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
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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: oi@hi.is)
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. It has been pointed out that because of
the predominantly ice-cored nature of Neoglacial
moraines on Svalbard and the very active dead-ice
melting, together with the active reworking processes and cryoturbation, the preservation potential
of terrestrial glacial landforms on Svalbard is probably poor (Evans 2009). The use of these moraines
as modern analogues for ancient glaciated landscapes therefore may not be appropriate (Lukas
2005). However, geomorphological and sedimentological research on landforms and sediments resulting from the last deglaciation and Holocene
oscillations of Svalbard glaciers can provide important analogues for palaeoglaciological reconstructions (Boulton 1972; Boulton et al. 1999). This is
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