| 1. |
- Beylich, A. A., et al.
(author)
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Intensity and spatio-temporal variability of fluvial sediment transfers in an Arctic-oceanic periglacial environment in northernmost Swedish Lapland (Latnjavagge catchment)
- 2006
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X. ; 80:1-2, s. 114-130
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intensity and spatio-temporal variability of fluvial sediment transfers and mechanical fluvial denudation were analyzed in the periglacial Latnjavagge catchment (9 km(2); 950-1440 m a.s.l.; 68.20N, 18.30E) in Arctic-oceanic northernmost Swedish Lapland. The present-day rates of fluvial sediment transfer are low. The mean annual mechanical fluvial denudation rate at the inlet of lake Latnjajaure, as calculated after five years of process monitoring (2000-2004), and excluding a "rare rainfall event" which caused 3.2 times higher suspended sediment transport during one day as compared to the total mean annual suspended sediment transport, is 2.3 t km(-2) yr(-1). In years without "rare rainfall events", most of the total annual sediment load is transported in a. few days during annual snowmelt runoff. In the calculation of longer-term sediment budgets, rare rainfall events like the July 20th-21 st, 2004 event have to be considered as essential components. Reliable estimation of the recurrence intervals of such events is problematic. The pattern of ice patches and snow fields within the valley, the steepness of streams and channels and the location of areas showing slushflow activity are the major factors,controlling spatial variability of mechanical fluvial denudation in the drainage basin. The five lakes in Latnjavagge, especially lake Latnjajaure, are significant sediment traps and ground below 1300 m a.s.l. is protected by a very stable and closed vegetation cover and rhizosphere across the entire lower catchment. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Bonow, Johan M., et al.
(author)
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Cenozoic uplift of Nuussuaq and Disko, West Greenland : elevated erosion surfaces as uplift markers of a passive margin
- 2006
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 80:3-4, s. 325-337
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Remnants of a high plateau have been identified on Nuussuaq and Disko, central West Greenland. We interpret the plateau as an erosion surface (the summit erosion surface) formed mainly by a fluvial system and graded close to its former base level and subsequently uplifted to its present elevation. It extends over 150 km east–west, being of low relative relief, broken along faults, tilted westwards in the west and eastwards in the east, and having a maximum elevation of ca. 2 km in central Nuussuaq and Disko. The summit erosion surface cuts across Precambrian basement rocks and Paleocene–Eocene lavas, constraining its age to being substantially younger than the last rift event in the Nuussuaq Basin, which took place during the late Maastrichtian and Danian. The geological record shows that the Nuussuaq Basin was subjected to subsidence of several kilometres during Paleocene–Eocene volcanism and was transgressed by the sea later during the Eocene. By comparing with results from apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance maturity data, it is suggested that formation of the erosion surface was probably triggered by an uplift and erosion event starting between 40 and 30 Ma. Surface formation was completed prior to an uplift event that started between 11 and 10 Ma and caused valley incision. This generation of valleys graded to the new base level and formed a lower erosion surface, at most 1 km below the summit erosion surface, thus indicating the magnitude of its uplift. Formation of this generation of valleys was interrupted by a third uplift event also with a magnitude of 1 km that lifted the landscape to near its present position. Correlation with the fission-track record suggests that this uplift event started between 7 and 2 Ma. Uplift must have been caused initially by tectonism. Isostatic compensation due to erosion and loading and unloading of ice sheets has added to the magnitude of uplift but have not significantly altered the configuration of the surface. It is concluded that the elevations of palaeosurfaces (surfaces not in accordance with present climate or tectonic conditions) on West Greenland's passive margin can be used to define the magnitude and lateral variations of Neogene uplift events. The striking similarity between the landforms in West Greenland and those on many other passive margins is also noted.
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| 3. |
- Bonow, Johan M.
(author)
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Re-exposed basement landforms in the Disko region, West Greenland : disregarded data for estimation of glacial erosion and uplift modelling
- 2005
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 74:1-4, s. 106-127
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Classifications of large-scale landscapes in Greenland have traditionally been based on type and intensity of glacial erosion, with the general idea that present landforms are mainly the result of erosion from ice sheets and glaciers. However, on southern Disko and in areas offshore in Disko Bugt, a basement surface has preserved remnants of weathered gneiss and pre-Paleocene landforms, recently exhumed from Paleocene basalt. Isolated hills and lineaments have been mapped in a digital terrain model and aerial photographs. Offshore have hills been mapped from seismic lines. The medium size bedrock forms on southern Disko as tors, clefts and roche moutonées have been studied in the field. Remnant saprolites were inventoried, sampled and analysed according to grain size and clay mineralogy. The basement surface retains saprolites up to 8 m thick in close relation to the cover rocks. The landforms in the basement rocks belong essentially to an etched surface only slightly remodelled by glacial erosion and, below the highest coastline, also by wave action. The outline of hills is governed by two lineament directions, ENE–WSW representing the schistocity of the gneiss and NW–SE fracture zones. These structures are thus interpreted to have been exploited by the deep weathering while the frequent N–S lineaments have not and thus might be younger. Main ice-flow has been from the NE and has resulted in plucking of SW facing lee sides, however the resulting bedrock forms are mainly controlled by structures and orientation of joints. The identification of re-exposed sub-Paleocene etch forms on Disko and the hills of similar size offshore, forming a hilly relief, have implications for identification of a hilly relief south of Disko Bugt, its relation to younger planation surfaces as well as for conclusions of uplift events.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Clemmensen, Lars B., et al.
(author)
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The evolution of Holocene coastal dunefields, Jutland, Denmark: A record of climate change over the past 5000 years
- 2009
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X. ; 105:3-4, s. 303-313
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Coastal dunefields have developed on the west coast of Jutland in Denmark over the past 5000 years. The dunefields are situated in a temperate climate zone with frequent high energy wind events. Dunefield development was characterized by repeated periods of transgressive dune formation punctuated by periods of dune stabilization and soil formation. The chronology of dunefield evolution is based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of peaty palaeosols (24 samples) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL dating of aeolian sand deposits (19 samples). These dates indicate that the completeness of the stratigraphic record varies considerably, but that the timing of aeolian activity events was identical in the dunefields examined here. Initiation of aeolian activity occurred around 2200 BC, 800 BC, AD 100, AD 1050-1200, and between AD 1550 and 1650. Proxy-climate data from bogs in southwestern Sweden suggest that these periods of dunefield activity were initiated during wet/cool summers. Most likely these climatic situations were associated with a more frequent passage of cyclones across Denmark in the summer seasons (increased storminess) causing aeolian sand movement and dune formation. The continued removal of vegetation in Jutland between 4000 BC and AD 1850 allowed the aeolian sand, when first activated, to move more and more easily across the coastal plains; the final phase of aeolian sand movement between AD 1550-1650 and 1900 had catastrophic implications for many coastal inhabitants in the region. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 6. |
- Ehsani, Amir Houshang, et al.
(author)
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Geomorphometric feature analysis using morphometric parameterization and artificial neural networks
- 2008
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 99:1-4, s. 1-12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents a semi-automatic method using an unsupervised neural network to analyze geomorphometric features as landform elements. The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) provided detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) for all land masses between 60 degrees N and 57 degrees S. Exploiting these data for recognition and extraction of geomorphometric features is a challenging task. Results obtained with two methods, Wood's morphometric parameterization and the Self Organizing Map (SOM), are presented in this paper. Four morphometric parameters (slope, minimum curvature, maximum curvature and cross-sectional curvature) were derived by fitting a bivariate quadratic surface with a window size of 5 by 5 to the SRTM DEM. These parameters were then used as input to the two methods. Wood's morphometric parameterization provides point-based features (peak, pit and pass), line-based features (channel and ridge) and area-based features (planar). Since point-based features are defined as having a very small slope when their neighbors are considered, two tolerance values (slope tolerance and curvature tolerance) are introduced. Selection of suitable values for the tolerance parameters is crucial for obtaining useful results. The SOM as an unsupervised neural network algorithm is employed for the classification of the same morphometric parameters into ten classes characterized by morphometric position (crest, channel, ridge and plan area) subdivided by slope ranges. These terrain features are generic landform element and can be used to improve mapping and modeling of soils, vegetation, and land use, as well as ecological, hydrological and geomorphological features. These landform elements are the smallest homogeneous divisions of the land surface at the given resolution. The result showed that the SOM is an efficient scalable tool for analyzing geomorphometric features as meaningful landform elements, and uses the, full potential of morphometric characteristics.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Ericson, Kerstin, 1958, et al.
(author)
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Fractures and drainage in the granite mountainous area - A study from Sierra Nevada, USA
- 2005
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X. ; 64:1-2, s. 97-116
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper provides an analysis of relationships between drainage patterns and fractures in the part of Sierra Nevada, California, north of the Yosemite Valley. Bedrock is Cretaceous granite and cut by numerous lineaments of various orientation, length and geomorphic expression. We have mapped fractures and drainage lines from aerial photographs, 1:40000 scale, in four test areas ranging in size from 32.5 to 266km(2). Azimuths are shown on rose diagrams for fractures and drainage lines and then visually and statistically compared. The coincidence of drainage and fracture patterns is strong, which implies causal relationships. In plan, the majority of valleys follow fractures even if this locally means a different orientation in respect to the regional slope arising from tectonic tilt of the range. Main streams occupy deeply incised troughs coincident with 'master fractures' of regional extent. Among two principal fracture directions, SSW-NNE to SW-NE and WSW-ENE, the former exerts more control on the drainage lines. The presence of a central zone of structural weakness within the major valleys provided significant constraints for the course of glacial erosion and may explain why multiple Pleistocene glaciers did not succeed in transforming valley cross-sections into expected U-shapes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 9. |
- Goodfellow, Bradley, et al.
(author)
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Deciphering a non-glacial/glacial landscape mosaic in the northern Swedish mountains
- 2008
-
In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X. ; 93:3-4, s. 213-232
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Relict surfaces contain information on past surface processes and long-term landscape evolution. A detailed investigation of relict non-glacial surfaces in a formerly glaciated mountain landscape of northern Sweden was completed, based on interpretation of colour infrared aerial photographs, analysis in a GIS, and fieldwork. Working backwards from landscape to process, surfaces were classified according to large- and small-scale morphologies that result from the operation of non-glacial processes, the degree of weathering, regolith characteristics, and the style of glacial modification. Surfaces were also compared in the GIS according to elevation, slope angle, and bedrock lithology. The study revealed five types of relict non-glacial surfaces but also two types of extensively weathered glacial surfaces that were transitional to relict non-glacial surfaces, illustrating spatially variable processes and rates of non-glacial and glacial landscape evolution. Rather than being static preglacial remnants, relict non-glacial surfaces are dynamic features that have continued to evolve during the Quaternary. The classification provides hypotheses for landscape evolution that can be field tested through, for example, terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide studies and geochemical analyses of fine matrix materials. The classification may be applicable to relict non-glacial surfaces in other formerly glaciated landscapes
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| 10. |
- Gustavsson, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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A new symbol- and GIS-based detailed geomorphological mapping system: renewal of a scientific discipline for understanding landscape development
- 2006
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 77:1-2, s. 90-111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents a comprehensive and flexible new geomorphological combination legend that expands the possibilities of current geomorphological mapping concepts. The new legend is presented here at scale of 1:10,000 and it combines symbols for hydrography, morphometry/morphography, lithology and structure with colour variations for process/genesis and geologic age. The piece-by-piece legend forms a “geomorphological alphabet” that offers a high diversity of geomorphological information and a possibility for numerous combinations of information. This results in a scientific map that is rich in data and which is more informative than most previous maps but is based on a simple legend. The system is developed to also be used as a basis for applications in GIS. The symbol-based information in the geomorphological maps can be digitally stored as a powerful database with thematic layers and attribute tables. By combining and further developing aspects of different classical mapping systems and techniques into expanded data combinations, new possibilities of presentation and storage are developed and thus a strong scientific tool is provided for landscape configuration and the reconstruction of its development; in turn the combination paves the way for specific thematic applications. The new system is illustrated for two contrasting landscape types: the first is located on the border of Vorarlberg, western Austria, and Liechtenstein in a glacially influenced, high altitude alpine setting that is strongly modified by various degradation processes; the second area represents a formerly glaciated region in Dalarna, central Sweden near Mora, an area that is characterized by a variety of aeolian, fluvial, glaciofluvial and lacustrine depositional and erosional landforms and also reflects isostatic uplift. The new method functions well for both areas and results in detailed scientific outlines of both landscape types.
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| 11. |
- Gustavsson, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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New geomorphological mapping system used at different scales in a Swedish glaciated area
- 2009
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 110:1-2, s. 37-44
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A new, detailed geomorphological mapping system is tested at different scales for presentation of landscape configuration and interpretation of landscape development of a formerly glaciated area near Mora in central Sweden. The geomorphological maps are based on fieldwork supported by aerial photographs. The area contains landforms created by mass movement, glacial, glaciofluvial, fluvial, lacustrine, aeolian and anthropogenic processes. In addition, geomorphological effects of isostatic uplift, which has caused a c. 220 m rise of the former Ancylus lake shoreline in the area since the deglaciation, can be seen. The new system is tested at scales 1:5000, 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 using the same legend. At the largest scale information on morphography/morphometry, lithology, and hydrography are included in the map as are details on polygenetic origins of landforms. With each step from the 1:5000 to the 1:50,000 scale some generalisation is needed at the cost of descriptive detail. In turn, with smaller scale, the general overview of the area increases and the impression from the map gradually becomes more dominated by genesis. The emphasis of the map thus changes from a presentation with a high level of descriptive information at the largest scale to a more interpretative overview at smaller scales. The scale transformation shows that the geomorphological presentation of the landscape is a function of both the landscape hierarchy and the geomorphological context within an area. The use of the new geomorphological mapping system at the three scales shows that the tested mapping legend can be used without modification from one scale to another. This is mainly because the geomorphological information parameters are separated in the legend, and that explanatory information is gained from combinations of them. The possibility to apply the same legend at different scales for an area facilitates the choice of an appropriate mapping scale for specific purposes and applications. The new mapping system also has the advantage that the data can be easily transformed into a GIS ESRI geodatabase containing the same "raw-data" as the original map. The differences of information at the different scales illustrate problems that are also relevant for use and presentation of geomorphological data in a GIS and three examples of scale problems in relation to GIS data handling are outlined.
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| 12. |
- Gustavsson, Marcus, et al.
(author)
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Structure and contents of a new geomorphological GIS database linked to a geomorphological map - with an example from Liden, central Sweden
- 2008
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 95:3-4, s. 335-349
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper presents the structure and contents of a standardised geomorphological GIS database that stores comprehensive scientific geomorphological data and constitutes the basis for processing and extracting spatial thematic data. The geodatabase contains spatial information on morphography/morphometry, hydrography, lithology, genesis, processes and age. A unique characteristic of the GIS geodatabase is that it is constructed in parallel with a new comprehensive geomorphological mapping system designed with GIS applications in mind. This close coupling enables easy digitalisation of the information from the geomorphological map into the GIS database for use in both scientific and practical applications. The selected platform, in which the geomorphological vector, raster and tabular data are stored, is the ESRI Personal geodatabase. Additional data such as an image of the original geomorphological map, DEMs or aerial orthographic images are also included in the database. The structure of the geomorphological database presented in this paper is exemplified for a study site around Liden, central Sweden.
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| 13. |
- Haussmann, Natalie, et al.
(author)
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Interactions between a cushion plant (Azorella selago) and surface sediment transport on sub-Antarctic Marion Island
- 2009
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 107:3-4, s. 139-148
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On sub-Antarctic Marion Island cushions of the dominant vascular plant species, Azorella selago, interact with the geomorphology of fellfield landscapes by affecting sediment distribution and ultimately terrace formation. Here, to understand the consequences of Azorella cushions for substrate movement and sorting, we quantified the size and shape of Azorella cushions and the grain size distribution of sediment surrounding these cushions, using a combination of image analysis approaches. Results show that as cushions become larger, they tend to become more elongated and grow more perpendicular to the slope. Mean and variance of grain size were greater upslope of Azorella cushions, while the number of particles was higher downslope of cushions, although these differences were not significant at all sites studied. Differences between upslope and downslope particle sizes were, however, not related to cushion elongation or growth angle as had been expected. The observed sediment partitioning is likely caused by a combination of frost-related sediment transport and Azorella cushions acting as sediment obstructions. Understanding these interactions between Azorella cushions and the landscape is especially important in the light of recent warming and drying on the island, as particle size affects soil properties such as water-holding capacity and frost susceptibility.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Stroeven, Arjen, et al.
(author)
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Landscape analysis of the Huang He headwaters, NE Tibetan Plateau — Patterns of glacial and fluvial erosion
- 2009
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 103:2, s. 212-226
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The large-scale geomorphology of the Huang He (Yellow River) headwaters, centered around the Bayan Har Shan (5267 m asl) in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, is dominated by an uplifted remnant of a low-relief relict plateau with several mountain ranges. We have performed geomorphological mapping using SRTM topographic data and Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite imagery to evaluate landscape characteristics and patterns, and to investigate the relative importance of different erosional processes in the dissection of this plateau remnant. The distribution of valley morphologies indicates that the eastern and southern margins of the plateau remnant have been extensively dissected by the Huang He and Chang Jiang (Yangtze) rivers and associated tributaries, while the mountain ranges have valley morphologies with U-shaped cross-sections that indicate large impacts from glacial erosion during Quaternary glaciations. An east-west decrease in the abundance of glacial valleys in mountains above 4800 m asl suggests that the diminishing size of the mountain blocks, coupled with increased continentality, resulted in more restricted glaciations to the west. Glacial valleys in mountain blocks on the plateau remnant are wider and deeper than adjacent fluvial valleys. This indicates that, integrated over time, the glacial system has been more effective in eroding the mountains of the relict upland surface than the fluvial system. This erosion relationship is reversed, however, on the plateau margin where dramatic fluvial rejuvenation in valleys that are part of the Huang He and Chang Jiang watersheds has consumed whatever glacial morphology existed. A remarkable correspondence exists between the outline of the relict plateau remnant and the outline that has been proposed for the Huang He Ice Sheet. This coincidence could mean that the Huang He Ice Sheet was larger than originally proposed, but that evidence for this has been consumed by fluvial incision at the plateau margin. Alternatively, this coincidence could indicate that what has been described as an ice sheet border is merely the outline of a relict plateau landscape. In apparent support of the latter, the absence of large-scale glacial geomorphological evidence on the plains of the relict plateau surface is not consistent with the hypothesis of a Huang He Ice Sheet.
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| 17. |
- Stroeven, Arjen P., et al.
(author)
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Glacial landscape evolution — Implications for glacial processes, patterns and reconstructions
- 2008
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In: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 97:1-2, s. 1-4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This special issue presents a collection of papers that address a wide range of important challenges and exciting advances in the field of glacial landscape evolution. Primarily, these papers reflect persistent uncertainty that surrounds the mechanisms and timescales of glacial landscape evolution. For example, estimates of the duration of glacial occupancy required for the evolution of characteristic glacial valley forms from previously fluvial landscapes range from 100 kyrs for landscapes beneath large ice sheets (Jamieson et al.) to ~ 400–600 kyrs for glaciated alpine terrains (Brook et al.). Further, the mechanisms of glacial erosion are debated through analyses of the importance of ice thickness (Brocklehurst et al.; van der Beek and Bourbon), ice surface steepness (Vieira) and, in the case of large ice sheets, the co-evolution of ice sheet thermal regime, dynamics, and subglacial topography (Kleman et al.; Swift et al.). Debate concerning the potential climatic impacts of landscape evolution in alpine terrains is represented by van der Beek and Bourbon, who infer a significant increase in relief as a direct result of glacial erosion, and by Brocklehurst et al. and Heimsath and McGlynn, who demonstrate respectively that glacial relief production can be surprisingly modest and that rates of glacial erosion may be lower than those for fluvial incision. Further confirmation that valleys beneath large ice sheets evolve through selective linear erosion comes from studies that have combined geomorphological evidence with cosmogenic nuclide (Briner et al.) and apatite (U–Th)/He thermochronometry (Swift et al.), and the resulting style of landscape evolution is demonstrated by the antiquity of fjords in East Greenland (Swift et al.) and of deep erosion zones and thick drift covered zones in Fennoscandia (Kleman et al.), although the location of areal scouring zones may be subject to major alteration during single glacial events (Kleman et al.). Another set of papers shows that analyses of glacial lineation systems continue to provide important data on the dynamics of glacial landscape evolution, whether the lineations are formed underneath ice streams (Bradwell et al.; Andreassen et al.) or not (Jansson and Glasser), and whether they indicate intricate patterns of landscape modification (Andreassen et al.) or preservation (Jansson and Glasser). The final three papers address rarely-reported issues relating to landscapes of glacial deposition, including moraine degradation (Putkonen et al.), proglacial hydrogeology (Robinson et al.), and the evolution of hummocky-till topography (Clayton et al.).
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