hysteresis ratios that are offset from the single-domain to multi-domain (SD–MD) magnetite mixing-line in hysteresis-ratio diagrams. This offset is attributed to maghemite grain-coatings, that form on magnetite in surface sediment, and undergo dissolution as they pass through the oxic/anoxic boundary.