A flexural isostasy model for the Pleistocene evolution of the Barents Sea bathymetry

Zięba, Krzysztof Jan; Omosanya, Kamaldeen Olakunle; Knies, Jochen

doi:10.17850/njg97-1-01

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…This shows that the combination of regional mass-balance studies and more local studies from well data is useful to capture the spatial variation of glacial erosion reflecting the dynamics of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet. Zieba et al (2017) modelled early Pleistocene bathymetry of the southwestern Barents Sea area and found it to have been close to sea level with some areas elevated to about 300 m. Their result is in conformity with and refine previous results suggesting that the Barents Sea was at or near sea level or even partly subaerially exposed prior to glaciation (e.g. Vorren et al, 1991;Butt et al, 2002 and references therein).…”

Section: Estimates Of the Glacial Erosionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Early to middle Cenozoic paleoenvironment and erosion estimates of the southwestern Barents Sea: Insights from a regional mass-balance approach

Lasabuda

Laberg

Knutsen³

et al. 2018

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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The Cenozoic pre-glacial development of the southwestern Barents Sea is discussed, with focus on the early to middle Cenozoic net erosion that was poorly constrained. From 2D and 3D seismic mapping, the western Barents Sea continental margin development shows a complex history of structural configuration of highs and basins related to the Greenland and Eurasian plate movement and subsequent seafloor spreading in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. Our subdivision of the Sørvestsnaget Basin allows for a closer focus on the tectonostratigraphic development in an overall transtensional setting. To the west, the lower to middle Cenozoic sediments are observed to be systematically overlying the oceanic crust in the Lofoten Basin in accordance to the progressive seafloor's opening. Based on interpretation of five seismic units including sediment progradation (clinoforms) as well as lithology information from exploration wells, the paleoenvironments for the Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene and Neogene periods were reconstructed. The mass-balance approach has then been used to quantify the corresponding erosion of the southwestern Barents Sea source area. The Stappen High, the Loppa High, and part of mainland Northern Norway are proposed as the key drainage areas covering a combined area of 191,500 to 334,000 km 2 , depending on the location of its eastern limit. Our result shows that an average net erosion of 858-1362 m and an average erosion rate of 0.014-0.021 m/k.y have characterized the Cenozoic pre-glacial period. The calculated sediment discharge is 8.7 x 10 6 t/y and the sediment yield is 26.2-45.7 t/km 2 /y. Comparison with present-day fluvial systems shows a similar rate of sediment discharge suggesting that our estimates are reasonable. The pre-glacial sedimentation rate is estimated to be 0.026-0.071 m/k.y, which is on average one order of magnitude lower than for the preceding glacial period characterizing this area.

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Section: Estimates Of the Glacial Erosionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Early to middle Cenozoic paleoenvironment and erosion estimates of the southwestern Barents Sea: Insights from a regional mass-balance approach

Lasabuda

Laberg

Knutsen³

et al. 2018

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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“…The uplifted Barents Sea region (Dimakis et al, 1998;Faleide et al, 2008) subsequently became the site of nucleation of very large ice masses during several glaciations (e.g., Eidvin et al, 1993). Butt et al (2002) and Zieba et al (2017) based on numerical modeling, suggested that the Barents Sea was subaerial during the earliest Late Pliocene, becoming a submarine platform around ∼1 Ma ago. Both the preglacial and glacial history is reflected in the present-day topography of the Barents Sea region (e.g., Faleide et al, 1996;Ottesen et al, 2008;Andreassen and Winsborrow, 2009;Laberg et al, 2012).…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Continuous Seismostratigraphic Framework for the Western Svalbard-Barents Sea Margin Over the Last 2.7 Ma: Implications for the Late Cenozoic Glacial History of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet

et al. 2021

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Here we present a high-resolution, continuous seismostratigraphic framework that for the first time, connects the over 1,000 km long western Svalbard-Barents Sea margin and covers the last ∼2.7 million years (Ma). By exploiting recent improvements in chronology, we establish a set of reliable age fix-points from available boreholes along the margin. We then use a large 2-D seismic database to extend this consistent chronology from the Yermak Plateau and offshore western Svalbard, southwards to the Bear Island Trough-Mouth Fan. Based on this new stratigraphic framework we divide the seismic stratigraphy along the continental margin into three seismic units, and 12 regionally correlated seismic reflections, each with an estimated age assignment. We demonstrate one potential application of this framework by reconstructing the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet evolution from the intensification of the northern hemisphere glaciation at ∼2.7 Ma to the Weichselian glaciations. Through seismic facies distribution and sedimentation rate fluctuations along the margin we distinguish three phases of glacial development. The higher temporal resolution provided by this new framework, allows us to document a clear two-step onset to glacial intensification in the region during phase 1, between ∼2.7 and 1.5 Ma. The initial step, between ∼2.7 and 2.58 Ma shows glacial expansion across Svalbard. The first indication of shelf-edge glaciation is on the Sjubrebanken Trough-Mouth Fan, northwestern Barents Sea after ∼2.58 Ma; whilst the second step, between ∼1.95 and 1.78 Ma shows glacial advances beyond Svalbard to the northwestern Barents Sea. Phase 2 is characterized by variations in sedimentation rates and the seismic facies are indicative for a regional glacial intensification for the whole Barents Sea-Svalbard region with widespread shelf-edge glaciations recorded at around ∼1.5 Ma. During Phase 3, the western Barents Sea margin is characterized by a dramatic increase in sedimentation rates, inferring once again a regional glacial intensification. Our new stratigraphic framework allows for the first time differentiation of the sediments deposited on the slope during Early Saalian (∼0.4 and 0.2 Ma), Late Saalian (∼0.2 and 0.13 Ma), and Weichselian (<∼0.123 Ma) periods, providing new insights into the Barents Sea glaciations over the last ∼0.42 Ma.

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“…1) was nearly the same during NHG phases II and III, implying a change in KBSIS erosion capacity since 0.78 Ma. This reduced erosion capacity may be a consequence of the fact that the Barents Sea at this time was below current sea level (Zieba et al, 2017) and that the KBSIS became a fully marine-based ice sheet.…”

Section: Euris Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the end of the Neogene, the paleo-EurIS marine margin was dominated by fluvial sediment input and nonglacial environments. The Barents Sea, which during the entire Cenozoic was subject to uplift, was at this time subaerially exposed, and it is assumed that rivers followed the incipient track of the large troughs that characterize the present-day bathymetry (Vorren et al, 1991;Fjeldskaar and Amantov, 2017;Zieba et al, 2017). At the mid-Norwegian margin, a 600-km-long and as much as 500-mthick and 60-km-wide siliciclastic delta, represented by the Molo Formation, was developing (Eidvin et al, 2007), whereas in the southern and central North Sea, which since the Late Cretaceous has undergone subsidence, rivers built out huge deltas in the late Neogene (e.g., Patruno et al, 2020).…”

Section: Quaternary Development Of the Euris Marginmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latitudinal variability in the Quaternary development of the Eurasian ice sheets—Evidence from the marine domain

Hjelstuen

Sejrup

2020

Geology

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Here we present the first compilation of sediment volumes, sedimentation rates, and chronology of Quaternary sediment packages along the entire marine margin of the Eurasian ice sheets (EurIS; British–Irish, Kara–Barents Sea–Svalbard, and Fennoscandian). This compilation allows for a subdivision of the EurIS development into three phases (2.6–1.5 Ma, 1.5–0.78 Ma, and 0.78–0 Ma). At the start of the Quaternary, sedimentation rates increased, relative to pre-Quaternary rates, by an order of magnitude. This abruptness in rate change excludes tectonic raising of landmasses as the main factor, but more likely reflects climate change through increased glacial erosion. The sediment distribution data suggest that the Kara–Barents Sea–Svalbard Ice Sheet (KBSIS) already was quite large at the beginning of the Quaternary, and well before 1.5 Ma it extended to the shelf edge and coalesced with the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS), which prior to 1.5 Ma most likely was located near the coast. Large ice streams and intense glacial erosion characterized the KBSIS in the 1.5–0.78 Ma time period, whereas the FIS at that time extended farther out on the continental shelf. After 0.78 Ma, a north-south change in EurIS development occurred. In the FIS and the British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS), large ice streams developed and shelf-edge glaciations occurred nearly 1 m.y. later compared to the KBSIS. The FIS and BIIS also repetitively coalesced in the North Sea. A significant drop in sediment input along the KBSIS marine margin, to the lowest Quaternary level, suggests a less erosive KBSIS.

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A flexural isostasy model for the Pleistocene evolution of the Barents Sea bathymetry

Cited by 8 publications

References 80 publications

Early to middle Cenozoic paleoenvironment and erosion estimates of the southwestern Barents Sea: Insights from a regional mass-balance approach

Early to middle Cenozoic paleoenvironment and erosion estimates of the southwestern Barents Sea: Insights from a regional mass-balance approach

A Continuous Seismostratigraphic Framework for the Western Svalbard-Barents Sea Margin Over the Last 2.7 Ma: Implications for the Late Cenozoic Glacial History of the Svalbard-Barents Sea Ice Sheet

Latitudinal variability in the Quaternary development of the Eurasian ice sheets—Evidence from the marine domain

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