The southern Yermak Plateau (YP) is situated at the entrance to the Arctic Ocean in the narrow Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) between the Polar and Arctic Fronts, north-west of Svalbard. A gravity core JM10-02GC has been analysed in order to reconstruct paleoceanographic conditions and the movement of the sea ice margin as well as the glacier ice conditions of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet (SBIS) during the Last Interglacial Glacial cycle. The distribution of planktic and benthic foraminifera, planktic and benthic oxygen and carbon isotopes and variations in ice-rafted debris (IRD) has been investigated. The sediment core covers the time interval from the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6/5e transition (Termination II, c. 132 ka BP) to the early Holocene. During Termination II (TII), the SBIS retreated and the sea ice margin was in distal position whereas during MIS 5 to MIS 4 the sea ice margin was close to the core site. Several core intervals interpreted as representing MIS 5e, MIS 5c, MIS 5a, MIS 3 and MIS 1 were barren of calcareous microfossils whereas the intervals representing MIS 4 and MIS 2 were characterised by high productivity (HP) of planktic and benthic foraminifera. These "glacial" HP zones were associated with the open water conditions resulting from the advection of Atlantic Water (AW) and retreat of the sea ice margin. The barren zones during MIS 5, MIS 3 and MIS 1 resulted from the proximity of the sea ice margin whereas during MIS 2 the likely cause was an advance of the SBIS. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.