Lateglacial and Holocene glacier activity in the Van Mijenfjorden area, western Svalbard

Larsen, Eiliv; Lyså, Astrid; Rubensdotter, Lena; Farnsworth, Wesley R.; Jensen, Maria; Nadeau, Marie J.; Ottesen, Dag

doi:10.1007/s41063-018-0042-2

Cited by 19 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…; Larsen et al . ). Therefore, we surmise that the oscillations recorded in the Melabakkar‐Ásbakkar cliffs in Melasveit represent successively smaller advances/surges of the Borgarfjörður glacier due to gradually decreasing mass balance during the Younger Dryas.…”

Section: Revised Late Weichselian Glaciation History Of the Lower Bormentioning

confidence: 97%

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Refining the history of Younger Dryas and Early Holocene glacier oscillations in the Borgarfjörður region, western Iceland

Sigfúsdóttir

Benediktsson

2019

Boreas

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The lower Borgarfjörður region, western Iceland, has been central to the reconstructions of the dynamics and collapse of the Icelandic Ice Sheet during the deglaciation. Here, extensive stratigraphical sections and landforms provide a rare opportunity to study past glacier dynamics in this part of Iceland. Previous studies reveal that a large outlet glacier in Borgarfjörður advanced during the Late Weichselian resulting in large‐scale deformation of glaciomarine sediments and the formation of a series of ice‐marginal moraines. However, the events recorded by these sediments and landforms are poorly constrained in time. We present and discuss 22 new radiocarbon dates in the context of recent reconstructions of the regional glacier dynamics in order to constrain the timing of the glacier oscillations. The results show that a dynamic, marine‐terminating glacier advanced out of Borgarfjörður sometime after c. 13.0 cal. ka BP, resulting in the formation of an extensive moraine complex. The timing indicates that the advance occurred during climate cooling and widespread glacier expansions within the Younger Dryas. Followed by the first initial advance, the glacier exhibited at least five re‐advances punctuated by phases of retreat. Each re‐advance terminated proximal (within 5 km) to the outermost moraine complex although the extent of periodic retreat and the exact timing of these oscillations are unknown. All these phases of re‐advance occurred prior to the onset of the Holocene (around 11.7 cal. ka BP), during which marine fauna re‐colonized the area and the Borgarfjörður glacier retreated from the moraines. During the Early Holocene (sometime after c. 11.3 cal. ka BP), the Borgarfjörður glacier re‐advanced to a position within ~5 km of the YD ice limit. This is the first recorded Early Holocene large‐scale glacier advance in western Iceland and suggests that glacier expansion in this region coincided with widespread advances elsewhere in Iceland.

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Section: Revised Late Weichselian Glaciation History Of the Lower Bormentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Larsen et al . ) that appear to be asynchronous and most likely result from dynamic instability during the deglaciation (Farnsworth et al . ).…”

Section: Revised Late Weichselian Glaciation History Of the Lower Bormentioning

confidence: 99%

Refining the history of Younger Dryas and Early Holocene glacier oscillations in the Borgarfjörður region, western Iceland

Sigfúsdóttir

Benediktsson

2019

Boreas

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“…Larsen et al [9] present new sedimentological, geomorphological and chronological data from the Van Mijenfjorden region, Svalbard which suggests the occurrence of numerous glacial advances in the period from the Late Weichselian to the Little Ice Age (LIA). Glacial deposits in the area record differing sizes and styles of ice flow during Lateglacial and Holocene deglaciation as well as regrowth and readvance during the early Holocene, Neoglacial and LIA.…”

Section: Growth and Decay Of Arctic Glaciers And Ice Sheetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic environmental change beyond instrumental records: introduction and overview

Cofaigh

Kirchner

Fedorov³

et al. 2018

Arktos

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“…Plassen et al, 2004;Ottesen and Dowdeswell, 2006;Mangerud and Landvik, 2007). Other fjords record much older, more extensive tidewater advances (Hald et al, 2004;Evans and Rea, 2005;Kempf et al, 2013;Flink et al, 2017;Larsen et al, 2018). Many of these tidewater glaciers are inferred or known to be of surge-type, raising the question as to whether previous advances (LIA maximum or earlier) were glaciodynamic surges or were in response to climate forcing (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies have investigated englacial, geomorphological and sedimentological evidence exposed at the receding margins of quiescent phase surge-type glaciers in Svalbard in order to better understand the processes that occur during surges (e.g. Boulton et al, 1996Boulton et al, , 1999Glasser et al, 1998a;Bennett et al, 1999;Christoffersen et al, 2005;Larsen et al, 2006;Ottesen et al, 2008Ottesen et al, , 2017Kristensen et al, 2009a,b;Lovell et al, 2015;Sobota et al, 2016;Larsen et al, 2018;Lyså et al, 2018). For tidewater glacier surges, this evidence is typically recorded on the sea floor (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Late Holocene surges of a High-Arctic tidewater glacier system in Svalbard

Lovell

Benn

Lukas

et al. 2018

Quaternary Science Reviews

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Most large tidewater glaciers in Svalbard are known to have surged at least once in the last few hundred years. However, very little information exists on the frequency, timing or magnitude of surges prior to the Little Ice Age (LIA) maximum in ~1900. We investigate the sedimentlandform assemblages produced by multiple advances of the Nathorstbreen glacier system (NGS) in order to reconstruct its Late Holocene surge history. The glacier has recently undergone one of the largest surges ever observed in Svalbard, advancing ~16 km from 2008 2 to 2016. We present flow velocities and ice-marginal observations (terminus change, proglacial geomorphological processes) from the later stages of this surge. A first detailed assessment of the development of a glaciotectonic mud apron within the fjord during a surge is provided. Geomorphological and sedimentological examination of the terrestrial moraine areas formed prior to the most recent surge reveals that at least two advances were responsible for their formation, based on the identification of a previously unrecognised ice-contact zone recorded by the distribution of sediment facies in coastal exposures. We distinguish between an outer, older advance to the distal part of the moraine system and an inner, younger advance to a position ~2 km upfjord. Radiocarbon dating of shells embedded in glaciotectonic composite ridges formed by the onshore bulldozing of marine mud during the outer (older) of the two advances shows that it occurred at some point during the interval 700-890 cal. yr BP (i.e. ~1160 AD), and not during the LIA as previously assumed. We instead attribute the inner (younger) advance to the LIA at ~1890.

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Lateglacial and Holocene glacier activity in the Van Mijenfjorden area, western Svalbard

Cited by 19 publications

References 64 publications

Refining the history of Younger Dryas and Early Holocene glacier oscillations in the Borgarfjörður region, western Iceland

Refining the history of Younger Dryas and Early Holocene glacier oscillations in the Borgarfjörður region, western Iceland

Arctic environmental change beyond instrumental records: introduction and overview

Multiple Late Holocene surges of a High-Arctic tidewater glacier system in Svalbard

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