Final conference, Rome October 11, 2016 Lithostratigraphic reconstruction of a nearly 20 m-long piston core collected in the sediment drift area west of Svalbard R.G. Lucchi1, C. Caricchi2, P. Del Carlo3, A. Di Roberto3, P. Macri2, L. Sagnotti2 1 Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Borgo Grotta Gigante 42c, 34010 Sgonico (TS), Italy (rglucchi@inogs.it); 2 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy. 3 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione di Pisa, Via della Faggiola, 32 - 56126 Pisa, Italy. Abstract Two long Calypso cores were collected during Eurofleets 2 cruise PREPARED with the geological objectives to 1) define a high-resolution, detailed age model for stratigraphic cross correlation still lacking in this area; 2) to reconstruct past climatic changes including minor scale fluctuations within each climate stage with special emphasis on the Holocene. One of the two cores collected an expanded Holocene sequence nearly 6 m-thick suitable for high-resolution climate reconstruction. Preliminary results seem to confirm the existence of sediment drift originated from the oceanographic configuration determined by the interplay between the shallow Western Spitsbergen Current and the deep Norwegian Deep Sea Water. Introduction The study of contourite drifts is useful for the reconstruction of the oceanographic and climate history of continental margins since these sedimentary deposits typically form along the pathways of major bottom currents (Rebesco et al., 2008). Contourite drifts are characterized by relatively high and continuous accumulation rates, in contrast to adjacent condensed pelagic sequences, generating expanded sedimentary sequences suitable for high-resolution detailed palaeo- reconstructions (Knutz, 2008). The Fram Strait in the north polar area is the only deep-sea open gate through which water masses are exchanged between the Nord Atlantic and Arctic Oceans (Fig.1). Warm Atlantic waters forming the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC, northern continuation of the North Atlantic/Norwegian current) are advected northward across the eastern side of the Fram Strait. The warm WSC is responsible for almost ice-free conditions in the west and north Svalbard area during winter, exerting a strong control on Arctic climate. At the same time, cold Arctic waters (East Greenland Current, Fig.1) descend southward across the western side of the Fram Strait contributing to the maintenance of the Greenland ice cap. According to Eiken and Hinz (1993) bottom currents influenced the sedimentation in the Fram Strait area since the Late Miocene. Two contourite drifts were identified on the seismic profiles collected along the western continental margin of the Svalbard Archipelago between 76-78°N, north of the Storfjorden glacial trough (Rebesco et al., 2013; Fig. 1). Two Calypso cores were collected during the Eurofleets 2- PREPARED cruise on board the RV G.O. Sars (June 2014) with the geological objectives to 1) define a high-resolution age model for stratigraphic cross correlation still lacking in this area; 2) to reconstruct past climatic changes including minor scale fluctuations within each climate stage with Figure 1: Location map the Calypso cores collected during the Eurofleet-2 PREPARED Cruise (red dots) and other Arctic projects (yellow dots). General ocean circulation is also indicated. *6  3& *6  3& (* (* 69  )5$0675$,7 (DVW *UHHQ ODQG &XUUHQW :HVW 6SLWV EHUJHQ &XUUHQW