The Glacial History of the Svalberd Archipelago from Late Vistulian to the Present Time / Historia zlodowacenia archipelagu Svalbard od późnego vistulianu do współczesności

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Ćwiąkała ◽  
Mateusz Moskalik ◽  
Jan Rodzik ◽  
Piotr Zagórski
Keyword(s):  
Continental Shelf ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Svalbard Archipelago ◽  
Maximum Extent ◽  
Late Vistulian ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe glacial history of the Svalbard archipelago is often a hot topic for researches, but the articles usually refer to a particular piece of Svalbard. The authors of this work studied many scientific articles based on the researches to find and collect this history. Svalbard archipelago is located in the Arctic, at the edge of the continental shelf of Europe. The end of shelf boundary noted occurrence of ice caps in the past glaciations. In turn, the main elements of the landscape of the archipelago are glaciers that are currently in a recession. Spitsbergen (the biggest island of the archipelago) sets the limit of Pleistocene glaciations, and the current state of glaciers allows determining the place where the recession is intense. The main aim of the authors in this study is to show this history only from the late Vistulian to the late Holocene (the beginning of 21st century). Interstadials and Stadials start time varies, as their duration in different places, according to various authors. It is very hard to collect all information and describe this history. By knowing the history of glaciation, we can distinguish in the late Vistulian: Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Bølling/Older Dryas/Allerød and Younger Dryas (YD). LGM was the stadial in which was the maximum extent of ice sheet in late Vistulian. After this period, ice sheet began to retreat from the continental shelf. In turn, YD was the stadial in which the last advance of glaciers took place, about 11 000 years BC. In the Holocene we can distinguish Holocene Climatic Optimum (in the meantime short Cooling Holocene), Revdalen Stadial, Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age (LIA) and 20th century warming. The maximum extent of glaciers in Holocene was in LIA. In LIA, the extent of glaciers was bigger than in YD. In 20th century a warming started and continues until now.

scholarly journals Glacial history of Inglefield Land, north Greenland from combined in-situ <sup>10</sup>Be and <sup>14</sup>C exposure dating

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Sofie Søndergaard ◽  
Nicolaj Krog Larsen ◽  
Olivia Steinemann ◽  
Jesper Olsen ◽  
Svend Funder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Changes ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Exposure Dating ◽  
History Of ◽  
North Greenland

Abstract. Exposing the sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to Holocene climate changes is a key prerequisite for understanding the future response of the ice sheet to global warming. In this study, we present new information on the Holocene glacial history of the GrIS in Inglefield Land, north Greenland. We use 10Be and in-situ 14C exposure dating to constrain the timing of deglaciation in the area and radiocarbon dating of reworked molluscs and wood fragments to constrain when the ice sheet retreated behind its present-day extent. The 10Be ages are scattered ranging from c. 92.7 to 6.8 ka whereas the in-situ 14C ages range from c. 14.2 to 6.7 ka. Almost half of the apparent 10Be ages predate the Last Glacial Maximum and up to 89 % are to some degree affected by nuclide inheritance. Based on the few reliable 10Be ages, the in-situ 14C ages and existing radiocarbon ages from Inglefield Land, we find that the deglaciation along the coast commenced c. 8.6–8.3 cal. ka BP in the western part and c. 7.9 ka in the central part, following the opening of Nares Strait and arrival of warm waters. The ice margin reached its present-day position c. 8.2 ka at the Humboldt Glacier and c. 6.7 ka in the central part of Inglefield Land. Radiocarbon ages of reworked molluscs and wood fragments show that the ice margin was behind its present-day extent from c. 5.8 to 0.5 cal. ka BP. After 0.5 cal. ka BP, the ice advanced towards its Little Ice Age position. Our results emphasize that the slowly eroding and possibly cold-based ice in north Greenland makes it difficult to constrain the deglaciation history based on 10Be ages alone unless it is paired with in-situ 14C ages. Further, combining our findings with those of recently published studies reveals distinct differences between deglaciation patterns of northwest and north Greenland. Deglaciation of the land areas in northwest Greenland occurred earlier than in north Greenland and periods of restricted ice extent were longer, spanning middle and late Holocene. Overall, this highlights past ice sheet sensitivity towards Holocene climate changes in an area where little information was available just a few years ago.

scholarly journals Glacial history of Inglefield Land, north Greenland from combined in situ <sup>10</sup>Be and <sup>14</sup>C exposure dating

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1999-2015
Author(s):  
Anne Sofie Søndergaard ◽  
Nicolaj Krog Larsen ◽  
Olivia Steinemann ◽  
Jesper Olsen ◽  
Svend Funder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Changes ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Holocene Climate ◽  
Exposure Dating ◽  
History Of ◽  
North Greenland

Abstract. Determining the sensitivity of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to Holocene climate changes is a key prerequisite for understanding the future response of the ice sheet to global warming. In this study, we present new information on the Holocene glacial history of the GrIS in Inglefield Land, north Greenland. We use 10Be and in situ 14C exposure dating to constrain the timing of deglaciation in the area and radiocarbon dating of reworked molluscs and wood fragments to constrain when the ice sheet retreated behind its present-day extent. The 10Be ages are scattered ranging from ca. 92.7 to 6.8 ka, whereas the in situ 14C ages range from ca. 14.2 to 6.7 ka. Almost half of the apparent 10Be ages predate the Last Glacial Maximum and up to 89 % are to some degree affected by nuclide inheritance. Based on the few reliable 10Be ages, the in situ 14C ages and existing radiocarbon ages from Inglefield Land, we find that the deglaciation along the coast commenced at ca. 8.6–8.3 ka cal BP in the western part and ca. 7.9 ka in the central part, following the opening of Nares Strait and arrival of warm waters. The ice margin reached its present-day position at ca. 8.2 ka at the Humboldt Glacier and ca. 6.7 ka in the central part of Inglefield Land. Radiocarbon ages of reworked molluscs and wood fragments show that the ice margin was behind its present-day extent from ca. 5.8 to 0.5 ka cal BP. After 0.5 ka cal BP, the ice advanced towards its Little Ice Age position. Our results emphasize that the slowly eroding and possibly cold-based ice in north Greenland makes it difficult to constrain the deglaciation history based on 10Be ages alone unless they are paired with in situ 14C ages. Further, combining our findings with those of recently published studies reveals distinct differences between deglaciation patterns of northwest and north Greenland. Deglaciation of the land areas in northwest Greenland occurred earlier than in north Greenland, and periods of restricted ice extent were longer, spanning the Middle and Late Holocene. Overall, this highlights past ice sheet sensitivity to Holocene climate changes in an area where little information was available just a few years ago.

scholarly journals V. N. Weber’s Diary on the Work of the Russian-Swedish Grade Measurement Expedition to the Svalbard Archipelago in 1901

2021 ◽  
pp. 713-724
Author(s):  
Tatyana P. Filippova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Svalbard Archipelago ◽  
Russian Scientific ◽  
Historic Monument ◽  
Travel Diary ◽  
History Of ◽  
Northern Territories

The article concentrates on the study of historical experience of the Russian science in the development of the Arctic and the northern territories. The object of its analysis is the travel diary of the geologist, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences (1937), employee of the Geological Committee of Russia,Valerian Nikolaevich Weber (1871–1940), a participant of the Russian-Swedish expedition on grade measurement on the Svalbard archipelago in 1901, stored in fond no. 58 “The Geological Committee of the Mining Department” of the Russian State Historical Archive. The Russian-Swedish grade measurement expedition to the Svalbard archipelago was carried out in 1899-1901 and became one of the major international scientific projects for studying the Arctic space at the turn of the 20th century. The results of this expedition went down in the history of the Arctic studies, and its results laid the foundations for the modern study of polar territories. The travel diary of V.N. Weber covers the period from May 27, 1901 to August 18, 1901 and describes the activities of the Russian researchers on board of the icebreaker Yermak in 1901. This documentary source is a unique historic monument, not only revealing the history of the expedition research, but also showing all its events in assessment and interpretation of a participant. In Soviet historiography such sources were considered supplementary, but modern trends in of historical scholarship allow us to analyze such documents as independent subjects of study. Travel diaries are kept in order to preserve the memory and for practical purposes of the expedition. Such sources usually have rich information potential, representing various aspects of the expedition’s activities; regular travel notes reflect, as a rule, a consistent course of events, providing valuable retrospective information for research. The diary of V.N. Weber details the route of the research party, the living conditions and daily life of the expedition participants, their scientific activities and the research results. Analysis of the diary demonstrates what efforts won great results for the Russian scientific community in the development of the Arctic territory in the early 20th century. This document, being a valuable source for scientific study and comprehension of the Arctic, helps the modern generation to understand this unique historical experience.

scholarly journals Investigating the glacial history of the northern sector of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet with cosmogenic 10Be concentrations in quartz

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (25-26) ◽  
pp. 3630-3643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjen P. Stroeven ◽  
Derek Fabel ◽  
Alexandru T. Codilean ◽  
Johan Kleman ◽  
John J. Clague ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cordilleran Ice Sheet ◽  
Cosmogenic 10Be ◽  
Northern Sector

scholarly journals Morphology and late Cenozoic (<5 Ma) glacial history of the area between David and Mawson Glaciers, Victoria Land, Antarctica

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Anja L.L.M. Verbers ◽  
Volkmar Damm
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Radio Echo Sounding ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Glacio-geological field work and radar ice-thickness sounding were carried out in the area between David and Mawson Glaciers. A subglacial topographic map has been compiled from radio-echo-sounding data. The northern part of this map shows that the trench of David Glacier reaches a depth of more than 1000 m below sea level. The area south of David Glacier comprises a landscape of nunatak clusters dissected by glaciated valleys with ice thicknesses as much as 800 m. Subglacial cirques occur at the outer margins of the nunatak clusters. A model for the regional glacial history is proposed. It starts with a major deglaciation in the Pliocene, which results in marine transgression in basins west of the Transantarctic Mountains. During the late Pliocene, the ice advanced towards the northeast, depositing a thin layer of (Sirius Group) till containing reworked mid-Pliocene marine diatoms. Due to accelerated mountain uplift, the ice cut iIlto the pre-Pliocene peneplain, eroding broad valleys. A period of ice-sheet retreat followed to expose a landscape of large nunataks separated by wide valleys. During this period, local cirque glaciation occurred. When the ice sheet advanced again, another phase of uplift forced the glaciers to cut deeper into the valleys. Probably since the Last Glacial Maximum the ice surface has lowered by about 100 m.

scholarly journals A global high-resolution data set of ice sheet topography, cavity geometry and ocean bathymetry

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janin Schaffer ◽  
Ralph Timmermann ◽  
Jan Erik Arndt ◽  
Steen Savstrup Kristensen ◽  
Christoph Mayer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Antarctic Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Surface Topographies ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The ocean plays an important role in modulating the mass balance of the polar ice sheets by interacting with the ice shelves in Antarctica and with the marine-terminating outlet glaciers in Greenland. Given that the flux of warm water onto the continental shelf and into the sub-ice cavities is steered by complex bathymetry, a detailed topography data set is an essential ingredient for models that address ice-ocean interaction. We followed the spirit of the global RTopo-1 data set and compiled consistent maps of global ocean bathymetry, upper and lower ice surface topographies and global surface height on a spherical grid with now 30-arc seconds resolution. We used the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO_2014) as the backbone and added the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean version 3 (IBCAOv3) and the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO) version 1. While RTopo-1 primarily aimed at a good and consistent representation of the Antarctic ice sheet, ice shelves and sub-ice cavities, RTopo-2 now also contains ice topographies of the Greenland ice sheet and outlet glaciers. In particular, we aimed at a good representation of the fjord and shelf bathymetry surrounding the Greenland continent. We corrected data from earlier gridded products in the areas of Petermann Glacier, Hagen Bræ and Sermilik Fjord assuming that sub-ice and fjord bathymetries roughly follow plausible Last Glacial Maximum ice flow patterns. For the continental shelf off northeast Greenland and the floating ice tongue of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier at about 79° N, we incorporated a high-resolution digital bathymetry model considering original multibeam survey data for the region. Radar data for surface topographies of the floating ice tongues of Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden Glacier and Zachariæ Isstrøm have been obtained from the data centers of Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Operation Icebridge (NASA/NSF) and Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI). For the Antarctic ice sheet/ice shelves, RTopo-2 largely relies on the Bedmap-2 product but applies corrections for the geometry of Getz, Abbot and Fimbul ice shelf cavities. The data set is available in full and in regional subsets in NetCDF format from the PANGAEA database at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.856844.

scholarly journals Morphology and late Cenozoic (<5 Ma) glacial history of the area between David and Mawson Glaciers, Victoria Land, Antarctica

1994 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Anja L.L.M. Verbers ◽  
Volkmar Damm
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Ice Surface ◽  
Victoria Land ◽  
Radio Echo Sounding ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

Glacio-geological field work and radar ice-thickness sounding were carried out in the area between David and Mawson Glaciers. A subglacial topographic map has been compiled from radio-echo-sounding data. The northern part of this map shows that the trench of David Glacier reaches a depth of more than 1000 m below sea level. The area south of David Glacier comprises a landscape of nunatak clusters dissected by glaciated valleys with ice thicknesses as much as 800 m. Subglacial cirques occur at the outer margins of the nunatak clusters. A model for the regional glacial history is proposed. It starts with a major deglaciation in the Pliocene, which results in marine transgression in basins west of the Transantarctic Mountains. During the late Pliocene, the ice advanced towards the northeast, depositing a thin layer of (Sirius Group) till containing reworked mid-Pliocene marine diatoms. Due to accelerated mountain uplift, the ice cut iIlto the pre-Pliocene peneplain, eroding broad valleys. A period of ice-sheet retreat followed to expose a landscape of large nunataks separated by wide valleys. During this period, local cirque glaciation occurred. When the ice sheet advanced again, another phase of uplift forced the glaciers to cut deeper into the valleys. Probably since the Last Glacial Maximum the ice surface has lowered by about 100 m.

scholarly journals On the Glacial History of Antarctica

1962 ◽  
Vol 4 (32) ◽  
pp. 173-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Hollin
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Glacial History ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe Antarctic Ice Sheet responds quickly to regime changes, and time lags in its fluctuations are relatively small. During the Pleistocene glacial stages of the Northern Hemisphere, world-wide temperature reductions reduced the plasticity of the ice sheet and made it thicker. The amount of thickening depended on the conditions at the ice base but it was small, for mechanical and thermal reasons. Also, during the northern stages, accumulation over Antarctica was probably less than now, but this too had little effect on the thickness of the ice sheet. The mass budget of the ice sheet alone, without the ice shelves, probably remained strongly positive; the ice sheet probably existed throughout the Pleistocene and is unlikely to disappear in the future. The area of the ice sheet is determined chiefly by the elevation of the “grounding line”, where the peripheral ice cliffs and ice shelves begin to float. During the northern stages, world-wide lowerings of sea-level displaced the grounding line downwards and northwards, and allowed the ice sheet to advance by amounts which account for nearly all the evidence for previous greater glaciations. In summary, the glacial history of most ice-free areas is governed not so much by climatic as by sea-level changes. Therefore, Antarctic glacial fluctuations were dependent on and in phase with those of the Northern Hemisphere. The field evidence from Antarctica has little bearing on the ultimate causes of glacial fluctuations, which might however be determined by field work on the planet Mars.

Holocene Glacial and Tree-Line Variations in the White River Valley and Skolai Pass, Alaska and Yukon Territory

1977 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. Denton ◽  
Wibjörn Karlén
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
White River ◽  
Glacier Recession

Complex glacier and tree-line fluctuations in the White River valley on the northern flank of the St. Elias and Wrangell Mountains in southern Alaska and Yukon Territory are recognized by detailed moraine maps and drift stratigraphy, and are dated by dendrochronology, lichenometry,14C ages, and stratigraphic relations of drift to the eastern (123014C yr BP) and northern (198014C yr BP) lobes of the White River Ash. The results show two major intervals of expansion, one concurrent with the well-known and widespread Little Ice Age and the other dated between 2900 and 210014C yr BP, with a culmination about 2600 and 280014C yr BP. Here, the ages of Little Ice Age moraines suggest fluctuating glacier expansion between ad 1500 and the early 20th century. Much of the 20th century has experienced glacier recession, but probably it would be premature to declare the Little Ice Age over. The complex moraine systems of the older expansion interval lie immediately downvalley from Little Ice Age moraines, suggesting that the two expansion intervals represent similar events in the Holocene, and hence that the Little Ice Age is not unique. Another very short-lived advance occurred about 1230 to 105014C yr BP. Spruce immigrated into the valley to a minimum altitude of 3500 ft (1067 m), about 600 ft (183 m) below the current spruce tree line of 4100 ft (1250 m), at least by 802014C yr BP. Subsequent intervals of high tree line were in accord with glacier recession; in fact, several spruce-wood deposits above current tree line occur bedded between Holocene tills. High deposits of fossil wood range up to 76 m above present tree line and are dated at about 5250, 3600 to 3000, and 2100 to 123014C yr BP. St. Elias glacial and tree-line fluctuations, which probably are controlled predominantly by summer temperature and by length of the growing and ablation seasons, correlate closely with a detailed Holocene tree-ring curve from California, suggesting a degree of synchronism of Holocene summer-temperature changes between the two areas. This synchronism is strengthened by comparison with the glacier record from British Columbia and Mt. Rainier. Likewise, broad synchronism of Holocene events exists across the Arctic between the St. Elias Mountains and Swedish Lappland. Finally, two sequences from the Southern Hemisphere show similar records, in so far as dating allows. Hence, we believe that a preliminary case can be made for broad synchronism of Holocene climatic fluctuations in several regions, although further data are needed and several areas, particularly Colorado and Baffin Island, show major differences in the regional pattern.

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