scholarly journals Geology datasets in North America, Greenland and surrounding areas for use with ice sheet models

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan J. Gowan ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
Gregor Knorr ◽  
Gerrit Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Fine Fraction ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Friction Angle ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Ice Sheet Modelling

Abstract. The ice–substrate interface is an important boundary condition for ice sheet modelling. The substrate affects the ice sheet by allowing sliding through sediment deformation and accommodating the storage and drainage of subglacial water. We present three datasets on a 1 : 5 000 000 scale with different geological parameters for the region that was covered by the ice sheets in North America, including Greenland and Iceland. The first dataset includes the distribution of surficial sediments, which is separated into continuous, discontinuous and predominantly rock categories. The second dataset includes sediment grain size properties, which is divided into three classes: clay, silt and sand, based on the dominant grain size of the fine fraction of the glacial sediments. The third dataset is the generalized bedrock geology. We demonstrate the utility of these datasets for governing ice sheet dynamics by using an ice sheet model with a simulation that extends through the last glacial cycle. In order to demonstrate the importance of the basal boundary conditions for ice sheet modelling, we changed the shear friction angle to account for a weaker substrate and found changes up to 40 % in ice thickness compared to a reference run. Although incorporation of the ice–bed boundary remains model dependent, our dataset provides an observational baseline for improving a critical weakness in current ice sheet modelling (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.895889, Gowan et al., 2018b).

scholarly journals Geology datasets of North America for use with ice sheet models

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan J. Gowan ◽  
Lu Niu ◽  
Gregor Knorr ◽  
Gerrit Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Friction Angle ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Reference Simulation ◽  
Sediment Deformation ◽  
Ice Sheet Dynamics

Abstract. The ice-substrate interface is an important boundary condition for ice sheet modelling. The substrate affects the ice sheet by allowing sliding through sediment deformation and accommodating the storage and drainage of subglacial water. We present three datasets with different geological parameters for the region that was covered by the ice sheets in North America, including Greenland and Iceland. The first dataset includes the distribution surficial sediments, which is separated into continuous, discontinuous and predominantly rock categories. The second dataset includes sediment grain size properties, which is divided into three classes: clay, silt and sand, based on the dominant grain size of the glacial sediments. The third dataset is the generalized bedrock geology. We demonstrate the utility of these datasets for governing ice sheet dynamics by using an ice sheet model with a simulation that extends through the last glacial cycle. Changes in ice thickness by up to 40 % relative to a reference simulation happened when the shear friction angle was reduced to account for a weaker substrate. These datasets provide a basis to improve the basal boundary conditions in ice sheet models. Gowan, E. J., Niu, L., Knorr, G., and Lohmann, G., 2018. Geology datasets of North America for use with ice sheet models, link to datafiles. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.895889

Hydrological and Sediment Characteristics of Sand Ridge Field in Jiangsu Coastal Area of China

2013 ◽  
Vol 850-851 ◽  
pp. 1347-1350
Author(s):  
Cheng Chen ◽  
Yi Gang Wang ◽  
Hui Ming Huang ◽  
Da Ke Chen ◽  
Chun Guang Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Water Area ◽  
Sand Ridge ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Sand Ridges ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Sediment Data ◽  
Port Construction

The sand ridges field in Jiangsu coastal area has been the key region of tidal flat reclamation, waterway regulation and port construction. Adopting the hydrological and sediment data in winter, the tidal patterns were revealed. In addition, the depth-averaged velocity, sediment grain size and sediment concentration in each station were analyzed and compared in detail. The result shows that the tidal in study area is regular semidiurnal and diurnal inequality. The velocity has a decreasing tendency with the Tiaozini water area being centered towards the surrounding areas. The grain size gradually decreases and then increases from north to south, while the sediment concentration gradually increases and then decreases from north to south.

Geomorphology and glacial history of Rauer Group, East Antarctica

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duanne A. White ◽  
Ole Bennike ◽  
Sonja Berg ◽  
Simon L. Harley ◽  
David Fink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Present Position ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Larsemann Hills ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Vestfold Hills ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe presence of glacial sediments across the Rauer Group indicates that the East Antarctic ice sheet formerly covered the entire archipelago and has since retreated at least 15 km from its maximum extent. The degree of weathering of these glacial sediments suggests that ice retreat from this maximum position occurred sometime during the latter half of the last glacial cycle. Following this phase of retreat, the ice sheet margin has not expanded more than ∼ 1 km seaward of its present position. This pattern of ice sheet change matches that recorded in Vestfold Hills, providing further evidence that the diminutive Marine Isotope Stage 2 ice sheet advance in the nearby Larsemann Hills may have been influenced by local factors rather than a regional ice-sheet response to climate and sea-level change.

Coarse-grained mineral dust deposition in alpine lakes provide evidence of increased windspeeds associated with more intense cyclogenesis during warmer intervals of the late Holocene period in arid and semi-arid tracts of North America.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atreyee Bhattacharya ◽  
Anne Bennett ◽  
Thomas Marchitto ◽  
Elana Leithold
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Mineral Dust ◽  
Fine Fraction ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Size Fractions ◽  
Grain Sizes ◽  
Dust Generation ◽  
Semi Arid

<p>Mineral dust accumulation is often causally associated with aridity, with higher dust deposition rates are assumed to reflect increasing magnitude of aridity. However, the relation between dust deposition and aridity is not straightforward; grain sizes play a crucial role in processes associated with mineral dust generation, transportation and deposition in sedimentary settings.</p><p>In this study, we apply grain-size analyses in six well-studied cores (spanning the late Holocene) previously collected from alpine lake sites distributed across the arid and semi-arid regions of west, southwest, and the Great Plains of North America. Previous work with these cores has demonstrated that the lake sediments are predominantly detrital, windblown particles and little to no impact of fluvial proceeses . We find that the most commonly occurring grain sizes are a fine fraction (typically <4 microns, which is easily lofted and transported long distances) and a coarse fraction (typically >25 microns and in some cases with a distinct peak at 100 microns, both of which are are too large to be carried long distances and suggest short distance transportation). We used grain size separation techniques to separate the two size fractions and geochemically fingerprinted those from three sites.</p><p>We find that more rapid accumulation of the coarser coarser-grain size fractions occurred during wetter intervals in the Holocene. Furthermore, the geochemistry of the coarse fractions indicates regional rather than local sourcing of the material from bedrock weathering. We do not find any clear relationships between the fine fraction and aridity patterns, nor a clear source region for this material.</p><p>We hypothesize that the increase in coarser dust deposition during wetter intervals is related to either intensification of land-use patterns associated with agriculture and/or to episodically strong winds. Warmer and wetter intervals in the areas under consideration have been associated with intensified cyclogenesis. Our study demonstrates the critical need to incorporate grain-size analysis as well as geochemical fingerprinting of the different size fractions in interpreting mineral dust record.</p><p> </p><p>Acknowledgement: James Sickman, Jason Neff (for sharing samples), Jacob Ashford, Tyler Vollmer, Audriana Pollen, Alejandra Pedrazza, (for assistance with analyses and archival visits), John Morton, Wendy Freeman (for assisting students in the laboratory), Aradhna Tripati and Juan Lora (for assisting with data interpretation).</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals A new sub-grid surface mass balance and flux model for continental-scale ice sheet modelling: validation and last glacial cycle

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 3037-3077
Author(s):  
K. Le Morzadec ◽  
L. Tarasov ◽  
M. Morlighem ◽  
H. Seroussi
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Coarse Grid ◽  
Model Coupling ◽  
Surface Mass Balance ◽  
Parametric Uncertainties ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. To investigate ice sheet evolution over the time scale of a glacial cycle, 3-D ice sheet models (ISMs) need to be run at grid resolutions (10 to 50 km) that do not resolve individual mountains. This will introduce to-date unquantified errors in sub-grid (SG) transport, accumulation and ablation for regions of rough topography. In the past, synthetic hypsometric curves, a statistical summary of the topography, have been used in ISMs to describe the variability of these processes. However, there has yet to be detailed uncertainty analysis of this approach. We develop a new SG model using a 1 km resolution digital elevation model to compute each local hypsometric curve and to determine local parameters to represent the hypsometric levels' slopes and widths. 1-D mass-transport for the SG model is computed with the shallow ice approximation. We test this model against simulations produced by the 3-D Ice Sheet System Model (ISSM) run at 1 km grid resolution. Results show that no simple parameterization can totally capture SG surface mass balance and flux processes. Via glacial cycle ensemble results for North America, we quantify the impact of SG model coupling in an ISM and the associated parametric uncertainties related to the exchange of ice between the SG and coarse grid levels. Via glacial cycle ensemble results for North America, we quantify the impact of SG model coupling in an ISM. We show that SG process representation and associated parametric uncertainties, related to the exchange of ice between the SG and coarse grid levels, can have significant impact on modelled ice sheet evolution.

Modeling North American Freshwater Runoff through the Last Glacial Cycle

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn J. Marshall ◽  
Garry K.C. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Ice Sheets ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Last Glacial

The Northern Hemisphere ice sheets decayed rapidly during deglacial phases of the ice-age cycle, producing meltwater fluxes that may have been of sufficient magnitude to perturb oceanic circulation. The continental record of ice-sheet history is more obscured during the growth and advance of the last great ice sheets, ca. 120,000–20,000 yr B.P., but ice cores tell of high-amplitude, millennial-scale climate fluctuations that prevailed throughout this period. These climatic excursions would have provoked significant fluctuation of ice-sheet margins and runoff variability whenever ice sheets extended to mid-latitudes, giving a complex pattern of freshwater delivery to the oceans. A model of continental surface hydrology is coupled with an ice-dynamics model simulating the last glacial cycle in North America. Meltwater discharged from ice sheets is either channeled down continental drainage pathways or stored temporarily in large systems of proglacial lakes that border the retreating ice-sheet margin. The coupled treatment provides quantitative estimates of the spatial and temporal patterns of freshwater flux to the continental margins. Results imply an intensified surface hydrological environment when ice sheets are present, despite a net decrease in precipitation during glacial periods. Diminished continental evaporation and high levels of meltwater production combine to give mid-latitude runoff values that are highly variable through the glacial cycle, but are two to three times in excess of modern river fluxes; drainage to the North Atlantic via the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Mississippi River catchments averages 0.356 Sv for the period 60,000–10,000 yr B.P., compared to 0.122 Sv for the past 10,000 yr. High-amplitude meltwater pulses to the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic, and North Pacific occur throughout the glacial period, with ice-sheet geometry controlling intricate patterns of freshwater routing variability. Runoff from North America is staged in the final deglaciation, with a stepped sequence of pulses through the Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Arctic, and Hudson Strait drainages.

scholarly journals Centennial Impacts of the East Asian Summer Monsoon on Holocene Deltaic Evolution of the Huanghe River, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2799
Author(s):  
Yanping Chen ◽  
Wenzhe Lyu ◽  
Tengfei Fu ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Liang Yi
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Grain Size Analysis ◽  
Size Analysis ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Huanghe River ◽  
Huanghe River Delta ◽  
The Huanghe River

The Huanghe River (Yellow River) is the most sediment laden river system in the world, and many efforts have been conducted to understand modern deltaic evolution in response to anthropological impacts. However, the natural background and its linkage to climatic changes are less documented in previous studies. In this work, we studied the sediments of core YDZ–3 and marine surface samples by grain-size analysis to retrieve Holocene dynamics of the Huanghe River delta in detail. The main findings are as follows: The mean value of sediment grain size of the studied core is 5.5 ± 0.9 Φ, and silt and sand contents are 5.2 ± 2.3% and 8.2 ± 5.3%, respectively, while the variance of clay particles is relatively large with an average value of 86.4 ± 8.5%. All grain-size data can be mathematically partitioned by a Weibull-based function formula, and three subgroups were identified with modal sizes of 61.1 ± 28.9 μm, 30.0 ± 23.9 μm, and 2.8 ± 1.6 μm, respectively. There are eight intervals with abrupt changes in modal size of core YDZ–3, which can be correlated to paleo-superlobe migration of the Huanghe River in the Holocene. Based on these observations, the presence of seven superlobes in the history are confirmed for the first time and their ages are well constrained in this study, including Paleo-Superlobes Lijin (6400–5280 yr BP), Huanghua (4480–4190 yr BP), Jugezhuang (3880–3660 yr BP), Shajinzi (3070–2870 yr BP), Nigu (2780–2360 yr BP), Qikou (2140–2000 yr BP), and Kenli (1940–1780 and 1700–1650 yr BP). By tuning geomorphological events to a sedimentary proxy derived from core YDZ–3 and comparing to various paleoenvironmental changes, we proposed that winter climate dominated Holocene shifts of the Huanghe River delta on millennial timescales, while summer monsoons controlled deltaic evolution on centennial timescales.

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