Abstract
In order to depict the distribution of radiolarians in the sea-floor of the Greenland and Iceland Seas, 31 surface sediment samples were analyzed. Three radiolarian assemblages were defined through Q-mode factor analysis and the importance of each species in each biofacies, was determined by means of a graphic multivariate analysis. The first assemblage (factor 1) is called ‘Arctic Water’ because it dwells in the Arctic Surface Water (ASW). Assemblage 2 inhabits Subarctic Water along the Arctic Front, while assemblage 3 is associated with the Subpolar Water along the Polar Front. Amphimelissa setosa (Cleve) is the most prominent species in sediment samples below Arctic Surface Water, whereas Botryocyrtis platycephala (Petrushevskaya) and Cycladophora davisiana (Ehrenberg) are more prolific below Subarctic Water. Lithelius spiralis (Haeckel) and Artobotrys borealis (Cleve) predominate below Subpolar Water and represent the coldest radiolarian province in the study area.
