We compare two marine sediment cores collected from contrasting locations in Kane Basin, northwest Greenland. The two sites differ in terms of how much sediment they receive, the level of primary production, and the source and composition of organic matter. Despite these spatial differences, both records reveal a similar long-term environmental trend, a shift from cold, heavy sea-ice conditions between ca. 1750–1900 CE, towards more open, fresher, and biologically productive waters by 1950 CE.