Ingólfsson, Ó. 2011. Fingerprints of Quaternary glaciations on
Transcription
Ingólfsson, Ó. 2011. Fingerprints of Quaternary glaciations on
Geological Society, London, Special Publications Fingerprints of Quaternary glaciations on Svalbard Ó. Ingólfsson Geological Society, London, Special Publications 2011; v. 354; p. 15-31 doi: 10.1144/SP354.2 Email alerting service click here to receive free e-mail alerts when new articles cite this article Permission request click here to seek permission to re-use all or part of this article Subscribe click here to subscribe to Geological Society, London, Special Publications or the Lyell Collection Notes Downloaded by guest on May 28, 2011 © The Geological Society of London 2011 Fingerprints of Quaternary glaciations on Svalbard Ó. INGÓLFSSON Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, Is-101 Reykjavı́k, Iceland and The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) (e-mail: [email protected]) Abstract: Marine and terrestrial archives can be used to reconstruct the development of glacially influenced depositional environments on Svalbard in time and space during the late Cenozoic. The marine archives document sedimentary environments, deposits and landforms associated with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) when Svalbard and the Barents Sea were covered by continental-scale marine-based ice sheet, the last deglaciation and the work of tidewater glaciers in interglacial setting as today. The terrestrial archives record large-scale Quaternary glacial sculpturing and repeated build-up and decay of the Svalbard– Barents Sea ice sheet. The fingerprinting of Quaternary glaciations on Svalbard reflects the transition from a full-glacial mode, with very extensive coverage by the Svalbard –Barents Sea ice sheet and subsequent deglaciation, to an interglacial mode with valley, cirque and tidewater glaciers as active agents of erosion and deposition. Conceptual models for Svalbard glacial environments are useful for understanding developments of glacial landforms and sediments in formerly glaciated areas. Svalbard glacial environments, past and present, may serve as analogues for interpreting geological records of marine-terminating and marine-based ice sheets in the past. Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that comprises all islands between 748N–818N and 108E–358E (Fig. 1). The principal islands are Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet, Barentsøya, Edgeøya, Kong Karls Land, Prins Karls Forland and Bjørnøya (Bear Island). The total area of Svalbard is 62 160 km2. The West Spitsbergen Current, which is a branch of the North Atlantic Current, reaches the west coast of Svalbard, keeping water open most of the year. The present climate of Svalbard is Arctic, with mean annual air temperature of c. 26 8C at sea level and as low as 215 8C in the high mountains. Most of Svalbard is situated within the zone of continuous permafrost (Humlum et al. 2003). Precipitation at sea level is low, only c. 200 mm water equivalent (w.e.) in central Spitsbergen and c. 400 –600 mm w.e. along the western and eastern coasts of the island. The Svalbard landscape, in particularly the island of Spitsbergen, is generally mountainous with the highest elevation of c. 1700 m a.s.l. on north-eastern Spitsbergen. Large glacially eroded fjords are numerous, particularly at the northern and western coasts of Spitsbergen where the Wijdefjorden, Isfjorden and Van Mijenfjorden fjords have lengths of 108, 107 and 83 km, respectively. Some coastal areas are characterized by strandflat topography: low-lying bedrock plains often blanketed by raised beaches. About 60% of Svalbard is covered by glaciers (Hagen et al. 1993, 2003), with many outlet glaciers terminating in the sea. Svalbard ice caps and glaciers cover about 36 600 km2, with an estimated total volume of c. 7000 km3 (Hagen et al. 1993). Most of the ice volume is contained in the highland ice fields and ice caps on Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet, but large valley glaciers and cirque glaciers are frequent along both the west and east coasts of Spitsbergen. Small ice caps also exist on the eastern islands, Edgeøya and Barentsøya (Fig. 1). On Spitsbergen, glaciation is most extensive in areas near the eastern and western coasts, where many glaciers terminate in the sea. In contrast, glaciers in the central part of the island are smaller, mainly because of low precipitation (Humlum 2002). A significant number of glaciers in Svalbard are of the surging type. The surges are relatively short intervals (,1 to .10 a) of extraordinary fast flow which transfer mass rapidly down-glacier, punctuating much longer quiescent periods (,10 to .200 a) characterized by stagnation when ice builds up in an upper accumulation area forming a reservoir of mass for the next surge (Dowdeswell et al. 1991, 1999; Lønne 2004; Sund 2006). Lefauconnier & Hagen (1991) suggested that the majority of Svalbard glaciers surged. The mass balance of many glaciers in Svalbard is partly controlled by snowdrift during the winter (Humlum et al. 2005). The equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) rises on a transect from west to east across Spitsbergen (Fig. 1), reflecting the distribution of precipitation very well. On Prins Karls Forland and along the central west coast it lies at 300 m a.s.l., but reaches .700 m in the highlands of north-eastern Spitsbergen. There are two end-member modes of glacierization on Svalbard: a full-glacial mode, when Svalbard and the Barents Sea were covered by a large marine-based ice sheet, and an interglacial mode (like today) when the Svalbard glacial system is dominated by highland ice fields, ice caps and numerous valley and cirque glaciers. The From: Martini, I. P., French, H. M. & Pérez Alberti, A. (eds) Ice-Marginal and Periglacial Processes and Sediments. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 354, 15– 31. DOI: 10.1144/SP354.2 0305-8719/11/$15.00 # The Geological Society of London 2011. 16 Ó. INGÓLFSSON Fig. 1. The Svalbard archipelago with distribution pattern of the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) given as 100 m contour intervals (modified from Hagen et al. 2003). The islands of Hopen (SE from the Svalbard archipelago) and Bjørnøya (midway between Norwegian mainland and Spitsbergen) are not on the map. full-glacial mode leaves pronounced fingerprints on the continental shelf margins and slopes, and during deglaciation sediments and landforms are deposited on the continental shelf and in fjords around Svalbard. Most sedimentation occurs subglacially in fjords and on the shelf, and ice-marginally on the continental break and slope. There is prevailing erosion inside the present coast, but a strong signal of glacial isostasy in response to deglaciation where sets of raised beaches mark deglaciation and marine transgression. The interglacial mode is characterized by fjord and valley sedimentation below and in front of polythermal and surging glaciers. The interglacial mode of glacierization produces landform-sediment assemblages that can be related to the tidewater glacier landsystem (Ottesen & Dowdeswell 2006), the glaciated valley landsystem (Eyles 1983) and the surging glacier landsystem (Evans & Rea 1999). The glacial fingerprinting on Svalbard is primarily reflecting the transition from a full-glacial mode to an interglacial mode. Full-glacial-mode sediments and landforms The timing of the onset of Cenozoic Northern Hemisphere high-latitude glaciations is not well known. Ice rafted debris (IRD) and foraminiferal data from Arctic basin deep-sea sediment cores suggests that episodical perennial sea ice might have occurred as early as the middle Eocene 47.5 million years ago (Ma) (Stickley et al. 2009). It is recognized that sea-ice cover existed in the central Arctic basin by the middle Miocene (Darby 2008; Krylov et al. 2008), but ice-sheet build-up over the Svalbard– Barents Sea region probably did not initiate until the Pliocene– Pleistocene, 3.6– 2.4 Ma (Knies et al. 2009). Sejrup et al. (2005) suggested that extensive shelf glaciations started around Svalbard at 1.6–1.3 Ma. The number of full-scale ice-sheet glaciations over Svalbard–Barents Sea is not known, but Solheim et al. (1996) suggest at least 16 major glacial expansion events occurred over the past 1 Ma. Laberg et al. (2010) reconstructed the FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD late Pliocene –Pleistocene history of the Barents Sea ice sheet, based on three-dimensional seismic data from the south-western Barents Sea continental margin. They inferred that a temperate Barents Sea ice sheet with channelized meltwater flow developed during the late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene. More polar ice conditions and a Barents Sea ice sheet that included large ice streams, with little or no channelized meltwater flow, occurred in the Middle and Late Pleistocene. There are both marine and terrestrial geological archives that highlight full-glacial-mode conditions and subsequent deglaciation. Marine archives The dimensions and dynamics of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Svalbard –Barents Sea ice sheet are reflected in the submarine sediments and landforms preserved on the seafloor of the deglaciated shelves and fjords (Ottesen et al. 2005). Marine archives that contain information on former ice-extent and ice dynamics include the following. Shelf bathymetry. Landforms include glacial troughs, submarine transverse ridges, mega-scale glacial lineations, elongated drumlins and rhombohedral ridge systems. These delineate the drainage of glaciers and show that the shelf areas have been shaped by erosion and deposition below and in front of moving outlet glaciers and ice streams. High-resolution seismic records. These show glacial unconformities and give information on thickness, extensions and architecture of sediments above basement rocks. These records signify the extent of glacial erosion and subsequent deposition on the shelf. Sediment cores. These include sedimentological and petrographic analyses for identifying tills and glaciomarine sediments. Sediment cores are used to verify seismic records. The tills are first-order evidence on former ice extent, and 14C dates from glaciomarine sediments provide constraining minimum dates for deglaciation of the shelf areas. The seafloor morphology of the Svalbard margin west and north of the archipelago is characterized by a series of deep fjord-trough systems separated from one another by intervening shallow banks. This is caused by the actions of ice sheets and ice streams during the Pleistocene, where the extent of the Svalbard –Barents ice sheet during peak glaciations was repeatedly limited by the shelf edge (Solheim et al. 1996; Vorren et al. 1998). Sejrup et al. (2005) concluded that the morphology strongly reflected that fast-moving ice streams had repeatedly entered the continental shelf areas, creating numerous glacial troughs/channels that 17 are separated by shallow bank areas. Less dynamic ice probably existed on shallower banks (Landvik et al. 2005; Sejrup et al. 2005; Ottesen et al. 2007). Studies of large-scale margin morphology and seismic profiles have identified large submarine trough-mouth fans (TMF) at the mouths of several major cross-shelf troughs (Fig. 2) (Vorren et al. 1989; Sejrup et al. 2005). These are stacked units of glaciogenic debris flows interbedded with hemipelagic sediments displaying thickness maxima along the shelf edge, and reflect direct sediment delivery from an ice stream reaching the shelf edge (Vorren et al. 1989; Vorren & Laberg 1997). Andersen et al. (1996) defined five lithofacies groups from cores retrieved from the western Svalbard continental slope. Laminated-to-layered mud and turbidites reflect post-depositional reworking of the shelf banks, caused by eustatic sea-level fall during ice growth. Hemipelagic mud represents the background sediments and is evenly dispersed over the entire continental margin. Homogeneous and heterogeneous diamictons were deposited during glacial melt events (hemipelagic mud with ice-rafted debris) and during peak glaciation on the submarine fans (debris-flow deposits). Large-scale slope failures have affected the glaciogenic deposits along the western Barents Sea margin (Kuvaas & Kristoffersen 1996; Laberg & Vorren 1996). The largest TMFs occur in front of the Storfjorden and Bear Island trough mouths (Fig. 2), probably reflecting where the largest Svalbard–Barents Sea palaeo-ice streams entered the western shelf break (Faleide et al. 1996; Vorren & Laberg 1997; Andreassen et al. 2008). The oldest Storfjorden and Bear Island TMF sediments have been estimated to be c. 1.6 Ma (Forsberg et al. 1999; Butt et al. 2000). Whereas TMFs can be regarded as archives of numerous glaciations, most sediments and landforms on the shelf and in the fjords relate to the LGM and subsequent deglaciation. End-moraines have been identified at several locations on the shelf (Ottesen et al. 2005, 2007; Ottesen & Dowdeswell 2009), suggesting outlet glaciers and ice streams draining the Svalbard fjords and a shelf-edge glaciation along the major part of the margin during the LGM. Ottesen et al. (2005, 2007) and Ottesen & Dowdeswell (2009) recognized an assemblage of sediments and landforms that can be used to infer the flow and dynamics of the last ice sheet on Svalbard (Fig. 3). They distinguished between inter-ice-stream and ice-stream glacial landform assemblages, which reflect different glacial dynamics associated with ice streams in fjords and troughs and slower moving ice between the troughs and ice streams. They identified five subsets of landforms that make up the inter-icestream glacial landform assemblage, and labelled 18 Ó. INGÓLFSSON Fig. 2. Location of large submarine trough-mouth fans (TMF), reflecting where the largest Svalbard– Barents Sea palaeo-ice streams entered the western shelf break (modified from Vorren et al. 1989). them 1 to 5 by their relative age of deposition (Fig. 3a). Landforms relating to ice advance to the shelf edge. These are glacial lineations orientated in the direction of ice flow across the shelf, and a well-defined linear belt of hummocky terrain inferred to represent the shelf-edge ice grounding zone (1 on Fig. 3a). The glacial lineations are sets of parallel subdued ridges that have amplitudes of less than 1 m and a wavelength of several hundred metres. The hummocky belt is a well-defined, continual and linear belt of irregular hummocky terrain about one kilometre in width, where hummocks and ridges have amplitudes of c. 5 m. The belt terminates abruptly at the shelf edge (Fig. 3a), and Ottesen & Dowdeswell (2009) suggest that this terrain represents the grounding zone of an ice margin. Landforms of ice retreat across the shelf during deglaciation. These are large and small transverse moraine ridges; small ridges are interpreted to be retreat moraines whereas the larger ridges probably mark stillstands during retreat of a grounded ice margin (2 on Fig. 3a). The lateral continuity of the ridges over a number of kilometres also implies systematic retreat along a wide ice front. Landforms of ice retreat from fjord mouths to fjord heads. These are arcuate moraines (suggesting possible glacial re-advance to fjord mouths and/or stillstands during deglaciation), crag-and-tail features and small transverse ridges (suggesting active ice in fjords prior to deglaciation). The crag-and-tail landforms (3 on Fig. 3a) are streamlined features with an upstream core of bedrock and glacial sediments deposited in lee of the bedrock knob, produced at the bed of moving ice. The sediment-landform sets (4) and (5) (Fig. 3a) defined by Ottesen & Dowdeswell (2009) were produced during the Holocene and belong to interglacial-mode tidewater glacier sedimentlandform assemblages. These include basin fills within fjords (4), representing fine-grained sediment deposition linked to the discharge of turbid meltwater from tidewater glacier margins and submarine slides from steep fjord walls, demonstrating slope instability. Landforms of recent ice re-advance and retreat at fjord heads (5) include large terminal moraines within a few kilometres of present tidewater glacier margins, recording re-advance associated with the Little Ice Age and subsequent retreat marked by deposition of small, sometimes annual transverse ridges. The ice-stream glacial landform assemblage (Fig. 3b) of Ottesen & Dowdeswell (2009) recognizes sediment-landform subsets that characterize the action of active ice streams in cross-shelf troughs. Mega-scale glacial lineations and lateral icestream moraines. The mega-scale glacial lineations are streamlined linear and curvilinear submarine features elongated in the direction of the long axis of the depressions, observed in several major fjords and cross-shelf troughs on the Svalbard FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD 19 Fig. 3. Schematic models of submarine glacial landforms on Svalbard continental margins. (a) An inter-ice-stream glacial landform assemblage, located between fast-flowing ice streams. (b) An ice-stream glacial landform assemblage, where fast-flowing ice was fed from large interior drainage basins. The landforms are labelled by their relative age of deposition, where 1 denotes the oldest landform (modified from Ottesen & Dowdeswell 2009). 20 Ó. INGÓLFSSON margin (Ottesen et al. 2007; Ottesen & Dowdeswell 2009). They vary from hundreds of metres to more than 10 km in length and up to 15 m in height. The mega-scale lineations probably result from softsediment deformation at the base of fast-flowing ice streams (Dowdeswell et al. 2004). Lateral ice-stream moraines (1 on Fig. 3b) are individual linear ridges of tens of kilometres in length and up to c. 40 –60 m high that have been observed along some of the lateral margins of cross-shelf troughs in Svalbard. Ottesen et al. (2005, 2007) described linear ridges of tens of kilometres in length and up to 50 m in relative elevation running along the lateral margins of the Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden cross-shelf troughs as they approach the shelf break west of Svalbard. Sub-bottom profilers do not generally achieve acoustic penetration of these ridges, implying that they are made up of relatively coarse diamictic sediments. These extensive lateral ridges are interpreted to define the lateral margins of fast-flowing former ice streams (Ottesen et al. 2005, 2007). Grounding zone wedges and transverse ridges. Grounding zone wedges are large seafloor ridges orientated transverse to the direction of former ice flow and occur both at the shelf edge and in the troughs and fjords of Svalbard. The ridges are characteristically tens of metres high, up to several kilometres wide and tens of kilometres long. Acoustic stratigraphic records show that the ridges form sedimentary wedges lying above strong basal reflectors. Ottesen et al. (2007) concluded that although the sedimentary wedges sometimes only have relatively subtle vertical expression on the sea floor, they may contain a few cubic kilometres of sediments. Where these extensive ridges and underlying sedimentary wedges are found in the troughs and fjords of Svalbard (2 on Fig. 3b) they are interpreted as marking major stillstands of the ice margin during general deglaciation (Landvik et al. 2005; Ottesen et al. 2007), lasting for hundreds rather than tens of years (Dowdeswell et al. 2008). The diamictic grounding-zone wedges were produced by continuing sediment delivery from the deforming beds of active ice during the stillstands (Dowdeswell et al. 2008). The transverse ridges that are observed on the continental shelf to the side of the troughs (Fig. 3b) have been interpreted to be recessional push moraines reflecting stillstands or wintersummer ice-front oscillations during deglaciation (Ottesen & Dowdeswell 2006). Individual ridges are up to 15 m high, are spaced a few hundred metres apart and usually occur in clusters rather than as isolated individual features. Dowdeswell et al. (2008) argued that the megascale glacial lineations were products of rapid ice retreat, whereas the grounding-zone wedges suggested episodic retreat. They interpreted suites of transverse ridges to be indicative of relatively slow retreat of grounded ice margins. Seismic record and sediment core data. These data (Fig. 4) concur with the bathymetric data on the glacial origin of landforms and sediments described above. Unconformities caused by glacial erosion provide strong reflectors (Solheim et al. 1996). When the marine sequence is penetrated by corers, stiff diamictons, interpreted to be subglacial tills deposited below grounded glaciers in the fjords and out on the shelf, are retrieved (Svendsen et al. 1992, 1996; Landvik et al. 2005). The diamictons are overlain everywhere by fine-grained marine or glaciomarine muds (Elverhøi et al. 1980, 1983; Sexton et al. 1992). Radiocarbon ages on subfossil shells from the muds give constraining ages for the muds as being of deglaciation ages and the diamictons having been deposited in connection with the LGM expansion of ice. Terrestrial records While the marine archives contain evidence of repeated expansions of the Svalbard–Barents Sea ice sheet to the continental margin around Svalbard, Fig. 4. Sketch of seismic section along Isfjorden, Svalbard. A moraine ridge at the shelf edge marks LGM extension of an ice stream in the Isfjorden trough, and stiff diamicton is interpreted to be till deposited by the last major glaciations (modified from Svendsen et al. 1996). FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD the terrestrial record of full-scale glaciations is more fragmentary because of the prevailing erosion at times of major ice-sheet expansion. Volume estimates of sediments offshore have been argued to indicate that 2–3 km of rock has been removed from central Spitsbergen since the Eocene (Eiken & Austegard 1987; Vorren et al. 1991). It has been suggested that at least half of this volume was removed during the Pleistocene glaciations (Svendsen et al. 1989; Dimakis et al. 1998; Elverhøi et al. 1998), and it has been assumed that the bedrock geomorphology of Svalbard is predominantly the result of Quaternary sculpturing (Hjelle 1993). The landscapes of Svalbard are characterized by extensive glacial carving of cols, valleys and fjords where the glaciers have enhanced pre-glacial fluvial and tectonic landscapes. Svendsen et al. (1989) pointed out that erosion of the major fjords below sea level requires large ice sheets with outlet glaciers at the pressure melting point at their base. They also concluded that the pronounced alpine landscape of Svalbard indicated that cirque and valley glaciers, rather than ice sheets, were mainly responsible for carving the valleys and other high-relief landforms and that glacial erosion by polythermal valley glaciers is the most important geomorphic process in the present climate. Evidence of more extensive ice cover than today during the LGM and previous glaciations is present on every ice-free lowland area around Svalbard outside the Neoglacial limits in the form of glacial drift, erratics and striations (Sollid & Sørbel 1988; Salvigsen et al. 1995). Directional evidence generally suggests ice flow offshore towards the shelf areas on western Svalbard (Kristiansen & Sollid 1987; Landvik et al. 1998). Evidence on ice thickness and ice movements during the LGM include ice-abraded ridge crests roche moutonnées, striations, erratics and glacial drift on nunataks and coastal mountains. A number of studies have addressed the thickness of the Svalbard –Barents Sea ice sheet over Svalbard during the LGM. A long-standing debate exists on whether morphological data (such as the existence of pre-LGM sets of raised beaches and large rock glaciers) could be taken to suggest the existence of ice-free enclaves on the lowlands of western and northern Svalbard (Landvik et al. 1998, 2005; Andersson et al. 1999; Houmark-Nielsen & Funder 1999). There is a growing consensus that although some coastal mountains may have protruded as nunataks above the ice-sheet surface at LGM on the outer coast of northern and western Svalbard, there are very little data to support the existence of any lowland icefree enclaves (Landvik et al. 2003, 2005; Ottesen et al. 2007). Taken together, marine and terrestrial evidence suggest a LGM configuration of the 21 Fig. 5. Reconstruction of the Svalbard– Barents Sea ice sheet and its fast-flowing ice streams (modified from Ottesen et al. 2005). Svalbard–Barents Sea ice sheet that covered most of Svalbard and its shelf areas (Fig. 5). As there is overall erosion on land on Svalbard during repeated glaciations, the pre-late Quaternary (Saalian) glacial history of Svalbard lacks all details (Svendsen et al. 2004). There are a number of keylithostratigraphical sections that contain tills and marine sediments that have been dated or correlated to late Quaternary Svalbard–Barents Sea ice sheet oscillations (Mangerud et al. 1998) (Fig. 6): Kongsøya (Ingólfsson et al. 1995), Kapp Ekholm Fig. 6. Location of key stratigraphic sites on Svalbard. 22 Ó. INGÓLFSSON (Mangerud & Svendsen 1992), Skilvika (Landvik et al. 1992), Linnéelva (Lønne & Mangerud 1991), Site 15 (Miller et al. 1989), Kongsfjordhallet (Houmark-Nielsen & Funder 1999) and Poolepynten (Andersson et al. 1999). Most stratigraphic key sites are on the west coast of Svalbard, but the recently described site from Murchisonfjorden, Nordaustlandet (Fig. 6) (Kaakinen et al. 2009) adds to our understanding of late Quaternary glacial events on Svalbard. One striking characteristic of the lithostratigraphical records from coastal Svalbard is that sections often reflect glaciation events in the form of repeated regressional sequences (Figs 7 & 8). Each cycle consists of a basal till (Fig. 8a) deposited during a regional glaciation large enough for isostatic depression to cause transgression and deposition of glaciomarine –marine sediments on top of till as the ice sheet retreats (Fig. 8b, c). Glacial unloading and isostatic rebound causes a coarsening-upwards sequence where sublittoral sediments and beach foresets reflect regression (Fig. 8d, e). This is particularly well expressed in the stratigraphic record from Kapp Ekholm (Fig. 7). Raised beaches around Svalbard can generally be regarded as isostatic fingerprinting of earlier expanded ice volumes compared to present. Postglacial raised beaches have been described from most ice-free coastal areas (Forman 1990; Landvik et al. 1998), and the elevation of the postglacial marine limit and history of relative sea-level changes are well known (Fig. 9) (Forman 1990; Forman et al. 2004). The isostatic fingerprinting (Fig. 10) reflects the heaviest glacial loading in the central Barents Sea and clearly expresses the differential ice load of the Svalbard–Barents Sea ice sheet at LGM. Interglacial-mode sediments and landforms Fig. 7. Composite stratigraphy of the Kapp Ekholm section. Each coarsening-upwards sequence reflects glaciation (till) and deglaciation (marine-to-littoral sediments) (modified from Mangerud & Svendsen 1992). Svalbard did not completely deglaciate during the Holocene (Hald et al. 2004). Salvigsen et al. (1992) and Salvigsen (2002) documented warmer conditions in Svalbard during the early and mid Holocene compared to the present-day climate. Glacier volumes were probably considerably smaller than present (Svendsen & Mangerud 1997; Forwick & Vorren 2007) and some valley/cirque glaciers may have melted away completely. Because of the Neoglacial expansion of glaciers that started some time after mid-Holocene (Svendsen & Mangerud 1997) and culminated by the end of the Little Ice Age around 1890–1900 AD (Werner 1993; Mangerud & Landvik 2007), the timing, extent and volume of ice at the early Holocene glacial minima is not well known (Humlum et al. 2005). Interglacial-mode glacial landforms and sediments FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD 23 Fig. 8. Examples of Svalbard glacial-deglacial sediments in coastal sections: (a) subglacial till, unit A, Kapp Ekholm (Figs 6 & 7) (pocket knife for scale); (b) dropstones in shallow-marine sediments (pocket knife for scale), site 15 (Fig. 6); (c) stratified shallow-marine sediments with subfossil kelp (35 cm scrape for scale), Poolepynten (Fig. 6); (d) a whale rib at the contact between sublittoral marine sediments and gravelly beach foresets (1 m stick for scale), site 15 (Fig. 6); (e) sublittoral marine sediments with in situ subfossil molluscs, Skilvika (Fig. 6). All photographs by Ó. Ingólfsson in 2008. on Svalbard primarily relate to the Neoglacial expansion of glaciers. Most glaciers in Svalbard are presently retreating from their 1890– 1900 AD maxima, and many glaciers have retreated 1–2 km or more. It has been calculated that the net mass balance of Svalbard glaciers has been negative 24 Ó. INGÓLFSSON Fig. 9. Relative sea-level curves from Svalbard (modified from Forman et al. 2004). Fig. 10. The pattern of postglacial raised beaches combined with well-dated relative sea-level curves fingerprints the isostatic depression caused by the Svalbard– Barents Sea ice sheet (modified from Bondevik 1996). FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD most years for the past .100 years, and that the glacial systems of Svalbard may have lost up to 30% of their volume since 1900 AD (Lefauconnier & Hagen 1990; Glasser & Hambrey 2003). Tidewater glacier/fjord environments There are a number of conceptual models proposed for tidewater glaciers (Fig. 11a) (Elverhøi et al. 1980; Bennett et al. 1999), identifying and linking sedimentary processes, deposits and landforms. Plassen et al. (2004) proposed a model for sedimentation of Svalbard tidewater glaciers (Fig. 12a) based on high-resolution acoustic data and sediment cores and sedimentation patterns in four tidewater glacier-influenced inlets of Isfjorden, Svalbard. Their model shows glaciogenic deposition in proximal and distal basins. The proximal basins comprise 25 morainal ridges and hummocky moraines, bounded by terminal moraines marking the maximum Neoglacial ice extent. The distal basins are characterized by debris lobes and draping stratified glaciomarine sediments beyond and, to some extent, beneath and above the lobes. Distal glaciomarine sediments comprise stratified clayey silt with ice-rafted debris content (Forwick & Vorren 2009). Ottesen & Dowdeswell (2006), Ottesen et al. (2008) and Kristensen et al. (2009) identified an assemblage of submarine landforms from the margins of several Svalbard glaciers that they linked to glacier surging into the fjord environments (Fig. 12b). The submarine landforms include: streamlined landforms found within the limits of known surges, interpreted as mega-scale glacial lineations formed subglacially beneath actively surging ice (1 on Fig. 12b); large transverse Fig. 11. Svalbard glaciers: (a) Kongsvegen tidewater glacier, Kongsfjorden; (b) Comfortlessbreen glacier in surge; and (c) Pedersenbreen polythermal glacier, Kongsfjorden. All photographs by Ó. Ingólfsson in 2008. 26 Ó. INGÓLFSSON Fig. 12. Svalbard tidewater glaciers: (a) a model for proglacial sedimentation by Svalbard polythermal tidewater glaciers (modified from Plassen et al. 2004); and (b) landform assemblage model for Svalbard surge-type tidewater glaciers (modified from Ottesen et al. 2008). ridges, interpreted to be terminal moraines formed by thrusting at the maximum position of glacier surges (2a on Fig. 12b); sediment lobes at the distal margins of terminal moraines, interpreted as glaciogenic debris flows formed either by failure of the frontal slopes of thrust moraines or from deforming sediment extruded from beneath the glacier (2b on Fig. 12b); sinuous ridges, interpreted as eskers, formed after surge termination by the sedimentary infilling of subglacial conduits (4 on Fig. 12b); concordant ridges parallel to former ice margins, interpreted as minor push moraines probably formed annually during winter glacier re-advance (5 on Fig. 12b); and discordant ridges oblique to former ice margins and interpreted as crevasse-squeeze ridges, forming when soft subglacial sediments were injected into basal crevasses (3 on Fig. 12b). Ottesen et al. (2008) proposed that these submarine landforms were deposited in the following sequence based on cross-cutting relationships between them, linked to stages of the surge cycle (Fig. 12b): (1) mega-scale glacial lineations; (2a) terminal moraines; (2b) lobe-shaped debris flows; (3) isolated areas of crevasse-fill ridges; (4) eskers and (5) annual retreat ridges. Terrestrial polythermal and surging glaciers There are numerous studies of the depositional environments of Svalbard terrestrial polythermal and surging glaciers (Fig. 11b, c) which outline structural properties, landform-sediment associations and dead-ice disintegration (Boulton 1972; Bennett et al. 1996, 1999; Boulton et al. 1999; Hambrey et al. 1999; Lyså & Lønne 2001; Sletten et al. 2001). Glasser & Hambrey (2003) gave an overview of sediments and landforms associated with glaciated valley landsystems on Svalbard (Fig. 13). Characteristics of this landsystem are rockfall debris supply, passive transport and reworking of a thick cover of supraglacial morainic till, combined with actively transported debris derived from the glacier bed. They identified moraine complexes produced by thrusting as the most common. The sedimentary composition of moraine FINGERPRINTS OF GLACIATIONS ON SVALBARD 27 Fig. 13. A landsystem model for terrestrial Svalbard polythermal glacier (modified from Glasser & Hambrey 2003). complexes varies with source materials and ranges from reworked marine sediments to terrestrial diamictons and gravels. Original sedimentary structures or subfossil marine mollusks are commonly preserved as a slab of sediments which has been stacked by the glacier. The thrusted moraine complexes often show evidence of glaciotectonic deformations, including low-angle thrust faults and recumbent folds. Moraine complexes resulting from deformation of permafrost also occur on Svalbard. There, stresses beneath the advancing glaciers are transmitted to the proglacial sediments and can cause proglacial deformation of the permafrost layer. This may lead to folding, thrust-faulting and overriding of proglacial sediments. Glasser & Hambrey (2003) suggested that a typical receding Svalbard glacier has three zones within its forefield (Fig. 13) as follows. (1) (2) Outer moraine ridge. These are arcuate ridges rising steeply from the surrounding topography to heights of 15– 20 m. They are commonly ice-cored and may be either the result of englacial or proglacial thrusts or be a product of permafrost deformation. Some glaciers have large ice-cored lateral moraines. Moraine-mound complex (Fig. 13), often draped by supraglacial debris stripes. These are often present in the form of arcuate belts of aligned hummocks or mounds comprising (3) a wide variety of morphological types (often ice cored), linear ridges up to 100 m long or short-crested ridges of several metres and near conical mounds. Rectilinear slopes and stacking indicate that the moraine-mound complex is a result of thrusting in proglacial, ice-marginal and englacial position. Inner zone, between the moraine-mound complex and the contemporary glacier snout comprising various quantities of foliation-parallel ridges, supraglacial debris stripes, geometrical ridge networks, streamlined ridges/flutes and minor moraine mounds. Sediment facies are predominantly glacial diamicton, commonly being reworked by proglacial streams. The most widespread deposit on the forefields of receding valley glaciers on Svalbard is diamicton (Glasser & Hambrey 2003) produced by basal lodgement processes or meltout. The diamictons are in turn reworked by fluvial processes and slumping where there is active down-wasting of dead ice (Schomacker & Kjær 2007). Christofferson et al. (2005) described landformsediment assemblages relating to surging Svalbard glaciers. They identified ice-flow parallel ridges (flutings), ice-flow oblique ridges (crevasse-fill features), meandering ridges (infill of basal meltwater), thrust-block moraines, hummocky terrain and drumlinoid hills. Kristensen et al. (2009) suggested 28 Ó. INGÓLFSSON that surging glacier ice-marginal landforms on land closely resemble the corresponding landforms on the seabed, including debris-flow mud aprons in front of surge moraines. They argued that both the submarine and the terrestrial mud apron were formed by a combination of ice push and slope failure. particularly important for our understanding of the signatures of surging glaciers, where the recognition of palaeosurges within landform and sedimentary records is still somewhat capricious. Valuable and constructive suggestions from the journal reviewers are acknowledged. The paper was written during a sabbatical visit to Lund University, Sweden. Conclusion Conceptual models have been developed that explain sediment-landform assemblages for Svalbard shelf-, ice-stream-, fjord-, surging- and terrestrialpolythermal glacial systems. Landsystem models are useful tools for the reconstruction of past environments and palaeoglacier dynamics from geomorphological, sedimentological and stratigraphical records (Evans 2003). Our understanding of the dynamics, processes and products of marinebased ice sheets is hampered by lack of data (Vaughan & Arthern 2007). The Svalbard models therefore have the potential to help clarify the genesis of glacial landforms and sediments in formerly glaciated areas and to help explain the geological record of ancient marine-terminating ice sheets such as the Upper Ordovician Saharan ice sheet (Le Heron & Craig 2008; Le Heron et al. 2010) or the Carboniferous –Permian Gondwana ice sheet (Visser 1989; Isbell et al. 2008). The stratigraphic record of Svalbard –Barents Sea glaciations, with recurring shallowing-upwards marine to littoral sequences separated by tills (Mangerud et al. 1998), could help in the recognition of transitions from full-glacial to interglacial situations recorded in ancient glaciogenic sequences. Epicontinental glaciogenic deposits are generally poorly preserved in the geological records (Eyles 1993) and, seen over an interglacial– glacial cycle, most interglacial deposits and landforms will be destroyed by an advancing/growing ice sheet as the glacial system shifts to full-glacial mode. 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