Neodymium isotopes in seawater from the Barents Sea and Fram Strait Arctic-Atlantic gateways

Compared to the Atlantic inflow water, the Nd in the major Arctic Ocean outflow, the Fram Strait, show higher CNd in the surface waters above 150 m, and a higher εNd (−9.8) throughout the entire water column down to 1300 m depth. Sources for the more radiogenic Nd isotopic composition in deep water of the Fram Strait outflow most likely involve boundary exchange with sediments on the shelf and slope as the water passes along the Canadian archipelago. River water is a possible source in the surface water but it also seems likely that Pacific water Nd, modified by interactions on the shelf, is an important component in the Fram Strait surface outflow. Changes in the relative proportions of inflow of river water and flow of Pacific water through the Arctic Ocean could thus influence the isotopic composition of Nd in the North Atlantic.