| 1. |
- Hogan, Kelly A., et al.
(författare)
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Glacial sedimentation, fluxes and erosion rates associated with ice retreat in Petermann Fjord and Nares Strait, north-west Greenland
- 2020
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Ingår i: The Cryosphere. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1994-0416 .- 1994-0424. ; 14:1, s. 261-286
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Petermann Fjord is a deep ( > 1000 m) fjord that incises the coastline of north-west Greenland and was carved by an expanded Petermann Glacier, one of the six largest outlet glaciers draining the modern Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS). Between 5 and 70 m of unconsolidated glacigenic material infills in the fjord and adjacent Nares Strait, deposited as the Petermann and Nares Strait ice streams retreated through the area after the Last Glacial Maximum. We have investigated the deglacial deposits using seismic stratigraphic techniques and have correlated our results with high-resolution bathymetric data and core lithofacies. We identify six seismoacoustic facies in more than 3500 line kilometres of subbottom and seismic-reflection profiles throughout the fjord, Hall Basin and Kennedy Channel. Seismo-acoustic facies relate to bedrock or till surfaces (Facies I), subglacial deposition (Facies II), deposition from meltwater plumes and icebergs in quiescent glacimarine conditions (Facies III, IV), deposition at grounded ice margins during stillstands in retreat (grounding-zone wedges; Facies V) and the redeposition of material downslope (Facies IV). These sediment units represent the total volume of glacial sediment delivered to the mapped marine environment during retreat. We calculate a glacial sediment flux for the former Petermann ice stream as 1080-1420 m(3) a(-1) per metre of ice stream width and an average deglacial erosion rate for the basin of 0.29-0.34 mm a(-1). Our deglacial erosion rates are consistent with results from Antarctic Peninsula fjord systems but are several times lower than values for other modern GrIS catchments. This difference is attributed to fact that large volumes of surface water do not access the bed in the Petermann system, and we conclude that glacial erosion is limited to areas overridden by streaming ice in this large outlet glacier setting. Erosion rates are also presented for two phases of ice retreat and confirm that there is significant variation in rates over a glacial-deglacial transition. Our new glacial sediment fluxes and erosion rates show that the Petermann ice stream was approximately as efficient as the palaeo-Jakobshavn Isbra at eroding, transporting and delivering sediment to its margin during early deglaciation.
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| 2. |
- Pérez, Lara F., et al.
(författare)
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Late Quaternary sedimentary processes in the central Arctic Ocean inferred from geophysical mapping
- 2020
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Ingår i: Geomorphology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-555X .- 1872-695X. ; 369
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cryospheric events in the Arctic Ocean have been largely studied through the imprints of ice sheets, ice shelves and icebergs in the seafloor morphology and sediment stratigraphy. Subglacial morphologies have been identified in the shallowest regions of the Arctic Ocean, up to 1200 m water depth, revealing the extent and dynamics of Arctic ice sheets during the last glacial periods. However, less attention has been given to sedimentary features imaged in the vicinity of the ice-grounded areas. Detailed interpretation of the sparse available swath bathymetry and sub-bottom profiles from the Lomonosov Ridge and the Amundsen Basin shows the occurrence of mass transport deposits (MTDs) and sediment waves in the central Arctic Ocean. The waxing and waning ice sheets and shelves in the Arctic Ocean have influenced the distribution of MTDs in the vicinity of grounding-ice areas, i.e. along the crest of Lomonosov Ridge. Due to the potential of Arctic sediments to hold gas hydrates, their destabilization should not be ruled out as trigger for sediment instability. Sediment waves formed by the interaction of internal waves that propagate along water mass interfaces with the bathymetric barrier of Lomonosov Ridge. This work describes the distribution and formation mechanisms of MTDs and sediment waves in the central Arctic Ocean in relation to grounding ice and internal waves between water masses, respectively. The distribution of these features provides new insight into past cryospheric and oceanographic conditions of the central Arctic Ocean.
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